{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T15:48:01Z","timestamp":1778600881425,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,4]],"date-time":"2020-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1583280000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"JPSS Program","award":["FY-2020 Appropriation"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FY-2020 Appropriation"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operational Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) data used in numerical weather prediction and climate analysis are essential to protect life and property and maintain safe and efficient commerce. Routine data quality monitoring and anomaly assessment is important to sustain data effectiveness. One valuable parameter used to monitor microwave sounder data quality is the antenna temperature (Ta) difference (O-B) computed between direct instrument Ta measurements and forward radiative transfer model (RTM) brightness temperature (Tb) simulations. This requires microwave radiometer data to be collocated with atmospheric temperature and moisture sounding profiles, so that representative boundary conditions are used to produce the RTM-simulated Tb values. In this study, Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate\/Formosa Satellite Mission 3 (COSMIC) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio Occultation (RO) soundings over the ocean and equatorward of 60\u00b0 latitude are used as input to the Community RTM (CRTM) to generate simulated NOAA-18, NOAA-19, Metop-A, and Metop-B AMSU-A and S-NPP and NOAA-20 ATMS Tb values. These simulated Tb values, together with observed Ta values that are nearly simultaneous in space and time, are used to compute Ta O-B statistics on monthly time scales for each instrument. In addition, the CRTM-simulated Tb values based on the COSMIC GNSS RO soundings can be used as a transfer standard to inter-compare Ta values from different microwave radiometer makes and models that have the same bands. For example, monthly Ta O-B statistics for NOAA-18 AMSU-A Channels 4\u201312 and NOAA-20 ATMS Channels 5\u201313 can be differenced to estimate the \u201cdouble-difference\u201d Ta biases between these two instruments for the corresponding frequency bands. This study reveals that the GNSS RO soundings are critical to monitoring and trending individual instrument O-B Ta biases and inter-instrument \u201cdouble-difference\u201d Ta biases and also to estimate impacts of some sensor anomalies on instrument Ta values.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12050828","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,4]],"date-time":"2020-03-04T10:46:08Z","timestamp":1583318768000},"page":"828","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["NOAA Operational Microwave Sounding Radiometer Data Quality Monitoring and Anomaly Assessment Using COSMIC GNSS Radio-Occultation Soundings"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3670-1469","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robbie","family":"Iacovazzi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"GST Incorporated, 7855 Walker Drive, Suite 200, Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1584-3559","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lin","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UMD\/ESSIC, 5825 University Research Court, Suite #4001, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ninghai","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"GST Incorporated, 7855 Walker Drive, Suite 200, Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Quanhua","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NOAA\/NESDIS\/STAR, 5830 University Research Court, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"2911","article-title":"A comparison of the impact of TOVS and ATOVS satellite sounding data on the accuracy of numerical weather forecasts","volume":"126","author":"English","year":"2000","journal-title":"Q. J. Royal Met. Soc."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"689","article-title":"The use of TOVS level-1 radiances in the NCEP SSI analysis system","volume":"129","author":"McNally","year":"2000","journal-title":"Q. J. Royal Met. Soc."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D19114","DOI":"10.1029\/2005JD006798","article-title":"Recalibration of microwave sounding unit for climate studies using simultaneous nadir overpasses","volume":"111","author":"Zou","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH1840.1","article-title":"Estimation of tropospheric temperature trends from MSU Channels 2 and 4","volume":"23","author":"Spencer","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3650","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0442(2003)016<3650:AROTMC>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"A reanalysis of the MSU Channel 2 tropospheric temperature record","volume":"16","author":"Mears","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3517","DOI":"10.1029\/2000GL011719","article-title":"Global warming: Evidence from satellite observations","volume":"27","author":"Prabhakara","year":"2000","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1117\/12.451690","article-title":"Intercomparison of the longwave infrared channels of MODIS and AVHRR\/NOAA-16 using simultaneous nadir observations at orbit intersections","volume":"Volume 4814","author":"William","year":"2002","journal-title":"Earth Observing Systems VII"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0426(2004)021<0537:PSNOAP>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Predicting simultaneous nadir overpasses among polar-orbiting meteorological satellites for the intersatellite calibration of radiometers","volume":"21","author":"Cao","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH1713.1","article-title":"Intersatellite radiance biases for the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounders (HIRS) on-board NOAA-15, -16, and -17 from simultaneous nadir observations","volume":"22","author":"Cao","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1895","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH2095.1","article-title":"Quantifying EOS Aqua and NOAA POES AMSU-A brightness temperature biases for weather and climate applications utilizing the SNO method","volume":"24","author":"Iacovazzi","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1048","DOI":"10.1175\/2007JTECHA1020.1","article-title":"Reducing uncertainties of SNO-estimated intersatellite AMSU-A brightness temperature biases for surface-sensitive channels","volume":"25","author":"Iacovazzi","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D19112","DOI":"10.1029\/2012JD018144","article-title":"Introduction to Suomi national polar-orbiting partnership advanced technology microwave sounder for numerical weather prediction and tropical cyclone applications","volume":"117","author":"Weng","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mo, T. (1999). Calibration of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A Radiometers for NOAA-L and NOAA-M, NOAA Technical Report.