Free Tropospheric Humidity from METEOSAT - 3-hourly / Monthly Means

Abstract:
The CM SAF Free Tropospheric Humidity (FTH) data set from Meteosat-2 to Meteosat-5 and Meteosat-7 to Meteosat-9 provides the mean relative humidity over a deep layer of the troposphere within ±45° longitude and ±45° latitude. The retrieval was developed at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and - after transfer to CM SAF - CM SAF and CNRS jointly extended the time series into the SEVIRI era. The product is defined under clear sky and low level cloud conditions and is available at 3-hourly temporal resolution and as monthly averages (straightforward averages over all valid observations) on a regular latitude/longitude grid with a spatial resolution of 0.625° × 0.625°. The temporal coverage of the data sets ranges from July 1983 to December 2009. The Meteosat-6 period, March 1997-May 1998, is not covered. The FTH layer position and thickness depends on atmospheric condition, in particular water vapour content in the free troposphere. The clear sky radiance is provided as auxiliary information layer. Products covered by this are: Free Tropospheric Humidity. This is a Thematic Climate Data Record (TCDR). The assigned DOI for this dataset is: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/FTH_METEOSAT/V001