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Introduction

The daily global stratospheric analyses of the Climate Prediction Center, NCEP (formerly NMC) have used temperature data from NOAA operational polar orbiting satellites. Stratospheric Sounding Unit (SSU) data since 1979 have been the major source of upper stratospheric temperature information. This will change because the last available SSU instrument was launched on NOAA-14 in 1996. The NOAA-14 SSU instrument continues to function. Meanwhile, as replacement for SSU instruments, the first Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) instrument on the NOAA-15 polar orbiting environmental satellite has been providing information since June 1998.

For at least the next 10 years, AMSU instruments are scheduled to operate on all NOAA polar satellites. AMSU instruments provide radiometric information from 6 stratospheric channels, compared to the 3 SSU channels, so we may expect a positive impact on stratospheric temperature retrievals. The purpose of this note is to highlight effects of this change for users of CPC stratospheric analyses and for users of NOAA polar orbiting satellite temperature information.