Retrieval of atmospheric and surface parameters from satellite microwave radiometers over the Mediterranean Sea

A procedure to estimate atmospheric and sea surface parameters in the Mediterranean area from satellite microwave radiometric measurements is described. The method is founded on a simulator of brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere. The simulator is based on microwave sea emissivity and scattering model functions, derived from the outputs of the SEAWIND software, which implements a two-scale microwave sea surface model and a radiative transfer scheme in a nonscattering atmosphere. The development of the model functions aims to reduce the SEAWIND computational time, still maintaining its sensitivity to the main geophysical variables. Different adaptations of the simulation model have been performed to better reproduce the radiometric data in the region of interest. A comparison between the simulations and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) observations acquired throughout year 2000 over the Mediterranean Sea has permitted us to refine the model functions as well as to assess the whole simulation procedure. As for the inversion problem, a regression analysis has been applied to two different synthetic datasets to retrieve integrated precipitable water vapor, liquid water path and wind speed. The first dataset simulates the observations of SSM/I, whilst the second one concerns the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). Both have been generated by using the ECMWF atmospheric profiles and the measurements of the SeaWinds scatterometer aboard QuickSCAT. The SSM/I data have been used to carry out a statistical validation of the estimators. AMSR-E observations of a Tramontane-Mistral event, typical of the Mediterranean Sea, have been analyzed to evaluate the benefits of its expanded channel capability.