Far-Infrared Spectroscopy Of The Troposphere Research Articles

Measurements of downwelling far-infrared radiance during the RHUBC-II campaign at Cerro Toco, Chile and comparisons with line-by-line radiative transfer calculations

Downwelling radiances at the Earth's surface measured by the Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument in an environment with integrated precipitable water (IPW) as low as 0.03cm are compared with calculated spectra in the far-infrared and mid-infrared. FIRST (a Fourier transform spectrometer) was deployed from August through October 2009 at 5.38km MSL on Cerro Toco, a mountain in the Atacama Desert of Chile. There FIRST took part in the Radiative Heating in Unexplored Bands Campaign Part 2 (RHUBC-II), the goal of which is the assessment of water vapor spectroscopy. Radiosonde water vapor and temperature vertical profiles are input into the Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) Line-by-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM) to compute modeled radiances. The LBLRTM minus FIRST residual spectrum is calculated to assess agreement. Uncertainties (1-σ) in both the measured and modeled radiances are also determined. Measured and modeled radiances nearly all agree to within combined (total) uncertainties. Features exceeding uncertainties can be corrected into the combined uncertainty by increasing water vapor and model continuum absorption, however this may not be necessary due to 1-σ uncertainties (68% confidence). Furthermore, the uncertainty in the measurement-model residual is very large and no additional information on the adequacy of current water vapor spectral line or continuum absorption parameters may be derived. Similar future experiments in similarly cold and dry environments will require absolute accuracy of 0.1% of a 273K blackbody in radiance and water vapor accuracy of ∼3% in the profile layers contributing to downwelling radiance at the surface.

Far-infrared spectroscopy of the troposphere: calibration with a cold background.

The far-infrared spectroscopy of the troposphere (FIRST) instrument is a Fourier-transform spectrometer developed to measure the Earth's thermal emission spectrum with a particular emphasis on the far-infrared. FIRST has observed the atmosphere from both the ground looking up and from a high-altitude balloon looking down. A recent absolute laboratory calibration of FIRST under ground-like operating conditions showed accuracy to better than 0.3K at near-ambient temperatures (270-325K) but reduced accuracy at lower temperatures. This paper presents calibration results for balloon-flight conditions using a cold blackbody to simulate the space view used for on-board calibration. An unusual detector nonlinearity was discovered and corrected, and stray light was measured and removed. Over most of the range of Earth scene temperatures (205-300K), the accuracy of FIRST is 0.35-0.15K (one sigma).

Far-infrared spectroscopy of the troposphere: instrument description and calibration performance

The far-infrared spectroscopy of the troposphere (FIRST) instrument is a Fourier transform spectrometer developed to measure the Earth's thermal emission spectrum with a particular emphasis on far-infrared (far-IR) wavelengths greater than 15 μm. FIRST was developed under NASA's Instrument Incubator Program to demonstrate technology for providing measurements from 10 to 100 μm (1000 to 100 cm(-1)) on a single focal plane with a spectral resolution finer than 1 cm(-1). Presently no spectrometers in orbit are capable of directly observing the Earth's far-IR spectrum. This fact, coupled with the fundamental importance of the far-IR to Earth's climate system, provided the impetus for the development of FIRST. In this paper the FIRST instrument is described and results of a detailed absolute laboratory calibration are presented. Specific channels in FIRST are shown to be accurate in the far-IR to better than 0.3 K at 270 K scene temperature, 0.5 K at 247 K, and 1 K at 225 K.

First light from the Far‐Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument

We present first light spectra that were measured by the newly‐developed Far‐Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument during a high‐altitude balloon flight from Ft. Sumner, NM on 7 June 2005. FIRST is a Fourier Transform Spectrometer designed to measure accurately the far‐infrared (15 to 100 μm; 650 to 100 wavenumbers, cm−1) emission spectrum of the Earth and its atmosphere. The flight data successfully demonstrated the FIRST instrument's ability to observe the entire energetically significant infrared emission spectrum (50 to 2000 cm−1) at high spectral and spatial resolution on a single focal plane in an instrument with one broad spectral bandpass beamsplitter. Comparisons with radiative transfer calculations demonstrate that FIRST accurately observes the very fine spectral structure in the far‐infrared. Comparisons also show excellent agreement between the atmospheric window radiance measured by FIRST and by instruments on the NASA Aqua satellite that overflew the FIRST flight. FIRST opens a new window on the spectrum that can be used for studying atmospheric radiation and climate, cirrus clouds, and water vapor in the upper troposphere.

An inter-comparison of far-infrared line-by-line radiative transfer models

A considerable fraction (>40%) of the outgoing longwave radiation escapes from the Earth's atmosphere-surface system within a region of the spectrum known as the far-infrared (wave-numbers less than 650 cm −1 ). Dominated by the line and continuum spectral features of the pure rotation band of water vapor, the far-infrared has a strong influence upon the radiative balance of the troposphere, and hence upon the climate of the Earth. Despite the importance of the far-infrared contribution, however, very few spectrally resolved observations have been made of the atmosphere for wave-numbers less than 650 cm −1 . The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), under its Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), is currently developing technology that will enable routine, space-based spectral measurements of the far-infrared. As part of NASA's IIP, the Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) project is developing an instrument that will have the capability of measuring the spectrum over the range from 100 to 1000 cm −1 at a resolution of 0.6 cm −1 . To properly analyze the data from the FIRST instrument, accurate radiative transfer models will be required. Unlike the mid-infrared, however, no inter-comparison of codes has been performed for the far-infrared. Thus, in parallel with the development of the FIRST instrument, an investigation has been undertaken to inter-compare radiative transfer models for potential use in the analysis of far-infrared measurements. The initial phase of this investigation has focused upon the inter-comparison of six distinct line-by-line models. The results from this study have demonstrated remarkably good agreement among the models, with differences being of order 0.5%, thereby providing a high measure of confidence in our ability to accurately compute spectral radiances in the far-infrared.

An inter-comparison of far-infrared line-by-line radiative transfer models

A considerable fraction (>40%) of the outgoing longwave radiation escapes from the Earth's atmosphere-surface system within a region of the spectrum known as the far-infrared (wave-numbers less than 650cm−1). Dominated by the line and continuum spectral features of the pure rotation band of water vapor, the far-infrared has a strong influence upon the radiative balance of the troposphere, and hence upon the climate of the Earth. Despite the importance of the far-infrared contribution, however, very few spectrally resolved observations have been made of the atmosphere for wave-numbers less than 650cm−1. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), under its Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), is currently developing technology that will enable routine, space-based spectral measurements of the far-infrared. As part of NASA's IIP, the Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) project is developing an instrument that will have the capability of measuring the spectrum over the range from 100 to 1000cm−1 at a resolution of 0.6cm−1. To properly analyze the data from the FIRST instrument, accurate radiative transfer models will be required. Unlike the mid-infrared, however, no inter-comparison of codes has been performed for the far-infrared. Thus, in parallel with the development of the FIRST instrument, an investigation has been undertaken to inter-compare radiative transfer models for potential use in the analysis of far-infrared measurements. The initial phase of this investigation has focused upon the inter-comparison of six distinct line-by-line models. The results from this study have demonstrated remarkably good agreement among the models, with differences being of order 0.5%, thereby providing a high measure of confidence in our ability to accurately compute spectral radiances in the far-infrared.