Dear Karl,
Thanks for the message...based on my reading of the current CF variables
which include the surface temperature in their name, I believe that the
"land_surface_skin_temperature" name is needed.
The following standard names correspond to the temperature of the sea
surface medium itself at varying depths below the surface (where surface
is the interface between the sea and atmosphere):
sea_surface_skin_temperature, sea_surface_skin_temperature, and
sea_surface_temperature. The standard name "surface_temperature"
corresponds to the temperature at the interface between the atmosphere
and medium below (either land, open sea, or snow), and is not the
temperature of the actual medium above or below the surface. The GOES-R
product that is motivating this proposal is not the temperature at the
atmosphere/land interface (e.g. it does not correspond to the
"surface_temperature") but instead the actual temperature of the land
surface. In its case, it is the temperature of the thin, top layer of
land, or skin. So, it is analogous to the
"sea_surface_skin_temperature" definition.
If my interpretation of all of the surface temperature names is correct,
then there may need to be a modification to the current definition of
"sea_surface_temperature." In particular, this definition states "It is
the temperature of sea water near the surface (including the part under
sea-ice, if any), and not the skin temperature, whose standard name is
surface_temperature." However, it seems to me that the
"surface_temperature" is the atmosphere/medium interface temperature,
and not the temperature of the medium below the interface (e.g. the skin
temperature). So, I'm wondering if the above sentence in quotes
incorrectly refers to the "surface_temperature" when perhaps it should
refer to the "sea_surface_skin_temperature"?
Sincerely,
Jonathan Wrotny
On 6/6/2013 12:15 PM, Karl Taylor wrote:
Dear Jonathan W.
If I recall correctly, surface_temperature means "sea surface
temperature" over the ocean and "skin" temperature over land. In
models I think it is the temperature used in radiation calculations
(emissivity*sigma* surf. temp**4). How would
"land_surface_skin_temperature" differ from land
"surface_temperature"? (note that there is also a standard name for
"surface_air_temperature" which is the air temperature typically 2 m
above the surface.)
Karl
On 6/6/13 8:25 AM, Jonathan Wrotny wrote:
Dear CF board:
I would like to propose the following standard name:
Standard Name: land_surface_skin_temperature
Definition:The surface called "surface" means the lower boundary of
the atmosphere. The land surface skin temperature is the temperature
measured by an infrared radiometer, but measurements from microwave
radiometers operating at GHz wavelengths also exist. It represents
the aggregate temperature of the skin surface where "skin" means the
surface medium viewed by a sensor to a vertical depth of
approximately 12 micrometers. Measurements of this quantity are
subject to a large potential diurnal cycle which is primarily due to
the balance between heating during the day by solar radiation and
continual cooling from terrestrial (long-wave) radiation emitted by
the skin surface.
Canonical Units:K
NOTE: I modeled this new name & definition from the name/definition
for the current CF name "sea_surface_skin_temperature" in order to
create some consistency between the two names & definitions.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Wrotny
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