ATMOSPHERIC PROFILING COMBINING THE FEATURES OF GPS RO & MLS: SATELLITE TO SATELLITE OCCULTATIONS NEAR WATER & OZONE ABSORPTION LINES

Abstract:

Assessing climate models & their predictions requires observations that determine the state of the real climate system precisely and unambiguously, independently from models. For this purpose, we have been developing a new orbiting remote sensing system called the Active Temperature, Ozone & Moisture Microwave Spectrometer (ATOMMS) which is a cross between GPS RO and the Microwave Limb Sounder. ATOMMS actively probes water vapor, ozone & other absorption lines at cm & mm wavelengths in a satellite to satellite occultation geometry to simultaneously profile temperature, pressure, water vapor and ozone as well as other important constituents.

Individual profiles of water vapor, temperature & pressure heights will extend from near the surface into the mesosphere with ~1%, 0.4K and 10 m precision respectively and still better accuracy, with 100 m vertical resolution. Ozone profiles will extend upward from the upper troposphere. Line of sight wind profiles will extend upwards from the mid-stratosphere.

ATOMMS is a doubly differential absorption system which eliminates drift and both sees clouds and sees thru them, to deliver performance in clouds within a factor of 2 of the performance in clear skies. This all-weather sampling combined with insensitivity to surface emissivity avoids sampling biases that limit most existing satellite records. ATOMMS will profile slant liquid water in clouds & rain and as well as turbulence via scintillations (“twinkling of a star”).

Using prototype ATOMMS instrumentation that we developed with funding from NSF, several ATOMMS ground field campaigns precisely measured water vapor, cloud amount, rainfall, turbulence and absorption line spectroscopy. ATOMMS’s dynamic range was demonstrated as water vapor was derived to 1% precision in optical depths up to 17.

We are developing high altitude aircraft to aircraft instrumentation to further demonstrate ATOMMS performance, refine spectroscopy & support future field campaigns. Our vision is a constellation of microsatellites carrying ATOMMS to provide radiosonde-like profiles for weather prediction, an unprecedented characterization of present climate, a continuous global field campaign to constrain critical processes to improve models, and a long term record quantifying trends in climatic behavior.