Hyperspectral Infrared Sounder Product Details
RESEARCH
Total Ozone
Originally developed with NASA AIRS onboard AQUA, the SPoRT Total Ozone product is available from S-NPP CrIS/ATMS NUCAPS and MetOp-A, -B IASI for the identification of high ozone values (in Dobson Units) to anticipate stratospheric intrusions and tropopause folding which can be a precursor to rapid cyclogenesis and high impact wind events.
RESEARCH
Tropopause Level
The Tropopause Level product was developed to assess the depth of the stratospheric intrusion or tropopause fold to anticipate rapid cyclogenesis or hurricane tropical to extratropical transition. The seasonal variation of ozone at the dynamic tropopause (2 PVU) by Thouret et al. (2006) is used to identify the tropopause height in mb by matching the level where the ozone value is greater than or equal to the Thouret et al. (2006) value.
RESEARCH
Ozone Anomaly
The Tropopause Level product was developed to assess the depth of the stratospheric intrusion or tropopause fold to anticipate rapid cyclogenesis or hurricane tropical to extratropical transition. The seasonal variation of ozone at the dynamic tropopause (2 PVU) by Thouret et al. (2006) is used to identify the tropopause height in mb by matching the level where the ozone value is greater than or equal to the Thouret et al. (2006) value.
SPoRT has a history of using hyperspectral infrared sounder observations to address unique forecasting challenges. SPoRT first developed AIRS total column ozone products for National Centers in 2012 as a quantitative comparison to the Air Mass RGB composite as part of GOES-R and JPSS Proving Ground activities. The AIRS total column ozone was formatted for NAWIPS display and introduced to forecasters to help them gain confidence in interpretation of the Air Mass RGB. SPoRT continued to investigate the use of AIRS ozone products for diagnosing rapid cyclogenesis and associated high wind events. As a result, an ozone anomaly product was developed to ascertain which high ozone values were associated with stratospheric air, important for identifying the potential for rapid cyclogenesis. The SPoRT ozone products were expanded to other sensors such as IASI and next-generation CrIS/ATMS to provide additional temporal and spatial coverage for the products. Since the products were designed to identify stratospheric air influence, SPoRT investigated the use of hyperspectral infrared sounder observations for hurricane tropical to extratropical transition. The tropopause level product was developed to highlight the vertical depth of the tropopause to assess stratospheric air influence on transitioning hurricanes that create high impact wind and flooding along the East Coast. More recently, SPoRT has been part of a collaborative effort with JPSS, NOAA NWS, STC, CIRA, GINA, and SSEC/CIMSS to provide plan-view and cross-section displays of CrIS/ATMS temperature and moisture soundings in AWIPS (i.e. Gridded NUCAPS). Gridded NUCAPS was originally developed to diagnose Cold Air Aloft (CAA) but can also be used to diagnose the pre-convective environment. Gridded NUCAPS has been evaluated at the Anchorage CWSU for the CAA forecasting challenge and at the Hazardous Weather Testbed for assessing the pre-convective environment. As part of the JPSS NUCAPS Initiative, the team of collaborators is exploring new applications for Gridded NUCAPS and working with developers to baseline the product in AWIPS.
