Abstract

Future satellites will have the higher spectral resolutions required to provide an adequate level of vertical resolution in the soundings they produce, but the high resolution is accompanied by a large number of channels. In order for the data to be used by numerical prediction centers, the number must be reduced while maintaining the information content. This paper presents an approach for reducing the number of channels by averaging similar channels to produce “super channels” with reduced noise. To be useful, the “super channels” must be accompanied by an fast and accurate approximation of the Plank function. Up till now, this has been a limitation in the application of the approach. This paper presents a solution for adjusting the calculation at a single frequency to match the value for an average over a spectral interval. The approach will be applied to AIRS channels and the results will be presented at the meeting.

© 2001 Optical Society of America