ISSN:
1436-5073
Keywords:
molecular spectroscopy
;
atmospheric composition
;
remote sensing of atmospheres
;
space instruments
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract The atmospheric trace molecule spectroscopy experiment (ATMOS) was designed to obtain high-resolution absorption spectra of the atmosphere from earth orbit, from which the vertical distributions of a large number of minor and trace molecular constituents could be retrieved. The ATMOS instrument is an FFT spectrometer covering the 600 to 5000 cm−1 frequency range and uses a double-passed, tilt-compensated optical configuration, with the two retroreflectors moving reciprocally. The scan time of 2 s gives spectra with an unapodized resolution of 0.01 cm−1, spaced 4 km apart, vertically. The first flight of ATMOS was made in April, 1985, as part of the Shuttle Spacelab-3 science payload. A total of 19 sunrise and sunset occultations were observed, which resulted in the acquisition of more than 1000 atmospheric spectra with an equal number of “solar only” scans. The spectra show absorptions of some 40 different atmospheric constituents, some of which are discernable at altitudes well into the thermosphère (i.e., up to about 150 km). The high signal/noise ratio and repeatability of the spectra have enabled a wealth of new atmospheric data to be retrieved, including the first positive identifications of such key reservoir species as COF2, HNO4, and N2O5, simultaneous vertical distributions of the minor gases from 5 to 140 km, the entire odd-nitrogen family in the stratosphere, and most of the halogen source gases with their corresponding reservoir and sink species. Measurements of the frequencies of large numbers of spectral lines has yielded Doppler shifts from which zonal winds, having a precision of the order of 2 m/s, have been retrieved throughout the stratosphere and mésosphère.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01201690
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