International TOVS Working Group: ITWG
The International TOVS Working Group (ITWG) is convened as a sub-group of the Radiation Commission of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS) and of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS). ITWG continues to organise International TOVS Study Conferences (ITSCs) which have met every 18-24 months since 1983. Through this forum, operational and research users of TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data from the NOAA series of polar orbiting satellites and other atmospheric sounding data have exchanged information on methods for extracting information from these data on atmospheric temperature and moisture fields and on the impact of these data in numerical weather prediction and in climate studies. They have also prepared recommendations to guide the directions of future research and to influence relevant programmes of WMO and other agencies (NASA, NESDIS, EUMETSAT). An important part of the Group’s work has been to foster and participate in the generation of software to be shared throughout the community to enable use to be made of these data for operations and research. The Group also has an important education and training role. For more information on the International TOVS Working Group please visit ITWG.
