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Instrument details
Acronym
MLS
Full name
Microwave Limb Sounder
Purpose
Chemistry of the high atmosphere. Tracked species: ClO, H2O, H2O2 and O3.
Short description
3 bands / 6 sub-bands: 63 GHz, 183 GHz (2 sub-band) and 205 GHz (3 sub-band).
Background
New development
Scanning Technique
Limb scanning
Resolution
Vertical: 4 km, in the altitude range 5-85 km. Horizontal effective resolution: ~ 300 km (limb geometry)
Coverage / Cycle
Global coverage every 3 d for cells of 300 km side
Mass
280 kg
Power
163 W
Data Rate
1.25 kbps
Providing Agency
NASA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:
1991 to 2005-12-14
Last update:
2018-03-18
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
No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
Secondary mission objectives Cloud ice Specific humidity Opportunity objectives Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Atmospheric temperature 4 - fair Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry in 60-250 GHz range
ClO 2 - very high Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectroscopy. ClO lines around 205 GHz.
Cloud ice 1 - primary Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry in the 60-650 GHz range
Cloud liquid water (CLW) 4 - fair Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometer in the 60-650 GHz range
H2O 4 - fair Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry. H2O lines in 183 GHz band.
HNO3 3 - high Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry. HNO3 lines in bands around 190 GHz.
O3 4 - fair Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry. Ozone lines around 240 GHz.
Specific humidity 4 - fair Limited to high atmosphere. Mm-submm spectrometry of water vapour bands at frequency up to 250 GHz (main: around 183 GHz)
Instrument: MLS