Abstract

During various phases of research and study of the satellite temperature retrieval problem, the author has become increasingly intrigued by the influence of the first guess field on satellite retrievals. The general influence has been recognized fairly widely. In an early phase of operations, NOAA/NESS scientists were sufficiently concerned to use a numerical forecast profile as first guess rather than a climtological mean, as had been customary. The philosophy was that the result is significantly dependent on the first guess and that one would do better by entering the problem with a more accurate estimate of the ambient atmosphere when doing retrievals.

© 1983 Optical Society of America