Multiple-scattering microwave radiative transfer for data assimilation applications.

Title
Multiple-scattering microwave radiative transfer for data assimilation applications.
Technical memorandum
Date Published
02/2006
Secondary Title
ECMWF Technical Memoranda
Number
486
Author
Peter Bauer
E. Moreau
F. Chevallier
U. O'Keeffe
Publisher
ECMWF
Abstract A multiple scattering radiative transfer model for microwave radiance data assimilation in global numerical weather prediction models is presented. The model is part of the RTTOV software package and includes forward, tangent-linear, adjoint and Jacobian models. The model is based on the Eddington approximation to radiative transfer which produces mean errors of less than 0.5 K at the targeted microwave frequencies between 10 and 200 GHz. The simplified treatment of sub grid-scale cloud cover may produce biased model calculations that show a maximum at 0.5 cloud cover and may reach several degrees K. These errors may be corrected with a simple bias-correction. Linearity tests indicate that, given a screening procedure that excludes situations in which the model responds non-linearly to input perturbations, channels near 50.3, 19.35, 22.235 and near 183.31 GHz may be used in global radiance data assimilation.
URL https://www.ecmwf.int/en/elibrary/73600-multiple-scattering-microwave-radiative-transfer-data-assimilation-applications
DOI 10.21957/6a62hky1e
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