Author(s)

Qing Li^1,2,3*, Ming Wei^1,2,3, Zhenhui Wang^1,2,3, Yanli Chu⁴, Lina Ma^1,2,3

¹Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China.
²Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China.
³School of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, China.
⁴Institute of Urban Meteorological Research, CMA, Beijing, China.

Consistency between the brightness temperatures observed with a ground-based microwave radiometer and the brightness temperatures computed by forward modeling is important in many different data applications. Using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Final Operational Global Analysis (NCEP-FNL) dataset as a reference, the brightness temperature was obtained through the radiation transfer model for forward calculation. The problem of segmented features in long time of observational data from ground-based microwave radiometers (the so-called “jumping problem”) was identified. By analyzing the deviation and correlation between the observational bright temperature data and the forward calculated data under clear sky conditions, a revised scheme is proposed for the bright temperature observational data. Data obtained with a ground-based microwave radiometer in Beijing from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 around the date of liquid nitrogen calibration show that the correlation between the observed brightness temperatures and the forward computed brightness temperatures is better after correction, especially at 28 and 30 GHz. The “jumping” problem in the observational data for the brightness temperature is eliminated after correction and the time continuity of the observational data and its consistency with the forward calculated data based on the NCEP-FNL dataset are improved. The proposed correction scheme can be used both for real-time data quality control and to improve the accuracy of historical datasets obtained with poorly calibrated microwave radiometers or radiometers working in polluted environments.

Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Data Correction, Forward Model, Regression

Li, Q. , Wei, M. , Wang, Z. , Chu, Y. and Ma, L. (2019) Evaluation and Correction of Ground-Based Microwave Radiometer Observations Based on NCEP-FNL Data. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 9, 229-242. doi: 10.4236/acs.2019.92016.