Table of Contents

ATOVS Level 2 Product Guide

Table of contents

  1. Introduction

  2. Reference Documents
    2.1 EPS programme documents
    2.2 SAF documents
    2.3 Papers, reports and other technical documentation

  3. ATOVS Level 2 Products Configuration History

  4. ATOVS Level 2 Products Overview
    4.1 The ATOVS and AVHRR/3 instrument suite
      4.1.1 Instruments technical description and spectral characteristics
      4.1.2 Scanning characteristics
      4.1.3 Instruments calibration
    4.2 Overview of the ground processing
      4.2.1 Input data vector preparation function
      4.2.2 ATOVS Level 2 retrieval
    4.3 ATOVS Level 2 product characteristics and use
      4.3.1 General characteristics
      4.3.2 Quality information in the products
    4.4 Summary of ATOVS Level 2 product current and potential applications

  5. Data Viewing and Reading

  6. ATOVS Level 2 Product Formats and Dissemination
    6.1 EPS products available dissemination means
      6.1.1 Satellite Direct Broadcast Service
      6.1.2 EUMETCast
      6.1.3 GTS/RMDCN
      6.1.4 UMARF
    6.2 ATOVS Level 2 products dissemination
      6.2.1 Near-real-time dissemination
      6.2.2 Archive retrieval
    6.3 ATOVS EPS native product formats
      6.3.1 The EPS native formats
        6.3.1.1 General overview of the EPS generic product format
        6.3.1.2 Granularity of the EPS products
        6.3.1.3 Product format version control
        6.3.1.4 Product naming convention
      6.3.2 The (Full) ATOVS Level 2 product format
    6.4 The HDF formats
    6.5 The WMO formats

  7. ATOVS Level 2 Product Processing Algorithms
    7.1 ATOVS Level 2 processing details
      7.1.1 Data reception
      7.1.2 Cloud mask
      7.1.3 Retrieval
      7.1.4 Cloud Top Pressure
      7.1.5 Temperature and water vapour
      7.1.6 Water calculation
      7.1.7 Partly cloudy retrieval
      7.1.8 AMSU-A stand-alone
      7.1.9 Quality control

  8. ATOVS Level 2 Products Validation

  9. ATOVS Level 2 Products Routine Monitoring

  10. ATOVS, IASI and AVHRR Processing Chain Inter-dependencies

  11. Record Description of the ATOVS Level 2 Product

Common Appendices

  Appendix A: Summary of all EPS Products

  Appendix B: Metop Operational Orbit
    B.1 Metop orbit basic parameters
    B.2 Metop attitude law
      B.2.1 Metop yaw steering law
    B.3 Metop orbit and attitude propagation
      B.3.1 Orbit propagation
      B.3.2 Metop attitude propagation

  Appendix C: Data Types Used by the Generic EPS Format
    C.1 Basic data types
    C.2 Compound data types

  Appendix D: Format and Contents of the GRH and IPR
    D.1 Generic Record Header
      D.1.1 RECORD_CLASS enumerated values
      D.1.2 INSTRUMENT_GROUP enumerated values
      D.1.3 RECORD_SUBCLASS values
      D.1.4 RECORD_SUBCLASS_VERSION values
      D.1.5 RECORD_SIZE values
      D.1.6 Definitions of RECORD_START_TIME and RECORD_STOP_TIME values
    D.2 Generic Internal Pointer Record

  Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations