Aqua/AIRS L2 Support Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V7.0 at GES DISC

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a grating spectrometer (R = 1200) aboard the second Earth Observing System (EOS) polar-orbiting platform, EOS Aqua. In combination with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and the Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB), AIRS constitutes an innovative atmospheric sounding group of visible, infrared, and microwave sensors. This product is similar to AIRX2SUP. However, it contains science retrievals that use the HSB. Because the HSB instrument lived only from September 2002 through January 2003 when it terminally failed, the data set covers these five months only. The Support Product includes higher vertical resolution profiles of the quantities found in the Standard Product, plus intermediate outputs (e.g., microwave-only retrieval), research products such as the abundance of trace gases, and detailed quality assessment information. The Support Product profiles contain 100 levels between 1100 and .016 mb; this higher resolution simplifies the generation of radiances using forward models, though the vertical information content is no greater than that in the Standard Product profiles. The intended users of the Support Product are researchers interested in generating forward radiance or in examining research products, and the AIRS algorithm development team. The Support Product is generated at all locations as Standard Products. An AIRS granule has been set as 6 minutes of data with 30 footprints cross track by 45 scanlines of AMSU-A data or 135 scanlines of AIRS and HSB data. There are 240 granules per day, with an orbit repeat cycle of approximately 16 day.

Tags: earth-science-air-quality-atmosphere-carbon-monoxide, earth-science-air-quality-atmosphere-tropospheric-ozone, earth-science-altitude-atmosphere-geopotential-height, earth-science-altitude-atmosphere-tropopause, earth-science-atmospheric-chemistry-atmosphere-carbon-and-hydrocarbon-compounds-methane, earth-science-atmospheric-chemistry-atmosphere-oxygen-compounds-atmospheric-ozone, earth-science-atmospheric-chemistry-atmosphere-sulfur-compounds-sulfur-dioxide, earth-science-atmospheric-pressure-atmosphere-surface-pressure, earth-science-atmospheric-radiation-atmosphere-outgoing-longwave-radiation, earth-science-atmospheric-temperature-atmosphere-surface-temperature, earth-science-atmospheric-temperature-atmosphere-surface-temperature-air-temperature, earth-science-atmospheric-temperature-atmosphere-upper-air-temperature, earth-science-atmospheric-water-vapor-atmosphere-water-vapor-indicators-total-precipitable-wate, earth-science-atmospheric-water-vapor-atmosphere-water-vapor-profiles, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-microphysics-cloud-droplet-concentration-size, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-microphysics-cloud-liquid-water-ice, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-microphysics-cloud-optical-depth-thickness, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-fraction, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-height, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-pressure, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-temperature, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-vertical-distribution, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-types, earth-science-microwave-spectral-engineering-brightness-temperature, earth-science-ocean-temperature-oceans-sea-surface-temperature, earth-science-precipitation-atmosphere-precipitation-rate, earth-science-surface-radiative-properties-land-surface-emissivity, earth-science-surface-thermal-properties-land-surface-skin-temperature
Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration