Abstract:
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment was flown on the Space Shuttle STS-51B as part of the Spacelab-3 laboratory to demonstrate the capability to monitor environmental quality by surveying the atmosphere for trace constituents and by identifying their sources, flow patterns, and decay mechanisms. The ATMOS experiment objective was to determine concentration profiles for ... a large number of stratospheric species for altitudes from 20 to 80 km, with a vertical resolution of 2 km. The ATMOS instrument viewed the sun through the stratosphere and measured the spectral absorption of solar energy. Each data-taking run was initiated before the sun emerged from or disappeared behind the earth. Data from the instrument for these sunrise and sunset limb encounters were interferograms that were processed on the ground to provide absorption spectra. ATMOS also collected IR solar spectral data on the molecular processes occurring near the Sun's surface and on the physical structure and composition of the Sun's chromosphere and photosphere. The instrument was a continuous-scanning Fourier spectrometer that operated in the 2- to 16-micrometer wavelength region and generated one interferogram each second, with a spectral resolution of 0.01 (1/cm). The ATMOS instrument is part of NASA/JPL's long-term atmospheric measurement program. ATMOS was also flown on ATLAS-1, ATLAS-2, and ATLAS-3.
85-034A-14A: Trace and Minor Gas Mixing Ratio Profiles
This set of trace and minor gas volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles was supplied by the experimenter on one 5 1/4-inch floppy disk in IBM-compatible, ASCII format. The data were acquired during the Shuttle flight of Spacelab 3 in April-May 1985. Profiles for more than 25 atmospheric species, including CO and halogenated hydrocarbons, were retrieved from high-resolution (0.01 cm-1 unapodized), IR (2-16 micrometer), solar occultation spectra. They cover both the Northern Hemisphere (at about 30 deg N.) and the Southern Hemisphere (at about 47 deg S.) at altitudes that range from 10 to 150 km, with an average resolution of 4.1 km. For most of the species, separate profiles for sunrises (.SR) and sunsets (.SS) are listed. Besides the data files, there is also an occultation file that lists all occultations by longitude and latitude in chronological order, a physical model file that tabulates models that are derived from the spectra and are used in establishing the VMR profiles, and an information file that documents the contents of the disk.
85-034A-14B: Atmospheric IR Spectra Data
This data set consists of individual infrared spectra taken by the ATMOS experiment on Spacelab-3 (STS-51B) in April-May 1985. The data resides on 22 magnetic tapes and consists of absorption spectra of the Earth's atmosphere from 5 to 140 km covering the 600-4800 wavenumber region of the infrared with a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm^-1 and a vertical resolution of 4 km, derived from the Fourier transformation of the interferometric data. The Fourier transforms were made at the ATMOS Data Analysis Facility at JPL. The individual spectra are filled in the order in which they were taken during the shuttle flight. The format of each tape consists of a short header followed by the spectra, with one file per spectrum. The data were derived from 7 sunrise occultations in the southern hemisphere and 13 sunset occultations in the northern hemisphere.
85-034A-14C: ATMOS IR Spectral Atlas, Hardcopy
This data set is an atmospheric atlas that constitutes Vol. II of 'A High Resolution Atlas of the Infrared Spectrum of the Sun and the Earth Atmosphere from Space'. The atlas contains spectra covering altitudes from the top of the mesosphere (about 80 km) to the lower stratosphere (20 km). The spectra were compiled from the zonal averages of sunset occultations, with a frequency range of 650 to 3380 cm**-1 and a high spectral resolution of 0.01 cm**-1. The spectra were ratioed against the zonal average solar spectrum in order to remove the lines of solar origin, instrument photometric background shape, and the instrument lines and artifacts. The resulting spectra, in transmittance form, contain only lines that originate in the Earth's atmosphere. Besides the hardcopy, NSSDC is also distributing the raw unprocessed spectra on magnetic tapes.
85-034A-14D: Solar IR Spectral Atlas, Hardcopy
This data set is a solar atlas that constitutes Vol. I of 'A High Resolution Atlas of the Infrared Spectrum of the Sun and the Earth Atmosphere from Space.' The atlas contains spectra that were compiled from solar occulation observations made in the frequency range of 650 to 4800 cm**-1, with a high spectral resolution of 0.01 cm**-1. The spectra are free from absorptions due to constituents of the Earth's atmosphere. In addition to lines of solar origin, however, there are artifacts including instrument residual absorption lines due to gas in the instrument compartment. These contaminous lines are much narrower than the solar absorption lines because of the big Doppler broadening of the solar lines. Hence, the sunset zonal averages are displayed above the sunrise zonal averages; any line shift in positions between the sunset and sunrise spectra can be easily identified as of instrumental origin. Besides the hardcopy, NSSDC is also distributing the raw unprocessed spectra on magnetic tapes.
85-034A-14E: Raw Solar IR Spectral Data Tapes
This dataset was taken by the ATMOS experiment on Spacelab-3 (STS-51B) during April-May 1985. The dataset consists of solar-only spectra. The dataset is a very high signal-to-noise infrared solar spectra from 2.1 to 16 micrometers and was obtained by averaging large numbers of solar-only spectra. The dataset resides on only 1 magnetic tape consisting of 55 files, each an individual solar spectrum. The tape consists of a header followed by the solar spectra records.
NOAA Paleoclimatology Program
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Boulder
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Publications/References
Dirk Verschuren, Kathleen R. Laird and Brian F. Cumming, Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years, Nature, No.6768, v403, pp.410-414, January 27, 2000
