Short-term Prediction Research
and Transition Center

• Real-Time Data
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  • About

Background

SPoRT is working collaboratively with the Huntsville WFO on the evaluation and use of AIRS Level-2 (L2) temperature and moisture profiles for operational applications. Real-time AIRS profiles have the potential to provide forecasters with asynoptic profile information to monitor weather conditions (e.g. changes in stability or moisture advection) in the early morning (typically 06-09Z ) and mid-afternoon (16-19Z) hours, and to fill in spatial coverage between synoptic radiosonde and special observation stations.

AIRS profiles are not like radiosondes! Forecasters must be informed on the strengths and limitations of the AIRS profiles to ensure proper use. This website is an interactive, real-time training tool that enables users to see the quality and to assess the utility of AIRS profiles when compared to spatially collocated radiosonde and forecast model profiles.

Near-real-time soundings from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) are publically available from two sources:

• Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC; ftp://airscal1u.ecs.nasa.gov/data/s4pa/Aqua_AIRS_NearRealTime/AIRX2SUP_NRT.005): global soundings with data lag of less than 100 minutes
• University of Wisconsin Direct Broadcast (ftp://ftp.ssec.wisc.edu/pub/eosdb/aqua/airs/): soundings for the eastern three-fourths of the contiguous United States with data lag of less than 40 minutes.

AIRS profiles are made available to WFOs in AWIPS in a similar format to GOES Sounder profiles. The near real-time AIRS data is obtained from the University of Wisconsin Direct Broadcast system. The retrievals are made with the AIRS Science Team retrieval algorithm adapted for real-time processing as part of the AMAP system. The temperature and moisture information is obtained at 100 pressure levels from the AIRS supplemental file format. Temperature is acquired directly from the products, and the dew point temperature is derived from the water vapor column density.