Validation of the IASI temperature and water vapor profile retrievals by correlative radiosondes

The METOP-A satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) Level 2 products comprise retrievals of vertical profiles of temperature and water vapor. The L2 data were validated through assessment of their error covariances and biases using radiosonde data for the reference. The radiosonde data set includes dedicated launches as well as the ones performed at regular synoptic times at Lindenberg station (Germany). For optimal error estimate the linear statistical Validation Assessment Model (VAM) was used. The model establishes relation between the compared satellite and reference measurements based on their relations to the true atmospheric state. The VAM utilizes IASI averaging kernels and statistical characteristics of the ensembles of the reference data to allow for finite vertical resolution of the retrievals and spatial and temporal non-coincidence. For temperature retrievals expected and assessed errors are in good agreement; error variances/rms of a single FOV retrieval are < 1 K between 800 - 300 mb with an increase to similar to 1K in tropopause and similar to 2K at the surface, possibly due to wrong surface parameters and undetected clouds/haze. Bias against radiosondes oscillates within +/- 0.5K between 950 - 100 mb. As for water vapor, its highly variable complex spatial structure does not allow assessment of retrieval errors with the same degree of accuracy as for temperature. Error variances/rms of a single FOV relative humidity retrieval are between 10 - 13% RH in the 800 - 300 mb range.