Comparisons of the Millimeter and Submillimeter Bands for Atmospheric Temperature and Water Vapor Soundings for Clear and Cloudy Skies

Geostationary satellites provide revisiting times that are desirable for nowcasting and observations of severe weather. To overcome the problem of spatial resolution from a geostationary orbit, millimeter to submillimeter wave sounders have been suggested. This study compares the capabilities of various oxygen and water vapor millimeter and submillimeter bands for temperature and water vapor atmospheric profiling at nadir in cloudy situations. It shows the impact of different cloud types on the received signal for the different frequency bands. High frequencies are very sensitive to the cloud ice phase, with potential applications to cirrus characterization.