The NAST-I and SHIS ultra spectral interferometer sounders flew on the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the May 2013 SNPP Calibration/Validation Campaign. The ER-2 under flew the Metop-A and -B, Aqua, and SNPP satellites, which carry the IASI, AIRS, and CrIS ultra spectral sounding instruments, respectively. Special ground truth radiosonde and surface based upward viewing ultra spectral radiance Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) sounding observations (i.e., from the AERI and the ASSIST interferometer spectrometers) were obtained at the DOE Southern Great Plains (SOP) ARM CART-site and from a mobile ground site located in Yuma, Arizona. A common physical/statistical sounding retrieval algorithm and statistical database have been applied to the aircraft, ground-based interferometer, and satellite ultra spectral radiance data in order to use the higher spatial resolution aircraft data and higher vertical resolution surface-based interferometer PBL soundings, and radiosonde profiles, to validate the satellite sounding products. Differences between the satellite and the surface/airborne ground "truth" measurements are discussed. In particular, the comparisons between the satellite retrieved profiles and the ground truth observations revealed that improvements in the specification of surface emissivity spectra were needed in order to retrieve accurate atmospheric structure in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). As a result a physical simultaneous surface skin/surface emissivity determination algorithm was implemented which improved the accuracy of atmospheric profiles retrieved throughput the lower troposphere. Here, special emphasis is given to validating the satellite atmospheric stability and time tendency observations made prior to the development of the devastating Moore, OK tornado on May 20, 2013.

Results are presented that assess the accuracy of the AIRS PWV climatology using measurements from the SuomiNet network of ground-based GPS observations in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. The diurnal sampling error of the AIRS product is evaluated using 30 minute continuous sampling from the GPS network. The GPS network observations are used as a stable reference to assess trends in the AIRS L3 gridded PWV product for the nine year period 2003-2011. An anomalous trend in the AIRS L3 product is detected after 2007 which requires further investigation.

Hurricane intensity forecast accuracy is extremely important in order to take necessary precautions for landfall events. Good intensity forecasts require a solid understanding of the underlying dynamics that cause a hurricane to strengthen or weaken. The causes of change in intensification of tropical storms and hurricanes have been widely studied, yet some aspects are still not well understood. Compared to the technical difficulty, cost, and danger associated with taking in situ measurements of these events, the use of satellite observation to study hurricanes presents a good way to attain timely data even in remote regions of the Earth. The EOS A-Train constellation of spacecraft provides unique insight into cloud geometric structure and atmospheric thermodynamic state from both active and passive sensors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between hurricane intensity and the temporal changes in cloud structure and water vapor distribution of the storm and its environment. The passive and active remote sensing instruments and their derived products will be used to examine the 3-D cloud structure, temperature profiles, and water vapor profiles of Hurricane/Super Typhoon Ioke at various points in its life cycle. The sensitivity of hyperspectral IR sounders is shown to provide unique insight into tropical cyclones.

Two solutions to the radiative transfer equation are described for profiling the atmosphere using ultraspectral infrared radiance measurements. The sounding retrieval algorithms are fast non-linear physical-statistical algorithms. The first solution described, applied to ground-based ultraspectral radiance measurements, is a statistical matrix inverse solution of the radiative transfer equation where the optimal matrix inverse stability factor is chosen by trial and error as that value which minimizes the RMS difference between the retrieval calculated radiance spectrum and the observed radiance spectrum. The second solution, applied to satellite and aircraft ultraspectral radiance observation, is a fast non-linear "Physical Dual-Regression " method trained to produce accurate retrievals for both clear and cloudy sky conditions. The second method relies on using Eigenvector Regression (EOF) "Clear-trained" and "Cloud-trained" retrievals of: surface skin temperature, surface emissivity PC-scores, CO2 concentration, cloud top altitude, effective cloud optical depth, and atmospheric temperature, moisture, and ozone profiles above the cloud and below thin or scattered cloud (i.e., cloud effective optical depth < 1.5 and a cloud induced temperature profile attenuation < 15 K. The "Clear-trained" regression is a relation relating a "clear sky equivalent" perturbed profile from a clouded radiance spectrum (e.g., an isothermal profile below an opague cloud cover) to the observed radiance spectrum. The "Cloud-trained" regression relates the true atmospheric profile, both above and below cloud level, to the observed radiance spectrum. Results from the application of both of these algorithms are presented in this paper.

As a part of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), the instruments Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) make up the Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounder Suite (CrIMSS). CrIMSS will primarily provide global temperature, moisture, and pressure profiles and calibrated radiances [1]. In preparation for the NPOESS/NPP launch, porting and testing of the CrIMSS Environmental Data Record (EDR) algorithms need to be performed.

The Joint Airborne IASI Validation Experiment (JAIVEx), a US-European collaboration focusing on validation of radiance and geophysical products from MetOp-A (IASI/AMSU) and Aqua (AIRS/AMSU), supports NPP & NPOESS (CrIS/ATMS) Cal/Val and program risk mitigation. IASI, launched 19 October, 2006 on MetOp-A, is the first operational advanced ultra-spectral resolution temperature, humidity, and trace gas sounding instrument to be flown on the Joint Polar System (JPS) of NPOESS and MetOp operational satellites for the purpose of improved weather, climate, and air quality observation and forecasting. This presentation details the extensive and unprecedented dataset resulting from JAIVEx, as well as illustrates the unique benefits achieved from implementing airborne assets, such as the NPOESS Airborne Sounding Testbed-Interferometer (NAST-I), within such cal/val campaigns.