Polar Pathfinder Sampler (PPSM): TOVS Polar Pathfinder gridded daily and monthly Arctic atmospheric soundings (1979-1998)

Derived from the global TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data set, the TOVS Polar Pathfinder provides users with gridded daily and monthly arctic atmospheric soundings. Since 1979, TOVS has been a vital tool for weather forecasting, supplying users with information on the vertical distribution of temperature and moisture in the global atmosphere. TOVS has been particularly useful in providing atmospheric soundings over regions where in situ measurements are sparse.

TOVS Polar Pathfinder data were obtained using a modified version of the Improved Initialization Inversion Algorithm to identify geophysical parameters in snow- and ice-covered areas. The data set has been designed to address the particular needs of the polar research community, and includes quantities used to compute surface turbulent fluxes and drive ocean models.

Variables retrieved from satellite observed radiances for this product include atmospheric temperature profiles, water vapor, surface (skin) temperature, total effective cloud fraction, cloud top pressure, cloud top temperature, turning angle between geostrophic wind and surface stress over ice, emissivity, boundary layer stratification and geostrophic drag coefficient.

TOVS data coverage spans July 7, 1979 through December 31, 1996 at a resolution of 100 km. Sample products for four selected dates in 1988 are included on this CD-ROM.

Date (Publication): 2007-02-06T02:47:12

Date (Creation): 2007-02-06T02:47:12

Citation identifier: https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636

Citation identifier: NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) / 5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
National Snow and Ice Data Centre		unknown	Author
Unavailable	Francis, J.	Unavailable	Author
Unavailable	Schweiger, A.	Unavailable	Author
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	Custodian
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	Distributor
Unavailable	Khalsa, Siri Jodha Singh	Unavailable	Principal investigator
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	pointofContact
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	Publisher

Maintenance and update frequency: Not planned

Update scope: Dataset

Keywords

CLOUDS
ATMOSPHERE
SEAICE
CRYOSPHERE
ATMOSPHERICWATERVAPOR
ATMOSPHERICWINDS
SNOW
ATMOSPHERICTEMPERATURE
ATMOSPHERICRADIATION
ENGINEERING
SPECTRAL

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

atmospheric conditions

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: Public data: access to these data is available to both registered and non-registered users.

Use constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: Under the following licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, appropriate use of these data may fall under any use. This message is intended as guidance, always read the full licence. When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record.

Spatial representation type: Grid

Language: English

Topic category

Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere

Begin date: 1979-07-06T23:00:00

End date: 1998-12-31T00:00:00

Unique resource identifier: WGS 84

Distribution format

Name	Version
Data are HDF formatted. Movies are MPG formatted.

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	Distributor

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636	CEDA Data Catalogue Page

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://data.ceda.ac.uk/badc/CDs/ppsm/TOVS	DOWNLOAD

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://data.ceda.ac.uk/badc/CDs/ppsm/TOVS/doc.htm	PPSM TOVS data documentation

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Conformance result

Title: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Statement: CD-ROM data produced by the National Snow and Ice Data Centre and published in 2000. Data are stored at the BADC.

Metadata

File identifier: 5be973861dfc6055f64129577cf1f636 XML

Metadata language: English

Character set: UTF8

Parent identifier: Polar Pathfinder Sampler (PPSM): Combined Time Series of Atmospheric and Surface Measurements from the AVHRR, SMMR-SSM/I and TOVS Satellites
a6ca5bc1b36d1b1a83cba4e4ac4b0bac

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Date stamp: 2026-02-09T03:01:56

Metadata standard name: UK GEMINI

Metadata standard version: 2.3

Metadata author

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)		badc@rl.ac.uk	Point of contact

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