Description of the upgrade
A number of modifications were made, mostly concerning the use of satellite data:
1. a revision of the use of TOVS radiances including the simplification and improvement of bias corrections. SATEM retrievals were replaced by the use of radiances above 100 hPa while H1RS12 were introduced both over sea and land;
2. some quality control modifications with most impact on the way ERS-2 wind retrievals are handled.
Revisions were also made to the ocean albedo and to the momentum transport representation in the convection scheme. A correction was applied to computations of saturation vapour pressure with effect mainly in very cold conditions.
Resources
ECMWF Newsletter: Please see "Influence of observations on the operational ECMWF system" in ECMWF Newsletter No. 76