High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder: Experiment overview, recovery, and validation of initial temperature data

TY - JOUR

T1 - High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder: Experiment overview, recovery, and validation of initial temperature data

AU - Gille, John

AU - Barnett, John

AU - Arter, Philip

AU - Barker, Marion

AU - Bernath, Peter

AU - Boone, Chris

AU - Cavanaugh, Charles

AU - Chow, Jonathan

AU - Coffey, Michael

AU - Craft, James

AU - Craig, Cheryl

AU - Dials, Michael

AU - Dean, Vincil

AU - Eden, Thomas

AU - Edwards, D. P.

AU - Francis, Gene

AU - Halvorson, Chris

AU - Harvey, Lynn

AU - Hepplewhite, Christopher

AU - Khosravi, Rashid

AU - Kinnison, Douglas

AU - Krinsky, Charles

AU - Lambert, Alyn

AU - Lee, Hyunah

AU - Lyjak, Lawrence

AU - Loh, Joanne

AU - Mankin, William

AU - Massie, Steven

AU - McInerney, Joseph

AU - Moorhouse, Joseph

AU - Nardi, Bruno

AU - Packman, Daniel

AU - Randall, Cora

AU - Reburn, Jolyon

AU - Rudolf, Wayne

AU - Schwartz, Michael

AU - Serafin, John

AU - Stone, Kenneth

AU - Torpy, Brendan

AU - Walker, Kaley

AU - Waterfall, Alison

AU - Watkins, Robert

AU - Whitney, John

AU - Woodard, Douglas

AU - Young, Gregory

PY - 2008/6/27

Y1 - 2008/6/27

N2 - The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) experiment was designed to provide global temperature and composition data on the region from the upper troposphere to the mesopause with vertical and horizontal resolution not previously available. The science objectives are the study of small-scale dynamics and transports, including stratosphere-troposphere exchange, upper troposphere/lower stratosphere chemistry, aerosol, cirrus and PSC distributions, and gravity waves. The instrument features 21 channels, low noise levels, high vertical resolution, and a mechanical cooler for long life. During launch most of the optical aperture became obscured, so that only a potion of an optical beam width at a large azimuth from the orbital plane on the side away from the Sun can see the atmosphere. Irrecoverable loss of capabilities include limitation of coverage to the region 65 degrees S-82 degrees N and inability to obtain longitudinal resolution finer than an orbital spacing. While this optical blockage also impacted radiometric performance, extensive effort has gone into developing corrections for the several effects of the obstruction, so that radiances from some of the channels can be put into retrievals for temperature. Changes were also necessary for the retrieval algorithm. The validation of the resulting temperature retrievals is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of these corrections. The random errors range from similar to 0.5 K at 20 km to similar to 1.0 at 60 km, close to those predicted. Comparisons with high-resolution radiosondes, lidars, ACE-FTS, and ECMWF analyses give a consistent picture of HIRDLS temperatures being 1-2 K warm from 200 to 10 hPa and within +/- 2 K of standards from 200 to 2 hPa (but warmer in the region of the tropical tropopause), above which HIRDLS appears to be cold. Comparisons show that both COSMIC and HIRDLS can see small vertical features down to about 2 km wavelength. While further improvements in the data are expected, these data will allow HIRDLS to provide important support toward reaching the Aura objectives.

AB - The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) experiment was designed to provide global temperature and composition data on the region from the upper troposphere to the mesopause with vertical and horizontal resolution not previously available. The science objectives are the study of small-scale dynamics and transports, including stratosphere-troposphere exchange, upper troposphere/lower stratosphere chemistry, aerosol, cirrus and PSC distributions, and gravity waves. The instrument features 21 channels, low noise levels, high vertical resolution, and a mechanical cooler for long life. During launch most of the optical aperture became obscured, so that only a potion of an optical beam width at a large azimuth from the orbital plane on the side away from the Sun can see the atmosphere. Irrecoverable loss of capabilities include limitation of coverage to the region 65 degrees S-82 degrees N and inability to obtain longitudinal resolution finer than an orbital spacing. While this optical blockage also impacted radiometric performance, extensive effort has gone into developing corrections for the several effects of the obstruction, so that radiances from some of the channels can be put into retrievals for temperature. Changes were also necessary for the retrieval algorithm. The validation of the resulting temperature retrievals is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of these corrections. The random errors range from similar to 0.5 K at 20 km to similar to 1.0 at 60 km, close to those predicted. Comparisons with high-resolution radiosondes, lidars, ACE-FTS, and ECMWF analyses give a consistent picture of HIRDLS temperatures being 1-2 K warm from 200 to 10 hPa and within +/- 2 K of standards from 200 to 2 hPa (but warmer in the region of the tropical tropopause), above which HIRDLS appears to be cold. Comparisons show that both COSMIC and HIRDLS can see small vertical features down to about 2 km wavelength. While further improvements in the data are expected, these data will allow HIRDLS to provide important support toward reaching the Aura objectives.

KW - PRE-LAUNCH CALIBRATION

KW - HIRDLS FLIGHT INSTRUMENT

KW - RADIANCE MEASUREMENTS

KW - AURA

KW - STRATOSPHERE

KW - INVERSION

KW - SPACE

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=52349109496&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1029/2007JD008824

DO - 10.1029/2007JD008824

M3 - Article

SN - 0148-0227

VL - 113

SP - -

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research

IS - D16

M1 - D16S43

ER -