Temperature and moisture measurement validation using passive and active remote and in-situ observation systems

Advanced atmospheric sounders are tasked with improving measurements of temperature and water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere to enable enhancements in weather prediction and climate monitoring capability. Measurement system validation is critical to achieving this goal and maximizing operational and research utility of such data. This study will address some of the challenges associated with validating high resolution infrared spectral radiance through inter-comparisons of simulations and measurements from passive and active remote sensors and in-situ systems, obtained from ground-, balloon-, aircraft-, and space-based platforms. Emphasis will be placed on comparing data obtained with the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Airborne Sounder Testbed-Interferometer (NAST-I), during the recent European AQUA Thermodynamic Experiment (EAQUATE)-Italian phase, with those obtained from several other independent, collocated sensors.