Construction of Temperature Climate Data Records in the Upper
Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere Using Multiple RO Missions from 2006
to 2023 at NESDIS/STAR
Abstract
We develop a new gridded monthly mean climatology (MMC) in the upper
troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) from 2006 to 2023 using the
dry temperature profiles from multiple Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) Radio Occultation (RO) missions processed by the GNSS RO
Science and Data Center (SDC) at the NOAA Center for Satellite
Applications and Research (STAR). The multiple RO missions include
Formosa Satellite Mission 3/Constellation Observing System for
Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-1), Formosa Satellite
Mission 7/ COSMIC-2, SPIRE, and Meteorological Operational satellite
(MetOp)-A, -B, -C. The sampling error in MMC is corrected by using ERA-5
reanalysis. The robustness of the sampling error correction method is
validated through three different reanalysis models. The result shows
that the mission difference in MMC is significantly reduced after
sampling error correction, and the uncertainty caused by using different
models in the correction method can be neglected. This STAR MMC is then
compared with the ROM SAF MMC and the MMC derived from ERA-5, MERRA-2,
and JRA-55 reanalyses, exhibiting good agreement. Various climate
signals, such as Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and El Niño–Southern
Oscillation (ENSO), can be identified from STAR MMC. The global
temperature trends present a transition from a prominent warming of
0.309 ± 0.085 K/Decade in the upper troposphere to a robust cooling of
-0.281 ± 0.044 K/Decade in the mid-stratosphere, consistent with the
well-known response of the UTLS region to long-term global warming.
These results demonstrate that STAR MMC can capture climate signals and
monitor long-term climate change.