Senteniel-6 Radio Occultation Product Released by NASA GES DISC to Supplement Satellite Remote Sensing Datasets for PBL Study

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) curates
hyperspectral atmospheric sounder remote sensing and numerical model reanalysis datasets
which have been utilized in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) research and applications. The
hyperspectral sounder remote-sensing datasets include the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
on the Aqua satellite to the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on Suomi--National Polar-
orbiting Partnership (NPP) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -20 (N
NOAA-20)/ Joint Polar-orbiting Satellite System -1 (JPSS-1). The Modern-Era Retrospective
analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) global reanalysis product
provides a data record commencing in 1980. The sounder remote sensing and reanalysis datasets
include temperature, water vapor, and trace gas profile down to the PBL, and also have a derived
PBL height as well. A nearly 10-year (June 2006 to December 2015) seasonal and annual PBL
height climatology dataset from COSMIC Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio
occultation (RO) measurement is also available from the GES DISC.
In collaboration with Sentinel-6 Project, the GES DISC is implementing curation activities for
GNSS RO products from the Sentinel-6A/Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite launched on
November 21, 2020. Sentinel-6A RO products provide refractivity, temperature, and humidity
profile with finer vertical resolution, leveraging PBL research and application as a supplement to
the hyperspectral sounder remote sensing and reanalysis products. The public release of Sentinel-
6A RO products is scheduled for mid-October of 2021. In this presentation, we will introduce all
Senitnel-6A products and services, and demonstrate use cases studying the PBL by combining
these products with other GES DISC archived data products.