Title :
Microwave Limb Sounder THz module on Aura
Author :
Pickett, Herbert M.
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
fDate :
5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The objective of the Microwave Limb Sounder THz module on the Aura satellite is to measure stratospheric and mesospheric OH. This paper describes the optical design, alignment, calibration, and performance of the THz module. The calibration uncertainty for one limb scan is substantially less than the precision due to radiometric noise. For averages of many scans, the dominant calibration uncertainty of 2% is due to uncertainty in beam efficiency.
Keywords :
aerospace instrumentation; artificial satellites; atmospheric composition; atmospheric measuring apparatus; calibration; mesosphere; stratosphere; Aura satellite; Microwave Limb Sounder; OH; THz module; beam efficiency; calibration; limb scan; mesospheric OH; optical alignment; optical design; radiometric noise; stratospheric OH; Calibration; Frequency; Instruments; Microwave measurements; Mirrors; Multilevel systems; Optical design; Optical feedback; Polarization; Satellite broadcasting; Mesosphere; OH; THz; stratosphere;
Journal_Title :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TGRS.2005.862667
