High-resolution skin temperature derived from geostationary satellite top-of-atmosphere clear-sky infrared temperature retrievals

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Description

Climate modelers rely on high-accuracy, high-resolution initial radiometric and surface conditions for effective evaluation of the global climate model. The ARM Climate Research Facility focuses on the development of products that continuously measure radiative feedback processes in order to support climate model advancement. One such product, the infrared thermometer (IRT), measures surface skin temperature at the Solar and Infrared Radiation Station (SIRS) located at the Southern Great Plains Central Facility. This parameter is a principal surface and radiometric element of the atmospheric radiation balance. NASA Langley provides cloud and clear-sky retrievals for ARM climate modelers derived from geostationary satellite imagery. Using these retrievals, an inverted correlated k-distribution method is applied to clear-pixel values of top-of-atmosphere infrared temperature to derive a large-area, high-resolution skin temperature data set. The high frequency of geostationary satellite observations allows for study of the diurnal variation of skin temperature. This spatial and temporal resolution, and the fact that only clear scenes are used, leads to a high-accuracy data set viable for comparison with ARM IRT measurements, with the latter used as validation. Once validated, these high-accuracy observations can lead to improved skin temperature measurements and more advanced global climate models.