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Polar Pathfinder Sampler (PPSM): TOVS Polar Pathfinder gridded daily and monthly Arctic atmospheric soundings (1979-1998)

Derived from the global TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data set, the TOVS Polar Pathfinder provides users with gridded daily and monthly arctic atmospheric soundings. Since 1979, TOVS has been a vital tool for weather forecasting, supplying users with information on the vertical distribution of temperature and moisture in the global atmosphere. TOVS has been particularly useful in providing atmospheric soundings over regions where in situ measurements are sparse.

TOVS Polar Pathfinder data were obtained using a modified version of the Improved Initialization Inversion Algorithm to identify geophysical parameters in snow- and ice-covered areas. The data set has been designed to address the particular needs of the polar research community, and includes quantities used to compute surface turbulent fluxes and drive ocean models.

Variables retrieved from satellite observed radiances for this product include atmospheric temperature profiles, water vapor, surface (skin) temperature, total effective cloud fraction, cloud top pressure, cloud top temperature, turning angle between geostrophic wind and surface stress over ice, emissivity, boundary layer stratification and geostrophic drag coefficient.

TOVS data coverage spans July 7, 1979 through December 31, 1996 at a resolution of 100 km. Sample products for four selected dates in 1988 are included on this CD-ROM.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2007-02-06T02:47:12
Date (Creation)
2007-02-06T02:47:12
Identifier
https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636
Identifier
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) / 5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636
Author
  National Snow and Ice Data Centre - author
Author
  Unavailable - Francis, J. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Schweiger, A. ( author )
Custodian
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - custodian
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Distributor
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - distributor
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Principal investigator
  Unavailable - Khalsa, Siri Jodha Singh ( principal_investigator )
pointofContact
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - point_of_contact
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Publisher
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - publisher
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Maintenance and update frequency
notPlanned Not planned
Update scope
dataset Dataset
Keywords
  • CLOUDS
  • ATMOSPHERE
  • SEAICE
  • CRYOSPHERE
  • ATMOSPHERICWATERVAPOR
  • ATMOSPHERICWINDS
  • SNOW
  • ATMOSPHERICTEMPERATURE
  • ATMOSPHERICRADIATION
  • ENGINEERING
  • SPECTRAL
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
  • atmospheric conditions
Access constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Public data: access to these data is available to both registered and non-registered users.
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Under the following licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, appropriate use of these data may fall under any use. This message is intended as guidance, always read the full licence. When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record.
Spatial representation type
grid Grid
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Topic category
  • Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere
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Begin date
1979-07-06T23:00:00
End date
1998-12-31T00:00:00
Unique resource identifier
WGS 84
Distribution format
  • Data are HDF formatted. Movies are MPG formatted. ()

Distributor
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - Data Center Contact
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
OnLine resource
CEDA Data Catalogue Page

Detail and access information for the resource

OnLine resource
DOWNLOAD

Download Data

OnLine resource
PPSM TOVS data documentation

No further details.

Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset

Conformance result

Date (Publication)
2010-12-08
Statement
CD-ROM data produced by the National Snow and Ice Data Centre and published in 2000. Data are stored at the BADC.
File identifier
5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636 XML
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
8-bit variable size UCS Transfer Format, based on ISO/IEC 10646 UTF8
Parent identifier
Polar Pathfinder Sampler (PPSM): Combined Time Series of Atmospheric and Surface Measurements from the AVHRR, SMMR-SSM/I and TOVS Satellites a6ca5bc1b36d1b1a83cba4e4ac4b0bac
Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Date stamp
2025-11-15T03:01:48
Metadata standard name
UK GEMINI
Metadata standard version
2.3
Point of contact
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
 
 

Overviews

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W
thumbnail


Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
atmospheric conditions

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