Comparison of Nimbus-7 SMMR and GOES-1 VISSR atmospheric liquid water content

Abstract

In the retrieval procedure, Wilheit and Chang's algorithm and Stephens' parameterization schemes are applied to the SMMR and VISSR data, respectively. The results indicate that in the 0-100mg cm-2 range of liquid water content considered, the correlation coefficient between the two types of estimates is 0.83 (0.81-0.85 at the 99% confidence level). The Wilheit and Chang algorithm, however, yields values lower than those obtained with Stephens's schemes by 24.5mg cm-2 on the average, and occasionally the SMMR-based values are negative. Alternative algorithms are proposed for use with SMMR data, which eliminate the bias, augment the correlation coefficient, and reduce the rms difference. -from Authors