Science

Listed below are some of the fields of study the AERI instrument has been used for. For information on the instrument itself, read the "Instrument" section.

Atmospheric Profiling The AERI instrument detects vertical and temporal (time) changes of temperature and water vapor in the lower part of the earth's atmosphere via changes in measured down going infrared radiation coming from the lower atmosphere. With a temporal resolution of less than 10 minutes and an optimal vertical resolution of 100 meters, the AERI instrument can observe meteorologically important mesoscale phenomena, such as boundary layer evolution, cold/warm frontal passages, dry lines, and thunderstorm outflow boundaries. These temperature and moisture vertical retrievals provide data for stability index monitoring, planetary boundary layer research, mesoscale model initialization, verification, and nowcasting. The AERI instrument is also used in the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. More Information | References

Cloud Retrieval Ground-based AERI and Raman Lidar measurements are used to infer cirrus cloud absorption optical depth and effective particle size. The high spectral resolution AERI measurements allow inversion of the infrared radiative transfer equation between gaseous absorption lines (e.g., regions of minimal atmospheric emission), referred to as microwindows, to derive the cloud infrared absorption optical depth. Lidar data are used to determine cloud boundaries, while also providing an independent measurement of cloud optical depth. Optical depth spectral variation, across the 8 to 12 micron atmospheric window, yields information on particle size and shape. A best fit of absorption optical depth to the measured absorption optical depth is used to determine the effective radius of particles within the cloud. References