Past, Present, Future of MW SSTs Chelle L. Gentemann & Frank J. Wentz Remote Sensing Systems Santa Rosa, CA NASA SST Science Team Meeting November 2010

Outline Past Present Future

TMI and AMSRE SSTs from these instruments have been incorporated into operational NWP products, numerous scientific publications, and are used for fisheries applications. Accuracy 0.5 K

Key successes Demonstrated positive impact of AMSR-E SSTs on hurricane track forecasts (Navy), hurricane intensity forecasts (NOAA), operational SST products (NOAA and Navy). US Navy operationally utilizes AMSR-E SSTs in their K10 analysis and is experimenting with using it in their NOGAPS SST NOAA is operationally utilizing AMSR-E SSTs in their N-AWIPS workstations Operational weather/ocean forecasting use of AMSR-E SSTs –Australia: Bureau of Meteorology Bluelink SSTs –France: IFREMER/CERSAT Odyssea –UK: Met Office OSTIA-SST

Public Impacts AMSR-E OI SSTs used in “An inconvenient Truth” Imagery prepared by NASA SVS

Science Impacts Huge number of journal articles The Effects of SST-Induced Surface Wind Speed and Direction Gradients on Midlatitude Surface Vorticity and Divergence, Larry W. O’Neill, Dudley B. Chelton, Steven K. EsbensenJournal of Climate, Volume 23, Issue 2 (January 2010) pp High-Resolution Satellite Measurements of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Response to SST Variations along the Agulhas Return Current Larry W. O’Neill, Dudley B. Chelton, Steven K. Esbensen, Frank J. WentzJournal of Climate Volume 18, Issue 14 (July 2005) pp Dynamical Analysis of the Boundary Layer and Surface Wind Responses to Mesoscale SST Perturbations Larry W. O’Neill, Steven K. Esbensen, Nicolai Thum, Roger M. Samelson, Dudley B. CheltonJournal of Climate Volume 23, Issue 3 (February 2010) pp doi: /2009JCLI Frontal Scale Air-Sea Interaction in High-Resolution Coupled Climate Models Frank O. Bryan, Robert Tomas, John M. Dennis, Dudley B. Chelton, Norman G. Loeb, Julie L. McCleanJournal of Climate Volume 0, Issue 0 ( ) pp.doi: /2010JCLI Location of the Antarctic Polar Front from AMSR-E Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Measurements Shenfu Dong, Janet Sprintall, Sarah T. GilleJournal of Physical Oceanography Volume 36, Issue 11 (November 2006) pp Observations of SST-Induced Perturbations of the Wind Stress Field over the Southern Ocean on Seasonal Timescales Larry W. O'Neill, Dudley B. Chelton, Steven K. EsbensenJournal of Climate Volume 16, Issue 14 (July 2003) pp An Assessment of the Southern Ocean Mixed Layer Heat Budget Shenfu Dong, Sarah T. Gille, Janet SprintallJournal of Climate Volume 20, Issue 17 (September 2007) pp Subseasonal SST Variability in the Tropical Eastern North Pacific during Boreal Summer Eric D. Maloney, Dudley B. Chelton, Steven K. EsbensenJournal of Climate Volume 21, Issue 17 (September 2008) pp doi: /2007JCLI Monsoon Breaks and Subseasonal Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Bay of Bengal Gabriel A. Vecchi, D. E. HarrisonJournal of Climate Volume 15, Issue 12 (June 2002) pp Observations of Coupling between Surface Wind Stress and Sea Surface Temperature in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Dudley B. Chelton, Steven K. Esbensen, Michael G. Schlax, Nicolai Thum, Michael H. Freilich, Frank J. Wentz, Chelle L. Gentemann, Michael J. McPhaden, Paul S. SchopfJournal of Climate Volume 14, Issue 7 (April 2001) pp ….

Primary sources of uncertainty Errors in retrieval algorithm (specification of wind direction, anomalous atmospheric conditions) RFI (undetected) from geostationary satellites Sunglint (data flagging) Rain contamination (data flagging) Land contamination (data flagging) Calibration (usually correctable)

PMW Radiometers (SST capable) Instrument Name Short Instrument Name Full Instrument Agencies Instrument StatusWavebands (GHz) RADMicrowave radiometerNSOAS Being developed 2011 launch 6.6, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 37.0 GMIGPM Microwave ImagerNASA Being developed 2014 launch 10.7, 19.4, 21.3, 37, 85.5 Advanced MTVZA Advanced Scanning microwave imager-sounder ROSHYDROMET Proposed 2014 launch GHz, 26 channels AMSR-2 Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer -2 JAXA Approved 2/2012 launch 6.9, 7.3, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 AMSR-E Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS JAXA (NASA)Operational6.9, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 TMITRMM Microwave ImagerNASAOperational10.7, 19.4, 21.3, 37, and 85.5 MTVZA Scanning microwave imager- sounder ROSHYDROMETOperational GHz, 26 channels MWRIMicroWave Radiation ImagerNRSCC (CAST)Operational10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89, 150 WindSATCoriolisNPPOperational6.8, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, and 37 MSMR Multifrequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer ISRODead6.6, 10.6, 18 & 21 Source: CEOS EO Handbook

GCOM-W AMSR2 MIDORI AMSR… Engineering details Hot load New channel to minimize RFI New algorithms…

US AMSR2 SST NASA currently funding SALMON proposal to produce AMSR2 data NOAA wants to produce NRT AMSR2 operationally

Summary The continuity of MW SSTs is uncertain and relies upon a successful JAXA GCOM-W AMSR2. Any failures or delays will result in an interruption of the MW SST climate record Future NASA PMW sensors (GMI) are not considering SST important Reliance on international sensors inescapable, but funding for work on non-US sensors is scarce (2008 SALMON USPI made 6 awards (AMSR2, MERIS, China Landsat, LARES, SMILES, EC-CPR) Since GCOMW AMSR2 is now JPSS official replacement for MIS, US ST possible? Will the US fly another MW radiometer that is SST- capable? MSMR data ? Valuable dataset, low resolution….