Abstract

The remote sounding instruments that fly as part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) will generate vast quantities of observational data. The analysis of these data will permit nearly continuous monitoring of the global distributions of temperature, pressure, and molecular abundances over a fifteen year period. The EOS program requires that the analysis of each data set be performed rapidly and the results conveyed quickly to the scientific community. Within the context of existing models for atmospheric radiation, these goals may be achieved only by developing retrieval methods that improve upon current rates of data analysis by several orders of magnitude.

© 1991 Optical Society of America