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.363514"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(2001)040<0070:TLAOAA>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"The limb adjustment of AMSU-A observations: Methodology and validation","volume":"40","author":"Goldberg","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Applied Met."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Murphy, R., Le Vine, D.M., Barath, F., Barrett, E., Bernstein, R.L., Clark, C.A., Dozier, J., Kakar, R., Njoku, E., and Runge, E. (2020, March 03). Earth Observing System Volume IIe: HMRR High-Resolution Multifrequency Microwave Radiometer, Available online: https:\/\/babel.hathitrust.org\/cgi\/pt?id=umn.31951d014844120&view=1up&seq=4."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Goodrum, G., Kidwell, K.B., Winston, W., and Aleman, R. (2020, January 07). Available online: http:\/\/webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu\/virtual_disk_library\/index.cgi\/2790181\/FID3711\/klm\/index.htm."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1002\/jgrd.50840","article-title":"Calibration of Suomi national polar-orbiting partnership advanced technology microwave sounder","volume":"118","author":"Weng","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4933","DOI":"10.1002\/2015JD024278","article-title":"Characterization of geolocation accuracy of Suomi NPP Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder measurements","volume":"121","author":"Han","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22301","DOI":"10.1029\/1999JD900450","article-title":"A ray-tracing operator and its adjoint for the use of GPS\/MET refraction angle measurements","volume":"104","author":"Zou","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"1661","article-title":"Retrieving temperature, water vapor and surface pressure information from refractivity-index profiles derived by radio occultation: A simulation study","volume":"126","author":"Healy","year":"2000","journal-title":"Q. J. Royal Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17513","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900151","article-title":"A non-linear optimal estimation inverse method for radio occultation measurements of temperature, humidity, and surface pressure","volume":"105","author":"Palmer","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"8327","article-title":"Global temperature estimates in the troposphere and stratosphere: A validation study of COSMIC\/FORMOSAT-3 measurements","volume":"8","author":"Kishore","year":"2008","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2051","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-11-2051-2018","article-title":"Evaluating the lower-tropospheric COSMIC GPS radio occultation sounding quality over the Arctic","volume":"11","author":"Yu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-89-3-313","article-title":"The COSMIC\/FORMOSAT-3 mission: Early results","volume":"89","author":"Anthes","year":"2008","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8086","DOI":"10.1029\/2002RS002679","article-title":"Advanced microwave sounding unit cloud and precipitation algorithms","volume":"38","author":"Weng","year":"2003","journal-title":"Radio Sci."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1397","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2013.2250981","article-title":"Absolute calibration of ATMS upper level temperature sounding channels using GPS RO observations","volume":"52","author":"Zou","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Han, Y., van Delst, P., Liu, Q., Weng, F., Yan, B., Treadon, R., and Derber, J. (2006). JCSDA Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM)\u2014Version 1, NOAA Technical Report."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3803","DOI":"10.1175\/2007JAS2112.1","article-title":"Advances in radiative transfer modeling in support of satellite data assimilation","volume":"64","author":"Weng","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Han, Y., van Delst, P., Weng, F., Liu, Q., Groff, D., Yan, B., Chen, Y., and Vogel, R. (2010, January 14\u201320). 2010: Current status of the JCSDA community radiative transfer model (CRTM). Proceedings of the 17th International ATOVS Study Conference, Monterey, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1050","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jqsrt.2010.11.009","article-title":"Validation of the community radiative transfer model","volume":"112","author":"Shouguo","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1073","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-6-1073-2013","article-title":"Assessment of COSMIC radio occultation retrieval product using global radiosonde data","volume":"6","author":"Wang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Sokolovskiy, S., and CDAAC Team (2020, January 08). Improvements, Modifications, and Alternate Approaches in the Processing of GPS RO Data. Available online: https:\/\/cdaac-www.cosmic.ucar.edu\/cdaac\/doc\/documents\/Sokolovskiy_newroam.pdf."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Sokolovskiy, S. (2020, January 08). Algorithms for Inverting Radio Occultation Signals in the Neutral Atmosphere, Available online: https:\/\/cdaac-www.cosmic.ucar.edu\/cdaac\/doc\/documents\/roam05.doc."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1931","DOI":"10.1175\/JAMC-D-14-0151.1","article-title":"Comparative assessment of COSMIC Radio occultation data and TIMED\/SABER satellite data over china","volume":"54","author":"Fan","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/12\/5\/828\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T09:03:54Z","timestamp":1760173434000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/12\/5\/828"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,4]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3]]}},"alternative-id":["rs12050828"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs12050828","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,4]]}}}