MLS is providing the first global measurements of OH, HO2 and BrO, constituents that play an important role in stratospheric chemistry. MLS is unique in its ability to provide these measurements in the presence of tropical cirrus, where important processes affecting climate variability occur. MLS also provides unique measurements of cirrus ice content.
The simultaneous MLS measurements of upper tropospheric water vapor, ice content, and temperature, under all conditions and with good vertical resolution, will be of great value for improving our understanding of processes affecting the distribution of atmospheric water, climate variability, and tropospheric-stratospheric exchange. The simultaneous measurements of dynamical tracers CO and N2O enhance the value of this data set by helping identify source regions of the air masses being observed.
Ozone Depletion
+ perform critical monitoring of the entire stratosphere + during the period when ozone is most vulnerable to destruction by chlorine Climate Change
+ for both seasonal-to-interannual and long-term climate variability |
Tropospheric Ozone
+ important for understanding effects of aviation and radiative forcing of climate + distribution of total tropospheric ozone from TOMS-MLS, OMI-MLS Volcanic Effects
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| Name | Parameter |
|---|---|
| Spectral bands: | At millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. |
| Spatial resolution: | Measurements are performed along the sub-orbital track, and resolution varies for different parameters; 5 km cross-track x 500 km along-track x 3 km vertical are typical values. |
| Mass: | 490 kg |
| Duty cycle: | 100% |
| Power: | 550 W full-on |
| Data rate: | 100 kbps |
| Thermal control: | Via radiators and louvers to space as well as heaters |
| Thermal
operating range: |
10-35o C |
| FOV: | Boresight 60-70o relative to nadir |
| 1.5 km vertical x 3 km cross-track x 300 km along-track at the limb tangent point (instantaneous field-of-view at 640 GHz) | |
| Pointing requirements (platform+instrument, 3s) : | |
| Control: | 36 arcsec |
| Knowledge: | 1 arcsec per second |
| Stability: | 72 arcsec per 30 seconds |
| Jitter: | 2.7 arcsec per 1/6 second |
| 1.5
x 1.9 x 1.8 m (GHz sensor); 0.8 x 1 x 1.1 m (THz sensor); 1.6 x 0.5 x 0.3 m (spectrometer) |
|
+ Passive microwave limb-sounding radiometer/spectrometer
+ Measures thermal emission from the atmospheric limb
+ Provides reliable measurements even in presence of dense cirrus and volcanic aerosol
> MLS on Stratospheric Chemistry
> MLS on Volcanoes on Global Change
> MLS on El Niño
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