RECURSIVE FILTER OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF METEOROLOGICAL FIELDS - APPLICATIONS TO NESDIS OPERATIONAL PROCESSING

A recursive filter objective analysis method is described. It is a ''s uccessive approximation'' system with the particular feature of locall y varying scaling, making it especially appropriate for dealing with i nhomogeneous data. Attention is given to proper treatment of lateral b oundaries, which permit its use in limited domains. This system provid es estimates of input data quality that can be used for editing datase ts before their distribution and for the weighting of data in applicat ion by other users. Two- and three-dimensional versions of the analysi s operating on a Cartesian grid are used operationally at the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service. They are used b oth in the production of data and for quality control prior to dissemi nation. Examples of these applications are given.