AbstractAbstractThe vertical grid choice can impact the information content of thermodynamic soundings retrieved from passive spectrometers. This study explores the effects of different grid spacings on thermodynamic soundings from ground-based [Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI)] and space-based [Cross-Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS)] infrared (IR) spectrometers. Information content from CrIS is not significantly impacted by the grid resolution, except in the situation where a vertical grid is very coarse (greater than 700 m in spacing). Contrastingly, ground-based temperature sounding is very sensitive to the vertical grid choice, with maximum information content being attained in a grid that has very fine vertical spacing near the surface. As a result, the synergy of ground- and space-based sensors together is also sensitive to the grid choice, with the vertical grids that maximize the ground-based information content proving to maximize the information in the instrument synergy as well. The vertical resolution of the retrievals from ground-based sensors is very sensitive to the vertical grid choice in the lowest 1000 m above ground level, while space-based sensor vertical resolution is less sensitive to the choice of vertical grid. When developing a synergy of ground- and space-based sensors, a vertical grid that maximizes the performance of the ground-based sensor is critical to maximizing the performance of the instrument synergy.
