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Copyright Copernicus GmbH 2012

Abstract

We compare measurements of integrated water vapour (IWV) over a subarctic site (Kiruna, Northern Sweden) from five different sensors and retrieval methods: Radiosondes, Global Positioning System (GPS), ground-based Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, ground-based microwave radiometer, and satellite-based microwave radiometer (AMSU-B). Additionally, we compare also to ERA-Interim model reanalysis data. GPS-based IWV data have the highest temporal coverage and resolution and are chosen as reference data set. All datasets agree reasonably well, but the ground-based microwave instrument only if the data are cloud-filtered. We also address two issues that are general for such intercomparison studies, the impact of different lower altitude limits for the IWV integration, and the impact of representativeness error. We develop methods for correcting for the former, and estimating the random error contribution of the latter. A literature survey reveals that reported systematic differences between different techniques are study-dependent and show no overall consistent pattern. Further improving the absolute accuracy of IWV measurements and providing climate-quality time series therefore remain challenging problems.

Details

Title
A multi-instrument comparison of integrated water vapour measurements at a high latitude site
Author
Buehler, S. A.; Östman, S.; Melsheimer, C.; Holl, G.; Eliasson, S.; John, V. O.; Blumenstock, T.; Hase, F.; Elgered, G.; Raffalski, U.; Nasuno, T.; Satoh, M.; Milz, M.; Mendrok, J.
First page
10925
Publication year
2012
Publication date
2012
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
16807316
e-ISSN
16807324
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1223493596
Copyright
Copyright Copernicus GmbH 2012