Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Characterization of the Quality of the Stratospheric Temperature Distributions from SABER based on Comparisons with COSMIC Data

Z. Q. Fan College of Meteorology and Oceanology, People’s Liberation Army University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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Z. Sheng College of Meteorology and Oceanology, People’s Liberation Army University of Science and Technology, and Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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H. Q. Shi College of Meteorology and Oceanology, People’s Liberation Army University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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X. H. Zhang Department of Aviation Theory, Aviation University of Air Force, Changchun, China

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C. J. Zhou College of Meteorology and Oceanology, People’s Liberation Army University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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Print Publication:
01 Nov 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-16-0085.1
Page(s):
2401–2413
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Abstract

Global stratospheric temperature measurement is an important field in the study of climate and weather. Dynamic and radiative coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere has been demonstrated in a number of studies over the past decade or so. However, studies of the stratosphere were hampered by a shortage of observation data before satellite technology was used in atmospheric sounding. Now, the data from the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics, and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) observations make it easier to study the stratosphere. The precision and accuracy of TIMED/SABER satellite soundings in the stratosphere are analyzed in this paper using refraction error data and temperature data obtained from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) radio occultation sounding system and TIMED/SABER temperature data between April 2006 and December 2009. The results show high detection accuracy of TIMED/SABER satellite soundings in the stratosphere. The temperature standard deviation (STDV) errors of SABER are mostly in the range from of 0–3.5 K. At 40 km the STDV error is usually less than 1 K, which means that TIMED/SABER temperature is close to the real atmospheric temperature at this height. The distributions of SABER STDV errors follow a seasonal variation: they are approximately similar in the months that belong to the same season. As the weather situation is complicated and fickle, the distribution of SABER STDV errors is most complex at the equator. The results in this paper are consistent with previous research and can provide further support for application of the SABER’s temperature data.

Corresponding author address: Z. Sheng, College of Meteorology and Oceanology, PLA University of Science and Technology, 60 Shuanglong Street, Nanjing 211101, China. E-mail: 19994035@sina.com

Abstract

Global stratospheric temperature measurement is an important field in the study of climate and weather. Dynamic and radiative coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere has been demonstrated in a number of studies over the past decade or so. However, studies of the stratosphere were hampered by a shortage of observation data before satellite technology was used in atmospheric sounding. Now, the data from the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics, and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) observations make it easier to study the stratosphere. The precision and accuracy of TIMED/SABER satellite soundings in the stratosphere are analyzed in this paper using refraction error data and temperature data obtained from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) radio occultation sounding system and TIMED/SABER temperature data between April 2006 and December 2009. The results show high detection accuracy of TIMED/SABER satellite soundings in the stratosphere. The temperature standard deviation (STDV) errors of SABER are mostly in the range from of 0–3.5 K. At 40 km the STDV error is usually less than 1 K, which means that TIMED/SABER temperature is close to the real atmospheric temperature at this height. The distributions of SABER STDV errors follow a seasonal variation: they are approximately similar in the months that belong to the same season. As the weather situation is complicated and fickle, the distribution of SABER STDV errors is most complex at the equator. The results in this paper are consistent with previous research and can provide further support for application of the SABER’s temperature data.

Corresponding author address: Z. Sheng, College of Meteorology and Oceanology, PLA University of Science and Technology, 60 Shuanglong Street, Nanjing 211101, China. E-mail: 19994035@sina.com
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