A comparison of satellite sounding data and aircraft measurements within a mature polar low

J. Turner; T. A. Lachlan-Cope; J. C. Moore

doi:10.3402/tellusa.v44i2.14949

A comparison of satellite sounding data and aircraft measurements within a mature polar low

Tellus

Volume 44 (1992): Issue 2

By: J. Turner, T. A. Lachlan-Cope and J. C. Moore

Open Access

|Jan 1992

Abstract

The value of satellite temperature sounding data in polar lows research is investigated through a comparison of satellite temperature profiles produced using radiances from the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and in-situ measurements from the first aircraft observations made within a mature polar low. The soundings are also compared to the ECMWF analyses to see how they represent the broadscale thermal field. The TOVS 1000–500 mb thickness data were found to be capable of resolving the main thermal features associated with the system including a warm core at the centre of the vortex. The 1000 and 500 mb temperature fields and thermal gradients were comparable in the two forms of data. A low-level temperature bias was found in the TOVS retrievals and was thought to have been caused by the small signal of the near surface adiabatic lapse rate in the TOVS channels.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v44i2.14949 | Journal eISSN: 3035-9554

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Language: English

Page range: 119 - 132

Submitted on: Oct 8, 1990

Accepted on: Aug 9, 1991

Published on: Jan 1, 1992

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 1992 J. Turner, T. A. Lachlan-Cope, J. C. Moore, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 44 (1992): Issue 2