Effects of Microwave Desert Surface Emissivity on AMSU-A Data Assimilation

A microwave land emissivity library has been developed from the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) data for improving satellite data assimilation. Over the desert, surface emissivity is classified according to soil type into several spectra. For sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam, which contain some large mineral particles, the emissivity spectra generally decrease with frequency. For other desert types whose compositions are dominated by mineral particles smaller than a few hundred micrometers, the emissivity values are almost constant or slightly increasing with frequency. These emissivity features are consistent with those from the land emissivity data set developed at Météo-France. Moreover, both the emissivity library and the Météo-France data set are applied to the assimilation of the AMSU-A data in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System (GFS). In comparison with the microwave land emissivity model previously developed by Weng , both the emissivity library and the Météo-France data set improve the utilization of the AMSU-A data in the GFS. The increased use of the AMSU-A data through the emissivity library or the data set results in positive impacts on the global medium-range forecasts over either the Southern or Northern Hemispheres.