IGF::OT::IGF THE AMSR-E L2A BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE (TO) PRODUCT IS A FUNDAMENTAL CLIMATE DATA RECORD OF THE…

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IGF::OT::IGF THE AMSR-E L2A BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE (TO) PRODUCT IS A FUNDAMENTAL CLIMATE DATA RECORD OF THE MICROWAVE EMISSION FROM THE EARTH FOR 2002 TO 2011. THIS 100YEAR TB DATASET IS THE STARTING POINT FOR A LARGE NUMBER OF GEOPHYSICAL RETRIEVAL ALGORITHMS. OVER THE WORLD'S OCEANS, THESE AMSR-E TB MEASUREMENTS PROVIDED SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND WIND, TOTAL WATER VAPOR AND CLOUD WATER, AND RAIN RATE, ALL OF WHICH ARE INDICATORS OF VARIABILITY IN THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE AND GENERAL CIRCULATION. OVER THE POLAR ICE CAPS, AMSRE MONITORED THE CHANGES IN ICE TYPE, CONCENTRATION, AND DRIFT. OVER LAND, SNOW DEPTH, SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT, FREEZE/THAW INDEX, SOIL MOISTURE, AND VEGETATION TYPE ARE ESTIMATED FROM AMSR-E TB MEASUREMENTS. THE AMSR-E L2A TB PRODUCT IS ARCHIVED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE NATIONAL SNOW AND ICE DATA CENTER (NSIDC). NSIDC REPORTS THAT OVER 2500 UNIQUE USERS DOWNLOADED NEARLY 15 MILLION L2A FILES SINCE 2008. OF ALL AMSR-E PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT NSIDC, THE L2A TB DATASET IS THE MOST ACCESSED. SINCE THE LAUNCH OF AMSR-E IN 2002, THE L2A TB DATASET HAS UNDERGONE A NUMBER OF REFINEMENTS: MAINLY TO CORRECT PROBLEMS WITH AMSR-E'S ON-BOARD CALIBRATION SYSTEM AND MORE RECENTLY TO INTER-CALIBRATE THE AMSR-E TBS WITH THE COLLECTION OF OTHER PASSIVE MICROWAVE SENSORS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CONTINUE THE MAINTENANCE OF THE L2A TB DATASET AND MAKE SOME MODEST REFINEMENTS AND EXTENSIONS NEEDED TO KEEP IT UP-TO-DATE WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF TB CALIBRATION ISSUES, RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE (RFI) PROBLEMS, AND USER NEEDS FOR UNCERTAINTY ESTIMATES AND DOCUMENTATION. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THESE IMPROVEMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. CHARACTERIZE AND DOCUMENT THE CURRENT AMSR-E TB CALIBRATION 2. ADD UNCERTAINTY INFORMATION TO THE L2A DATASET 3. PROVIDE AN RFI QUALITY FLAG 4. INCORPORATE RESULTS FROM OTHER ON-GOING AMSR-E INVESTIGATIONS AS NEEDED A FINAL REPROCESSING OF THE AMSR-E L2A DATASET INCORPORATING ALL THE RESULTS OF THIS AND OTHER INVESTIGATIONS IS SCHEDULED FOR THE THIRD YEAR OF THIS INVESTIGATION (2016). WE EXPECT THE REFINEMENTS TO THE AMSR-E L2A DATASET PROPOSED HEREIN WILL RESULT IN A MORE USEFUL PRODUCT. THE BETTER CHARACTERIZATION OF THE AMSR-E TB CALIBRATION WILL PROVIDE THE MEANS TO ASSIGN A CONFIDENCE LEVEL TO THE INTER-SATELLITE CALIBRATION PROCESS, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO DETERMINING INTER-ANNUAL AND DECADAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY. THE ADDITIONAL UNCERTAINTY INFORMATION (ERROR BAN, TB STANDARD DEVIATIONS, AND QUALITY FLAGS) WILL ASSIST DATA REDISTRIBUTORS, MODELERS, AND SCIENTISTS IN BETTER DERIVING ERRORS ON THEIR PRODUCTS, MODELS, AND SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. THE RF1 QUALITY FLAG WILL PROVIDE USERS WITH A STRAIGHTFORWARD MEANS TO AVOID AREAS OF MODERATE TO HIGH RFI. ALL OF THESE EXTENSIONS, REFINEMENT AND INCREASED DOCUMENTATION WILL ENCOURAGE AND FACILITATE MORE USAGE OF THE DATASET, PARTICULARLY BY NEW INVESTIGAT