Objective Major programmes issued by the international community (inparticular GEWEX - Global Energy and Water EXperiment) haveaddressed fundamental deficiencies in the present understandingof moist atmospheric processes and the role of the water budgetin meteorology and climatology. In particular, the lack of acomprehensive and accurate global moisture data set is hamperingessential studies in atmospheric and climate sciences. Theproject aims to produce such a dataset.Methods to infer atmospheric water vapour or liquid water includespaceborne remote sensors, upper-air sondes, surface and airbornein-situ sensors. Each of these have strengths and weaknessesmainly related to the accuracy, the vertical and spatialresolutions, the spatial and temporal coverage.Although the present capabilities are limited in some importantrespects, it is now well recognized that the value of an even notperfect distribution of the global description of the watervapour is extremely high at this time.We propose to take full advantage of the above mentioned methodsto derive a climatology of the global distribution of the watervapour/liquid using a combination of satellite observations(TOVS- HIRS and MSU, SSM-I, AVHRR) and other determinations(radiosondes, analyses, and ground-based lidar).This climatology will span over a two year period and will becomplemented by simultaneously retrieved atmospheric and surfaceparameters: air mass type, cloud and rain detection, temperatureprofiles, cloud parameters, surface temperature andcharacteristics - sea ice, snow -.The complementarity of TOVS and SSM-I will make this analysis ascomplete as possible (ocean, land, sea-ice).The spatial/temporal resolution of the output products will be acompromise between the resolutions of the various componentsentering the water monitoring of this study: TOVS, SSM-I andAVHRR retrievals, radiosondes measurements, analyses products,etc.Furthermore we intend to assess the accuracy of the derivedproducts from measurement intercomparisons. Such intercomparisonexperiments will aim at developing a full quantitativecharacterization of each of the various sensing/measuringsystems. This cross- checking between the accuracies may lead toupdatings and improvements of the presently available algorithms:this is also part of our proposal.The coming microwave sounders (AMSU-A and B) and the highspectral resolution infrared sounders (IASI/CNES-ASI/ESA,AIRS/EOS/NASA) should provide enhanced vertical resolution. Wepropose to analyze the requirements for the definition of newalgorithms capable of matching the expected performances fromthese new sensors. Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorologyengineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technologyengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatology Programme(s) FP3-ENV 1C - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the environment, 1990-1994 Topic(s) 0102 - Anthropogenic climate change Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE EU contribution No data Address Ecole Polytechnique 91128 PALAISEAU France See on map Total cost No data Participants (3) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Italy EU contribution No data Address Contrada S. Loya 85050 Tito Scalo Potenza See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG Germany EU contribution No data Address Bundesstrasse 55 20146 HAMBURG See on map Total cost No data UTRECHT UNIVERSITY Netherlands EU contribution No data Address 5,Princetonplein 5 3584 CC UTRECHT See on map Total cost No data