NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Introducing Multisensor Satellite Radiance-Based Evaluation for Regional Earth System ModelingEarth System modeling has become more complex, and its evaluation using satellite data has also become more difficult due to model and data diversity. Therefore, the fundamental methodology of using satellite direct measurements with instrumental simulators should be addressed especially for modeling community members lacking a solid background of radiative transfer and scattering theory. This manuscript introduces principles of multisatellite, multisensor radiance-based evaluation methods for a fully coupled regional Earth System model: NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model. We use a NU-WRF case study simulation over West Africa as an example of evaluating aerosol-cloud-precipitation-land processes with various satellite observations. NU-WRF-simulated geophysical parameters are converted to the satellite-observable raw radiance and backscatter under nearly consistent physics assumptions via the multisensor satellite simulator, the Goddard Satellite Data Simulator Unit. We present varied examples of simple yet robust methods that characterize forecast errors and model physics biases through the spatial and statistical interpretation of various satellite raw signals: infrared brightness temperature (Tb) for surface skin temperature and cloud top temperature, microwave Tb for precipitation ice and surface flooding, and radar and lidar backscatter for aerosol-cloud profiling simultaneously. Because raw satellite signals integrate many sources of geophysical information, we demonstrate user-defined thresholds and a simple statistical process to facilitate evaluations, including the infrared-microwave-based cloud types and lidar/radar-based profile classifications.
Document ID
20160000450
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Matsui, T.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Santanello, J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Shi, J. J.
(Morgan State Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Tao, W.-K.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Wu, D.
(Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)
Peters-Lidard, C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Kemp, E.
(Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)
Chin, M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Starr, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Sekiguchi, M.
(Tokyo Univ. of Marine Science and Technology Tokyo, Japan)
Aires, F.
(Estellus Paris, France)
Date Acquired
January 7, 2016
Publication Date
July 15, 2014
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publisher: AGU
Volume: 119
Issue: 13
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN28972
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11HP16A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG12HP08C
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD03A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG12HP06C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Land-Atmosphere Interactions
Planetary Boundary Layer
Mesoscale Modeling

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available