The SSMI is a tremendous new sensor that will change the way
forecasters do their job in the next decade. Already, data from the SSMI EDRs
are being used in the analysis fields of NWP models with NOAA and the US
Navy. SSMI is being used to track tropical cyclones in remote , data sparse
areas. The future is bright for this sensor. In the future, work will be needed to
improve the accuracy of the EDRs that already exist, in addition to new
algorithms for new EDRs being tested in the research community. However,
one area of growing concern is the utilization of algorithms derived by linear
regression. These methods are simply lacking the ability to determine true
environmental conditions on a global scale. There is a need for better algorithms
based on radiative physics, the true 'nuts and bolts' of the sensor in the first
place.
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SSMI Training Page