BackForwardInstrument:  CLAES 

Instrument details
Acronym CLAES
Full name Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer
Purpose Observation of CF2Cl2, CF4, CFCl3, CH4, ClO, ClONO2, CO2, H2O, HCl, HNO3, N2O, NO, NO2, O3 and temperature in the stratosphere and mesosphere
Short description Grating spectrometers for four spectral ranges: 3.5, 6, 8 and 12.7 µm. Spectral resolution 2 cm-1 in MWIR, 1 cm-1 in TIR
Background New development
Scanning Technique Limb sounding, simultaneous view of the vertical range 10-60 km by means of an array of 20 detectors with vertical resolution 2.5 km in the range 10-60 km.
Resolution Vertical: 2.6 km; horizontal: 300 km along-view
Coverage / Cycle Global (except for polar regions, due to the 57° orbital inclination) in 3 days for cells of 300 km side
Mass 1180 kg Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1991 to 2005
Last update: 2017-01-17
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Limb sounders
  • Limb sounder
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • UV/VIS/NIR/IR/MW limb sounders
  • UV/VIS/NIR/IR/MW scanning limb sounder
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • C2H2
  • C2H6
  • CFC-11
  • CFC-12
  • COS
  • ClONO2
  • HNO3
  • NO
  • NO2
  • O3
  • PAN
  • SF6
  • SO2
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
C2H2*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. C2H2 lines around 7.5 and 13.7 micrometers. Limb sounding mechanically or electronically
C2H6*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. C2H6 lines around 3.3 and 12 micrometers.
CFC-11*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. CFC-11 lines around 9.2 and 11.7 micrometers. Limb sounding mechanically or electronically
CFC-12*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. CFC-12 lines around 8.8 and 10.8 micrometers.
ClONO2*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. ClONO2 lines around 5.7, 7.7 and 12.5 micrometers.
COS*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. COS lines around 4.8 and 11.6 micrometers.
HNO3*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. HNO3 lines around 5.9, 7.6 and 11.3 micrometers.
N2O54 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O5 lines around 5.8 and 8 micrometers.
NO*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR spectrometry. NO lines around 5.3 micrometers.
NO2*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers.
O3*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. Ozone band around 9.7 micrometers. Limb sounding mechanically or electronically
PAN*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. PAN lines around 5.7, 8.6 and 12.5 micrometers.
PSC occurrence4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. Limb sounding mechanically or electronically
SF6*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. SF6 lines around 10.5 micrometers. Limb sounding mechanically or electronically
SO2*4 - fairLimited to high atmosphere.TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers.