SGP/VCEIL/C1 - poor signal

When parameters were changed (set noise_h2_compensation to "ON" and units to "METERS") to 
correct a low amplitude problem, the backscatter plots began displaying horizontal 
stripes indicating detector "ringing". However, the cloud base heights are not affected. The 
problem was corrected when the instrument was replaced.

• Detection status. See details(detection_status)
• Aerosol backscatter coefficient at 355 nm(backscatter)

SGP/MWR/C1 - REPROCESS - Revised Retrieval Coefficients

IN THE BEGINNING (June 1992), the retrieval coefficients used to derive the precipitable 
water vapor (PWV) and liquid water path (LWP) from the MWR brightness temperatures were 
based on the Liebe and Layton (1987) water vapor and oxygen absorption model and the Grant 
(1957) liquid water absorption model.  

Following the SHEBA experience, revised retrievals based on the more recent Rosenkranz 
(1998) water vapor and oxygen absorption models and the Liebe (1991) liquid waer absorption 
model were developed.  The Rosenkranz water vapor absorption model resulted a 2 percent 
increase in PWV relative to the earlier Liebe and Layton model.  The Liebe liquid water 
absorption model decreased the LWP by 10% relative to the Grant model.  However, the 
increased oxygen absorption caused a 0.02-0.03 mm (20-30 g/m2) reduction in LWP, which was 
particularly significant for low LWP conditions (i.e. thin clouds encountered at SHEBA).

Recently, it has been shown (Liljegren, Boukabara, Cady-Pereira, and Clough, TGARS v. 43, 
pp 1102-1108, 2005) that the half-width of the 22 GHz water vapor line from the HITRAN 
compilation, which is 5 percent smaller than the Liebe and Dillon (1969) half-width used in 
Rosenkranz (1998), provided a better fit to the microwave brightness temperature 
measurements at 5 frequencies in the range 22-30 GHz, and yielded more accurate retrievals.  
Accordingly, revised MWR retrieval coefficients have been developed using MONORTM, which 
utilizes the HITRAN compilation for its spectroscopic parameters.  These new retrievals 
provide 3 percent less PWV and 2.6 percent greater LWP than the previous retrievals based on 
Rosenkranz (1998).

Although the MWR data will be reprocessed to apply the new monortm-based retrievals, for 
most purposes it will be sufficient to correct the data using the following factors:

PWV_MONORTM = 0.9695 * PWV_ROSENKRANZ
LWP_MONORTM = 1.026  * LWP_ROSENKRANZ

The Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients became active as follows (BCR 456):
SGP/C1 (Lamont)     4/16/2002, 2000
SGP/B1 (Hillsboro)  4/12/2002, 1600
SGP/B4 (Vici)       4/15/2002, 2300
SGP/B5 (Morris)     4/15/2002, 2300
SGP/B6 (Purcell)    4/16/2002, 2200
SGP/E14(Lamont)     4/16/2002, 0000
NSA/C1 (Barrow)     4/25/2002, 1900 
NSA/C2 (Atqasuk)    4/18/2002, 1700
TWP/C1 (Manus)      5/04/2002, 0200
TWP/C2 (Nauru)      4/27/2002, 0600
TWP/C3 (Darwin)     inception

The MONORTM-based retrieval coefficients became active as follows (BCR 984):

SGP/C1 (Lamont)     6/28/2005, 2300
SGP/B1 (Hillsboro)  6/24/2005, 2100
SGP/B4 (Vici)       6/24/2005, 2100
SGP/B5 (Morris)     6/24/2005, 2100
SGP/B6 (Purcell)    6/24/2005, 1942
SGP/E14(Lamont)     6/28/2005, 2300
NSA/C1 (Barrow)     6/29/2005, 0000 
NSA/C2 (Atqasuk)    6/29/2005, 0000
TWP/C1 (Manus)      6/30/2005, 2100
TWP/C2 (Nauru)      6/30/2005, 2100
TWP/C3 (Darwin)     6/30/2005, 2100
PYE/M1 (Pt. Reyes)  4/08/2005, 1900**

** At Pt. Reyes, the original retrieval coefficients implemented in March 2005 were based 
on a version of the Rosenkranz model that had been modified to use the HITRAN half-width 
at 22 GHz and to be consistent with the water vapor continuum in MONORTM.  These 
retrievals yield nearly identical results to the MONORTM retrievals.  Therefore the Pt. Reyes 
data prior to 4/08/2005 may not require reprocessing.

• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

• Ensemble average for MWR vapor in window centered about balloon release(mean_vap_mwr)
• Ensemble average for MWR liquid in window centered about balloon release(mean_liq_mwr)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

SGP/MWR/B1 - Reprocess: Revised Retrieval Coefficients

IN THE BEGINNING (June 1992), the retrieval coefficients used to derive the precipitable 
water vapor (PWV) and liquid water path (LWP) from the MWR brightness temperatures were 
based on the Liebe and Layton (1987) water vapor and oxygen absorption model and the Grant 
(1957) liquid water absorption model.

Following the SHEBA experience, revised retrievals based on the more recent Rosenkranz 
(1998) water vapor and oxygen absorption models and the Liebe (1991) liquid waer absorption 
model were developed.  The Rosenkranz water vapor absorption model resulted a 2 percent 
increase in PWV relative to the earlier Liebe and Layton model.  The Liebe liquid water 
absorption model decreased the LWP by 10% relative to the Grant model.  However, the 
increased oxygen absorption caused a 0.02-0.03 mm (20-30 g/m2) reduction in LWP, which was 
particularly significant for low LWP conditions (i.e. thin clouds encountered at SHEBA).

Recently, it has been shown (Liljegren, Boukabara, Cady-Pereira, and Clough, TGARS v. 43, 
pp 1102-1108, 2005) that the half-width of the 22 GHz water vapor line from the HITRAN 
compilation, which is 5 percent smaller than the Liebe and Dillon (1969) half-width used in 
Rosenkranz (1998), provided a better fit to the microwave brightness temperature 
measurements at 5 frequencies in the range 22-30 GHz, and yielded more accurate retrievals. 
Accordingly, revised MWR retrieval coefficients have been developed using MONORTM, which 
utilizes the HITRAN compilation for its spectroscopic parameters.  These new retrievals 
provide 3 percent less PWV and 2.6 percent greater LWP than the previous retrievals based on 
Rosenkranz (1998).

Although the MWR data will be reprocessed to apply the new monortm-based retrievals, for 
most purposes it will be sufficient to correct the data using the following factors:

PWV_MONORTM = 0.9695 * PWV_ROSENKRANZ
LWP_MONORTM = 1.026  * LWP_ROSENKRANZ

The Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.B1 20020412.1600.  The 
MONORTM-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.B1 20050624.2100.

Note: a reprocessing effort is already underway to apply the Rosenkranz-based retrieval 
coefficients to all MWR prior to April 2002.  An additional reprocessing task will be 
undertaken to apply the MONORTM retrieval to all MWR data when the first is completed.  Read 
reprocessing comments in the netcdf file header carefully to ensure you are aware which 
retrieval is in play.

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)

• Ensemble average for MWR liquid in window centered about balloon release(mean_liq_mwr)
• Ensemble average for MWR vapor in window centered about balloon release(mean_vap_mwr)

SGP/MWR/B4 - Reprocess: Revised Retrieval Coefficients

IN THE BEGINNING (June 1992), the retrieval coefficients used to derive the precipitable 
water vapor (PWV) and liquid water path (LWP) from the MWR brightness temperatures were 
based on the Liebe and Layton (1987) water vapor and oxygen absorption model and the Grant 
(1957) liquid water absorption model.

Following the SHEBA experience, revised retrievals based on the more recent Rosenkranz 
(1998) water vapor and oxygen absorption models and the Liebe (1991) liquid waer absorption 
model were developed.  The Rosenkranz water vapor absorption model resulted a 2 percent 
increase in PWV relative to the earlier Liebe and Layton model.  The Liebe liquid water 
absorption model decreased the LWP by 10% relative to the Grant model.  However, the 
increased oxygen absorption caused a 0.02-0.03 mm (20-30 g/m2) reduction in LWP, which was 
particularly significant for low LWP conditions (i.e. thin clouds encountered at SHEBA).

Recently, it has been shown (Liljegren, Boukabara, Cady-Pereira, and Clough, TGARS v. 43, 
pp 1102-1108, 2005) that the half-width of the 22 GHz water vapor line from the HITRAN 
compilation, which is 5 percent smaller than the Liebe and Dillon (1969) half-width used in 
Rosenkranz (1998), provided a better fit to the microwave brightness temperature 
measurements at 5 frequencies in the range 22-30 GHz, and yielded more accurate retrievals. 
Accordingly, revised MWR retrieval coefficients have been developed using MONORTM, which 
utilizes the HITRAN compilation for its spectroscopic parameters.  These new retrievals 
provide 3 percent less PWV and 2.6 percent greater LWP than the previous retrievals based on 
Rosenkranz (1998).

Although the MWR data will be reprocessed to apply the new monortm-based retrievals, for 
most purposes it will be sufficient to correct the data using the following factors:

PWV_MONORTM = 0.9695 * PWV_ROSENKRANZ
LWP_MONORTM = 1.026  * LWP_ROSENKRANZ

The Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.B4 20020415.2300.  The 
MONORTM-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.B4 20050624.2100.

Note: a reprocessing effort is already underway to apply the Rosenkranz-based retrieval 
coefficients to all MWR prior to April 2002.  An additional reprocessing task will be 
undertaken to apply the MONORTM retrieval to all MWR data when the first is completed. Read 
reprocessing comments in the netcdf file header carefully to ensure you are aware which 
retrieval is in play.

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)

• Ensemble average for MWR vapor in window centered about balloon release(mean_vap_mwr)
• Ensemble average for MWR liquid in window centered about balloon release(mean_liq_mwr)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

SGP/MWR/B5 - Reprocess: Revised Retrieval Coefficients

IN THE BEGINNING (June 1992), the retrieval coefficients used to derive 
the precipitable water vapor (PWV) and liquid water path (LWP) from the 
MWR brightness temperatures were based on the Liebe and Layton (1987) 
water vapor and oxygen absorption model and the Grant (1957) liquid 
water absorption model.

Following the SHEBA experience, revised retrievals based on the more 
recent Rosenkranz (1998) water vapor and oxygen absorption models and 
the Liebe (1991) liquid waer absorption model were developed.  The 
Rosenkranz water vapor absorption model resulted a 2 percent increase 
in PWV relative to the earlier Liebe and Layton model.  The Liebe 
liquid water absorption model decreased the LWP by 10% relative to the 
Grant model.  However, the increased oxygen absorption caused a 
0.02-0.03 mm (20-30 g/m2) reduction in LWP, which was particularly 
significant for low LWP conditions (i.e. thin clouds encountered at 
SHEBA).

Recently, it has been shown (Liljegren, Boukabara, Cady-Pereira, and 
Clough, TGARS v. 43, pp 1102-1108, 2005) that the half-width of the 
22 GHz water vapor line from the HITRAN compilation, which is 5 percent 
smaller than the Liebe and Dillon (1969) half-width used in Rosenkranz 
(1998), provided a better fit to the microwave brightness temperature 
measurements at 5 frequencies in the range 22-30 GHz, and yielded more 
accurate retrievals. Accordingly, revised MWR retrieval coefficients 
have been developed using MONORTM, which utilizes the HITRAN compilation 
for its spectroscopic parameters.  These new retrievals provide 3 
percent less PWV and 2.6 percent greater LWP than the previous 
retrievals based on Rosenkranz (1998).

Although the MWR data will be reprocessed to apply the new monortm-based 
retrievals, for most purposes it will be sufficient to correct the data 
using the following factors:

PWV_MONORTM = 0.9695 * PWV_ROSENKRANZ
LWP_MONORTM = 1.026  * LWP_ROSENKRANZ

The Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.B5 
20020415.2300.  The MONORTM-based retrieval coefficients became active 
at SGP.B5 20050624.2100.

Note: a reprocessing effort is already underway to apply the 
Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients to all MWR prior to April 
2002.  An additional reprocessing task will be undertaken to apply 
the MONORTM retrieval to all MWR data when the first is completed. 
Read reprocessing comments in the netcdf file header carefully to 
ensure you are aware which retrieval is in play.

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)

• Ensemble average for MWR vapor in window centered about balloon release(mean_vap_mwr)
• Ensemble average for MWR liquid in window centered about balloon release(mean_liq_mwr)

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

SGP/MWR/E14 - Reprocess: Revised Retrieval Coefficients

IN THE BEGINNING (June 1992), the retrieval coefficients used to derive 
the precipitable water vapor (PWV) and liquid water path (LWP) from the 
MWR brightness temperatures were based on the Liebe and Layton (1987) 
water vapor and oxygen absorption model and the Grant (1957) liquid 
water absorption model.

Following the SHEBA experience, revised retrievals based on the more 
recent Rosenkranz (1998) water vapor and oxygen absorption models and 
the Liebe (1991) liquid waer absorption model were developed.  The 
Rosenkranz water vapor absorption model resulted a 2 percent increase 
in PWV relative to the earlier Liebe and Layton model.  The Liebe 
liquid water absorption model decreased the LWP by 10% relative to the 
Grant model.  However, the increased oxygen absorption caused a 
0.02-0.03 mm (20-30 g/m2) reduction in LWP, which was particularly 
significant for low LWP conditions (i.e. thin clouds encountered at 
SHEBA).

Recently, it has been shown (Liljegren, Boukabara, Cady-Pereira, and 
Clough, TGARS v. 43, pp 1102-1108, 2005) that the half-width of the 
22 GHz water vapor line from the HITRAN compilation, which is 5 percent 
smaller than the Liebe and Dillon (1969) half-width used in Rosenkranz 
(1998), provided a better fit to the microwave brightness temperature 
measurements at 5 frequencies in the range 22-30 GHz, and yielded more 
accurate retrievals. Accordingly, revised MWR retrieval coefficients 
have been developed using MONORTM, which utilizes the HITRAN compilation 
for its spectroscopic parameters.  These new retrievals provide 3 
percent less PWV and 2.6 percent greater LWP than the previous 
retrievals based on Rosenkranz (1998).

Although the MWR data will be reprocessed to apply the new monortm-based 
retrievals, for most purposes it will be sufficient to correct the data 
using the following factors:

PWV_MONORTM = 0.9695 * PWV_ROSENKRANZ
LWP_MONORTM = 1.026  * LWP_ROSENKRANZ

The Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients became active at SGP.E14 
20020416.0000.  The MONORTM-based retrieval coefficients became active 
at SGP.E14 20050628.2300.

Note: a reprocessing effort is already underway to apply the 
Rosenkranz-based retrieval coefficients to all MWR prior to April 
2002.  An additional reprocessing task will be undertaken to apply 
the MONORTM retrieval to all MWR data when the first is completed. 
Read reprocessing comments in the netcdf file header carefully to 
ensure you are aware which retrieval is in play.

• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)

• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)

• Ensemble average for MWR vapor in window centered about balloon release(mean_vap_mwr)
• Ensemble average for MWR liquid in window centered about balloon release(mean_liq_mwr)

SGP/MWR/B1 - New software version (4.15) installed

A problem began with the installation of MWR.EXE version 4.12 in July 2002. The software 
had been upgraded from a "DOS" to a "Windows"-compiled program to address an earlier 
problem.  The software upgrade corrected the earlier problem but introduced a new one that 
caused line-of-sight observing cycles to be skipped, a 15% reduction in the number of tip 
curves, and saturation of CPU usage. Software versions 4.13 and 4.14 also produced these 
problems.

The new MWR software, version 4.15, was installed on 9/13/2005 at 21:25. As a consequence 
of this upgrade, the tip curve frequency increased. The tip cycle time decreased from 
~60s to ~50s.

• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(tipsky23)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz derived from this tip(tnd23I)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz derived from this tip(tnd31I)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• 31.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip31)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip23)
• (tknd)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• 23.8 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(tipsky31)
• 31.4 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r31)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)

• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• Sky Infra-Red Temperature(sky_ir_temp)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• IR Brightness Temperature(ir_temp)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(sky23)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(sky31)
• (tknd)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• Mean 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky23)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Mean 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky31)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)

SGP/MWR/B4 - New software version (4.15) installed

A problem began with the installation of MWR.EXE version 4.12 in July 2002. The software 
had been upgraded from a "DOS" to a "Windows"-compiled program to address an earlier 
problem.  The software upgrade corrected the earlier problem but introduced a new one that 
caused line-of-sight observing cycles to be skipped, a 15% reduction in the number of tip 
curves, and saturation of CPU usage. Software versions 4.13 and 4.14 also produced these 
problems.

The new MWR software, version 4.15, was installed on 9/13/2005. As a consequence of this 
upgrade, the tip curve frequency increased. The tip cycle time decreased from ~60s to ~50s.

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• Sky Infra-Red Temperature(sky_ir_temp)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• (tknd)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(sky23)
• Mean 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky23)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• IR Brightness Temperature(ir_temp)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(sky31)
• Mean 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky31)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)

• 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip23)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• (tknd)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(tipsky23)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• 31.4 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r31)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(tipsky31)
• 23.8 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r23)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz derived from this tip(tnd23I)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz derived from this tip(tnd31I)
• 31.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)

SGP/MWR/B5 - New software version (4.15) installed

A problem began with the installation of MWR.EXE version 4.12 in July 2002. The software 
had been upgraded from a "DOS" to a "Windows"-compiled program to address an earlier 
problem.  The software upgrade corrected the earlier problem but introduced a new one that 
caused line-of-sight observing cycles to be skipped, a 15% reduction in the number of tip 
curves, and saturation of CPU usage. Software versions 4.13 and 4.14 also produced these 
problems.

The new MWR software, version 4.15, was installed on 9/13/2005. As a consequence of this 
upgrade, the tip curve frequency increased. The tip cycle time decreased from ~60s to ~50s.

• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(tipsky31)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• (tknd)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 31.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip31)
• 31.4 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r31)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz derived from this tip(tnd31I)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz derived from this tip(tnd23I)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip23)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(tipsky23)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• 23.8 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r23)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)

• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(sky23)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• (tknd)
• IR Brightness Temperature(ir_temp)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Mean 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky31)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(sky31)
• Mean 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky23)
• Sky Infra-Red Temperature(sky_ir_temp)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)

SGP/VCEIL/B5 - Backscatter noise affects cloud detection

Performance of the instrument degraded resulting in very noisy backscatter data to the 
extent that cloud detection was severely impacted beyond approximately 3 km (day and night).

• Second lowest cloud base height(second_cbh)
• Third cloud base height(third_cbh)
• Vertical visibility(vertical_visibility)
• Aerosol backscatter coefficient at 355 nm(backscatter)
• Altitude of highest signal(alt_highest_signal)
• Lowest cloud base height detected.(first_cbh)

SGP/MWR/E14 - New software version (4.15) installed

A problem began with the installation of MWR.EXE version 4.12 in May 2002. The software 
had been upgraded from a "DOS" to a "Windows"-compiled program to address an earlier 
problem.  The software upgrade corrected the earlier problem but introduced a new one that 
caused line-of-sight observing cycles to be skipped, a 15% reduction in the number of tip 
curves, and saturation of CPU usage. Software versions 4.13 and 4.14 also produced these 
problems.

The new MWR software, version 4.15, was installed on 8/1/2005. As a consequence of this 
upgrade, the tip curve frequency increased. The tip cycle time decreased from ~60s to ~50s.

• 23.8 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r23)
• (tknd)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(tipsky31)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz derived from this tip(tnd31I)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz derived from this tip(tnd23I)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• 31.4 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r31)
• 31.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip31)
• 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbskytip23)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(tipsky23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)

• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• Mean 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky23)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Mean 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• Sky Infra-Red Temperature(sky_ir_temp)
• (tknd)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(sky23)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(sky31)

SGP/MWR/C1 - New software version (4.15) installed

A problem began with the installation of MWR.EXE version 4.12 in July 2002. The software 
had been upgraded from a "DOS" to a "Windows"-compiled program to address an earlier 
problem.  The software upgrade corrected the earlier problem but introduced a new one that 
caused line-of-sight observing cycles to be skipped, a 15% reduction in the number of tip 
curves, and saturation of CPU usage. Software versions 4.13 and 4.14 also produced these 
problems.

The new MWR software, version 4.15, was installed on 08/04/2005. As a consequence of this 
upgrade, the tip curve frequency increased. The tip cycle time decreased from ~60s to 
~50s.

• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz derived from this tip(tnd23I)
• (tknd)
• 31.4 GHz sky signal(tipsky31)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz derived from this tip(tnd31I)
• Total liquid water along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(liqtip)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(tipsky23)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)
• Total water vapor along zenith path using tip-derived brightness temperatures(vaptip)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbsky31tip)
• 31.4 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r31)
• 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature derived from tip curve(tbsky23tip)
• 23.8 GHz goodness-of-fit coefficient(r23)

• 31.4 GHz sky signal(sky31)
• (tknd)
• 31.4 GHz blac2body+noise injection signal(bbn31)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 31.4 GHz(tnd_nom31)
• Noise injection temp at 23.8 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd23)
• 23.8 GHz sky signal(sky23)
• Mean 31.4 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky31)
• 23.8 GHz blackbody+noise injection signal(bbn23)
• Noise injection temp at 31.4 GHz adjusted to tkbb(tnd31)
• Averaged total liquid water along LOS path(liq)
• Noise injection temp at nominal temperature at 23.8 GHz(tnd_nom23)
• 31.4 GHz blackbody(bb31)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 31.4 GHz(tc31)
• Blackbody kinetic temperature(tkbb)
• Sky Infra-Red Temperature(sky_ir_temp)
• MWR column precipitable water vapor(vap)
• Ambient temperature(tkair)
• 23.8 GHz Blackbody signal(bb23)
• Mean 23.8 GHz sky brightness temperature(tbsky23)
• Mixer kinetic (physical) temperature(tkxc)
• Temperature correction coefficient at 23.8 GHz(tc23)