page_title: Atmospheric infrared sounder
section_title: AIRS Science and Applications
hierarchical_section_title: Atmospheric infrared sounder / AIRS Science and Applications
caption_attribution_description: English: This infrared image shows the remnants of Hurricane Felix over Central America in September 2007. It was created with data retrieved by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite. Because infrared radiation does not penetrate through clouds, AIRS infrared images show either the temperature of the cloud tops or the surface of the Earth in cloud-free regions. The lowest temperatures (in purple) are associated with high, cold cloud tops that make up the top of the storm. In cloud-free areas AIRS receives the infrared radiation from the surface of the Earth, resulting in the warmest temperatures (orange/red). AIRS, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. AIRS is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
context_page_description: The atmospheric infrared sounder is one of six instruments flying on board NASA's Aqua satellite, launched on May 4, 2002. The instrument is designed to support climate research and improve weather forecasting.
  Working in combination with its partner microwave instrument, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, AIRS observes the global water and energy cycles, climate variation and trends, and the response of the climate system to increased greenhouse gases. AIRS uses infrared technology to create three-dimensional maps of air and surface temperature, water vapor, and cloud properties. AIRS can also measure trace greenhouse gases such as ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane.
  AIRS and AMSU-A share the Aqua satellite with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS. Aqua is part of NASA's "A-train," a series of high-inclination, Sun-synchronous satellites in low Earth orbit designed to make long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and ocean.
context_section_description: AIRS and its companion microwave sounder AMSU observe the entire atmospheric column from Earth's surface to the top of the atmosphere. The primary data they return is the infrared spectrum in 2378 individual frequencies. The infrared spectrum is rich in information on numerous gases in the atmosphere.
  AIRS primary scientific achievement has been to improve weather prediction and provide new information on the water and energy cycle. The instrument also yields information on several important greenhouse gases.
  Weather and climate forecasting
  AIRS data are used by weather forecasting centers around the world. By incorporating AIRS measurements into their models, forecasters have been able to extend reliable mid-range weather forecasts by more than six hours. AIRS data have also improved forecasts of the location and magnitude of predicted storms.
  AIRS temperature and water vapor profiles are available in real time to regional weather forecasters, providing twice-daily weather measurements for the entire Pacific Ocean, once in the morning and once in the evening.
  AIRS measurements form a "fingerprint" of the state of the atmosphere for a given time and place that can be used as a climate data record for future generations. They have become important tools for understanding current climate and increasing the ability to predict the future.
  Atmospheric Composition, Greenhouse Gases, and Air Quality
  AIRS maps the concentration of carbon dioxide and methane globally. Its ability to provide simultaneous observations of the Earth's atmospheric temperature, water vapor, ocean surface temperature, and land surface temperature and infrared spectral emissivity, as well as humidity, clouds and the distribution of greenhouse gases, makes AIRS/AMSU a very useful space instrument to observe and study the response of the atmosphere to increased greenhouse gases.
  The instrument can detect carbon monoxide emissions from the burning of plant materials and animal waste by humans in rainforests and large cities. It can follow giant plumes of this gas moving across the planet from these large burns, allowing scientists to better monitor pollution transport patterns.
  AIRS provides a global daily 3-D view of Earth's ozone layer, showing how ozone is transported. The instrument also gives scientists their best view of atmospheric ozone in the Antarctic region during the polar winter.
  AIRS is also able to identify concentrations of sulphur dioxide and dust.
caption: This infrared image from AIRS shows the remnants of Hurricane Felix in September 2007.
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