AGU Fall 2007 Meeting: Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA
Session GC34A-02
Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 4:20 pm in Moscone West Room 3002

Determination of atmospheric temperature, water vapor, and heating rates from mid- and far-infrared hyperspectral measurements

Feldman, D
    feldman caltech dot edu
    Caltech Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, 1200 E California Blvd. MC 150-21, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States
Liou, K
   
UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 405 Hilgard Ave Box 951565 7127 Math Sciences Bldg, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Yung, Y
   
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, 1200 E California Blvd MC 170-25, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States
Johnson, D
   
NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center MS 468, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
Mlynczak, M
   
NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center MS 468, Hampton, VA 23681, United States

Comprehensive satellite-borne far-infrared (15-100 μm) hyperspectral measurements of the earth have not been implemented since the short-lived Infrared Interferometer Sounder-D (IRIS-D) instrument on the Nimbus-4 satellite ceased operation in 1971 due primarily to instrumentation limitations and mission cost considerations. Recently, the development of the Far Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument [Mlynczak et al, 2006], a balloon-borne FTS which records spectra from 5 to 200 μm, provides a test-bed for the development of space-based far-infrared measurements for climate change monitoring. A comparison of the retrieval capabilities of a notional space-based instrument of comparable performance to FIRST and the currently-operational mid-infrared instrument AIRS is presented. Temperature and water vapor retrievals are compared (in an orbital simulation framework) along with the relative ability of the retrievals from these two instruments to constrain the heating rate profile. Also, the skill with which the AIRS measurements can be used to extrapolate the cloud radiative effect into the far-infrared is explored. Finally, FIRST test flight spectra are presented in the framework of other A-Train measurements such as MODIS and CALIPSO, followed by a discussion of climate applications.

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Copyright © 2007 Daniel Feldman. All rights reserved.
Revised: 12/11/07.