ACTIVITIES AT EUMETSAT ASSESSING THE L1B PRODUCT QUALITY AND INSTRUMENT PERFORMANCE OF THE MICROWAVE SOUNDER (MWS) ONBOARD METOP-SG A1

S. Di Michele¹, I. Krizek¹, J. Ackermann¹, M. Labriola¹, M. De Bartolomei¹, C. Accadia¹, R. Munro¹, C. Mas¹, M. Sunda¹, A. Graziani², D. Schobert²

¹EUMETSAT, ²ESA-ESTEC

EUMETSAT Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG) provides continuation and enhancement of the Metop service in the mid-morning polar orbit in the 2025 – 2046 timeframe. The programme features a two-satellite configuration in a sun-synchronous orbit, Metop-SGA and Metop-SGB, with the first satellite (Metop-SG A1) launched on August 12th

2025, carrying, among its payloads, a microwave sounder (MWS). Metop-SG is part of the EUMETSAT-NOAA Joint Polar System.

MWS is a cross-track scanning radiometer, designed to provide comprehensive temperature and water vapor soundings in all sky conditions. MWS builds on the legacy of previous instruments such as the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), with improved radiometric sensitivity and broader spectral coverage thanks to its 24 channels ranging from 23.8 to 229 GHz.

The talk will describe the L1B processing at EUMETSAT and discuss the activities on-going to assess the quality of the near-real-time product. In particular, first results of the instrument in-orbit radiometric and geometric performance analysis will be shown.