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WAM CTC Page

The MTP-derived CTC and IAC images below are the final versions for WAM. They were posted here on 19981017 and 19981106, respectively. Documentation on two earlier versions of the WAM analysis can be found on links given below. A great deal of effort over the past month has gone in to making these results the best possible. The southern flights use the tried-and-true retrieval algorithm which uses simple latitudinal blending of retrievals in transitional regions, in this case, between mid-latitudes and the tropics. The MRI (meridional region index) curve at the bottom of the 19980409, 19980501, 19980504, and 19980511 flights indicated where the blending occurred. The latitude region for blending was determined from analysis of the XS files.

The remaining flights (19980411, 19980506 and 19980507) -- the northern ones -- employed a new retrieval algorithm first implemented on SONEX which uses additional information on the temperature at different altitudes to improve the retrievals. For these flights, the MRI curve does not vary linearly with latitude, but rather with the temperature contrast between 10 and 17 km as derived from the data. In addition, the new analysis incorporates OAT-derived tropopauses where possible from ascents, descents, dips and climbs. In other words, the MP files and CTCs incorporate information that might otherwise have been found in TR files. Hopefully, including this information in the MP files and CTCs will make life easier for users of MTP data.

Finally, I have also included isentrope altitude cross-sections (IACs) in the table. These were derived by converting the temperature field to potential temperature and then determining how the altitude varied for a fixed potential temperature.

Links to Obsolete versions of this Page: CTCs Plotted During WAM Mission and CTCs Plotted in Aug 1998 using New MRI Algorithm

WARNING These images are presented here only as an aid for other scientists to understand their WAM data. It may not be used for any other purpose, or referred to, without written permission from MJ Mahoney of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, go here.

Click on the WAM CTC thumbnail image to examine an enlarged (800x600) PNG image. The enlarged PNG images are about 30 kb in size.

CTC Thumbnail	IAC Thumbnail	Date	Comments
		980409	PALMS cold soak; 6 hr flight South
		980411	First Science Flight, North to Montana Severe CAT encountered at FL580 Caused by warm arctic air from a large polar vortex filament
		980501	Second Science Flight
		980504	Third Science Flight South to 9.5N latitude
		980506	Fourth Science Flight MTP used to track trop during outbound leg
		980507	Fifth Science Flight Flew toward ENE (35N, 72W)
		980511	Sixth Science Flight Fly South along 95W below trop and return above