Water Vapor Products
Pentad (5-day) mean water vapor products from SSM/I and AMSU-B provide information on water vapor at 3 levels in the atmosphere. Integrated water vapor estimates from SSM/I are primarily sensitive to low levels due to the exponential decrease of water vapor with height. These estimates are only available over the ocean because variability in surface emissivity over land overwhelms the water vapor signal. Brightness temperature maps from the AMSU-B moisture sounder are also shown for the mid-tropospheric channel (183 +/-7 GHz, ~700mb) and the upper-tropospheric channel (183+/-1 GHz, ~400mb). Warm temperatures correspond to dry regions since the weighting function is centered at lower levels for dryer conditions. Surface effects are evident in the mid-tropospheric channel at higher latitudes for very dry conditions.
Pentad (5-day) Averages
| View the Latest Image | Data Source/Algorithm Description | Image Archive |
|---|---|---|
 Integrated Water Vapor | from SSM/I (Schluessel Algorithm) | 6/92 - Present |
 Upper-Tropospheric TBs | NOAA-15 AMSU-B (183+/-1 Channel 3) | 5/02 - Present |
 Upper-Tropospheric TBs | NOAA-16 AMSU-B (183+/-1 Channel 3) | 5/02 - Present |
 Mid-Tropospheric TBs | NOAA-15 AMSU-B (183+/-7 Channel 5) | 5/02 - Present |
 Mid-Tropospheric TBs | NOAA-16 AMSU-B (183+/-7 Channel 5) | 5/02 - Present |