Abstract

As humanity embarks on the study of global change, many new scientific problems have emerged, requiring improved capabilities for observing the middle atmosphere from the tropopause region into the mesosphere. These include the need for improved horizontal and vertical resolution, an enhanced ability to observe the region around the tropopause, and the ability to observe more interrelated species. Here the scientific objectives of the HIRDLS experiment, a multichannel limb viewing infrared radiometer intended for flight on the A platform of the Earth Observing System, will be presented, followed by a brief description of the instrument. Results of simulating the performance of HIRDLS will be presented. They show that the results will provide data from the upper troposphere to the mesopause, with resolution and precision not previously achieved, for temperature and 10 trace species, as well as aerosols. These results will provide data with which to study several important global change problems.

© 1991 Optical Society of America