Lindau, Ralf and Ruprecht, Eberhard (2000) SSM/I-derived total water vapour content over the Baltic Sea compared to independent data. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 9 . pp. 117-123. DOI 10.1127/metz/9/2000/117.

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Abstract

In order to investigate the energy and water balance of the Baltic Sea and its catchment area, the commonly used regional models have to be validated against observation data. One of the most important parameters of the hydrological cycle is the vertically integrated atmospheric water vapour content. Satellite observations from SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) can help to provide data over the sea. The accuracy of these results are tested with observations of radiosondes, which are launched from RV Alkor cruising in the Baltic Sea. The bias of both data sets is negligibly small. However, due to the low spatial resolution, problems occur in coastal regions, arising problems in particular in the small-scaled Baltic Sea. Thus, a correcting scheme for disturbing land influences is presented. This satellite-derived data set is compared with REMO-DWD results (REgional Model using physical package of DWD) for the PIDCAP period (Pilot Study for Intensive Data Collection and Analysis of Precipitation) from August to October 1995. Effects of the different temporal and spatial data resolutions on the variance are quantified and eliminated. For this purpose the water vapour content is used, which is derived from the GPS (Global Positioning System) network over Sweden and Finland by ELGERED et al. (1997). SSM/I and cps data indicate that REMO overestimates the total water vapour content by about 2 kgm(-2).

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