Topic: Resumption of Good NOAA-16 SBUV/2 Ozone Retrievals.
Satellite(s) Involved:
NOAA-16
Instrument(s) Involved:
SBUV/2
Product(s) Involved/Affected: SBUV/2 Total and Profile ozone in binary
and BUFR formats. Both daily and orbital products.
Date/Time(UTC) of Initial Implementation:
Degradation began Friday Oct 17. Data is of good quality as of Sunday
Oct 26.
Contact Person(s) Name/Email/Phone Number for Questions:
Donna.McNamara@xxxxxxxx 301-763-8142 ext. 145
Web site(s) that contain other relevant information (where applicable):
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/air/sbuv.html
Details/Specifics of Change:
Starting with data on Friday Oct 17, NOAA-16 SBUV/2 retrievals started
to drift to a high bias. In addition, we noted a large increase in
error codes. The problem was traced to a calculated interrange ratio.
Due to the orbital drift, the data was not available to properly make
that calculation. Good values were provided, but it took several days
for the bad values to work through the system, which goes back several
days to compute those values. Users may now begin reusing the N16 ozone
retrievals in their operations. But the equator crossing time for N16
is now past 1700 local, about 1/3 of the data are flagged for high solar
zenith angle and global coverage is very lopsided. Operational users
should rely primarily on NOAA-17 and NOAA-18 SBUV/2.
--
Donna P. McNamara
Physical Scientist
NOAA/NESDIS/OSDPD/SSD/PIB
5200 Auth Rd., Rm 510 Camp Springs MD 20746
Phone: (301)763-8142x145
Fax: (301)899-9196