Global Distribution and Variability of Surface Skin and Surface Air Temperatures As Depicted in the AIRS Version-6 Data Set

Abstract:

The AIRS Science Team Version-6 retrieval algorithm is now operational at the Goddard DISC. . AIRS Version-6 monthly mean level-3 products have been generated on a one degree by one degree spatial scale for the 12 year period September 2002 through August 2014. AIRS Version-6 products are significantly improved over those obtained previously, especially with respect to surface skin and surface air temperatures. These improvements led to the ability to conduct for the first time meaningful studies of the global distribution of the difference between surface skin temperature and surface air temperature, as observed by AIRS at both 1:30 PM and 1:30 AM local time. We refer to this surface skin/air temperature difference as ΔT_s,a .

In this presentation, we will briefly describe the significant improvements made in the AIRS Version-6 retrieval algorithm, especially as to how they affect retrieved surface skin and surface air temperatures. The global distribution of seasonal 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM local time 12 year climatologies of ΔT_s,a will be presented for the first time. We will also present the spatial distribution of short term 12 year anomaly trends of ΔT_s,a at 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM, as well as the spatial distribution of temporal correlations of ΔT_s,a with the El Nino Index. It will be shown that there are significant differences between the behavior of 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM ΔT_s,a anomalies in some arid land areas.