Enhancing Atmospheric Boundary Layer Moisture Retrievals by Adding Radiance Measurements Sensitive to Rotational Water Vapor Absorption

Abstract Current geostationary satellite imaging instruments such as the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) show poor skill in resolving low‐level moisture features. Adding radiance information from low‐earth‐orbiting hyperspectral sounders, such as the Cross‐track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), of five online water vapor rotational channels in the infrared (IR) window along with adjacent offline channels move the low‐level temperature and humidity retrievals, derived from ABI data, closer to those possible with a full capability geostationary hyperspectral sounder. These 10 online and offline CrIS channels have differing absorption strengths and weighting functions that suggest sensitivity to moisture changes near the surface between 900 and 700 hPa. This study offers a partial look into the enhanced capability of the next‐generation geostationary satellites with hyperspectral IR sounders onboard, providing detailed vertical profiles of temperature and moisture to benefit a variety of applications like weather monitoring and nowcasting operations.