Prospects for Temperature Sounding with Satellite and Ground-based RASS Measurements

Temperature profiles from the TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) were combined with low-altitude virtual temperature profiles measured by a ground-based 915-MHz/2-kHz radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) at Denver, Colorado. Low-level temperature inversions of more than 20 degrees C in 100 m, as measured by radiosonde, were successfully resolved by RASS, providing critical information that TOVS alone could not. Conversely, TOVS augmented the RASS altitude coverage, which was typically limited to the first 1-2 km above ground, due to strong acoustic attenuation at 2 kHz. (A 405-MHz /0.9-kHz RASS measures to significantly higher altitudes.) The complementary nature of TOVS and RASS is demonstrated with examples chosen from extreme cases that illustrate the capabilities and limitations of the separate and combined systems.