Vertical Distributions of Atmospheric Water Vapor from Satellite Infrared Spectrometer Measurements

Abstract

In this paper, the algorithm used for calculating the water vapor distribution from SIRS-B spectral radiances is given. Examples are presented illustrating the effects of errors in the water vapor absorption coefficients and the specified temperature profile on the retrieval of the water vapor profile. Comparisons of satellite-derived and radiosonde-observed water vapor profiles indicate that the errors of the SIRS-derived relative humidity in the middle troposphere (i.e., the 400–600 mb layer) are less than 20%. Relative humidity errors in the lower troposphere (600–1000 mb) are somewhat larger but still less than 30%.