BackForwardInstrument:  SCIAMACHY-nadir 

Instrument details
Acronym SCIAMACHY-nadir
Full name Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (nadir-scanning component)
Purpose Atmospheric chemistry.  Tracked species: BrO, CH4, ClO, CO, CO2, H2O, HCHO, N2O, NO, NO2, NO3, O2, O3, O4, OClO, SO2 and aerosol
Short description UV/VIS/NIR/SWIR grating spectrometer, eight bands, 8192 channels, with 7 polarisation channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Mechanical, across-track. IFOV : 25 km along-track x 0.6 km across-track, at s.s.p.. Time integration is performed across-track to the extent needed to achieve the required SNR. Swath:960 km. One scan line in 4.5 s. The cross-nadir mode is alternative to the limb mode and the solar/lunar occultation mode
Resolution Typical: 30 km along-track x 60 km across-track, at the s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Cross-track mode: if used full time, it would provide global coverage every 3 days (in daylight)
Mass 198 kg Power 122 W Data Rate 400 kbps

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2002 to 2012
Last update: 2022-07-26
Detailed characteristics
Spectral range

No. of channels

 Spectral resolution SNR @ specified input spectral radiance
214-334 nm 1024 0.24 nm 200 @ 0.5 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
300-412 nm 1024 0.26 nm 2300 @ 58 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
383-628 nm 1024 0.44 nm 2600 @ 90 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
595-812 nm 1024 0.48 nm 2800 @ 61 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
773-1063 nm 1024 0.54 nm 1900 @ 40 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
971-1773 nm 1024 1.48 nm 1500 @ 25 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
1934-2044 nm 1024 0.22 nm 100 @ 3.4 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
2259-2386 nm 1024 0.26 nm 320 @ 2.2 W m-2 sr-1 μm-1
310-2380 nm 7 67 to 137 nm Not relevant
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
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Cross-nadir shortwave (UV/VIS) sounder
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • UV/VIS/NIR sounders, nadir and limb
  • UV/VIS/NIR nadir sounder
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • BrO
  • CH3Br
  • CH4 mole fraction
  • CO
  • CO2 mole fraction
  • ClO
  • H2O
  • HCHO
  • HCHO Total Column
  • N2O mole fraction
  • NO
  • NO2
  • NO2 Total Column
  • O3
  • O3 Total Column
  • SO2
  • SO2 Total Column
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
Aerosol column burden2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (for absorbing aerosol), VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry including the 760 nm band for high-level aerosol
Aerosol effective radius2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV, VIS, NIR (including the 760 nm band for high-level aerosol) and SWIR spectrometry
Aerosol mass mixing ratio2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (for absorbing aerosol), VIS, NIR (including the 760 nm band for high-level aerosol) and SWIR spectrometry
Aerosol Optical Depth2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry including the 760 nm band for high-level aerosol
Aerosol type2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (for absorbing aerosol), VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry including the 760 nm band for high-level aerosol
BrO*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. BrO lines around 300 nm
HCHO*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. HCHO lines around 350 nm
HCHO Total Column*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. HCHO lines around 350 nm
CH3Br*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Spectrometry in the HC3Br band from 200 to 250 nm
CH4 mole fraction*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.SWIR spectrometry. CH4 lines around 2.3 micrometers
ClO*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV Spectrometry. ClO lines around 300 nm
Cloud cover4 - fairDaylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectroscopy
Cloud drop effective radius4 - fairAt cloud top.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Cloud ice effective radius4 - fairAt cloud top.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Cloud optical depth2 - very highLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Cloud top height4 - fairDaylight only.NIR spectrometry to estimate the total-column O2 above the cloud top as measured around 760 nm
CO*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.SWIR spectrometry. CO lines around 2.3 micrometers
CO2 mole fraction*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.SWIR spectrometry. CO2 lines around 1.6 and 2.1 micrometers
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Earth surface albedo4 - fairCloud sensitive.VIS spectrometry, range fully covered
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)2 - very highCloud sensitive.VIS spectrometry including Red at 700 nm
H2O*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Spectrometry in UV and VIS (several weak bands), and NIR and SWIR (strong bands around 940 nm and 1380 nm)
N2O mole fraction*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.SWIR spectrometry. N2O lines around 2.3 micrometers
NO*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. NO lines around 250 nm
NO2*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV and VIS spectrometry. Several lines in the ranges around 220 nm and 400 nm
NO2 Total Column*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV and VIS spectrometry. Several NO2 lines
O3*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV and VIS spectrometry. Ozone lines in the bands around 260 nm (Hartley) and/or 340 nm (Huggins) and 600 nm (Chappuis)
O3 Total Column*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV and VIS spectrometry. Ozone lines in the bands around 260 nm (Hartley) and/or 340 nm (Huggins) and 600 nm (Chappuis)
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)2 - very highCloud sensitive.VIS spectrometry, range fully covered
PSC occurrence2 - very highCoarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.UV and VIS spectrometry
Short-wave cloud reflectance3 - highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry. Unsuitable dynamic range (saturation)
SO2*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. SO2 lines around 350 nm
SO2 Total Column*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV spectrometry. SO2 lines around 350 nm
Specific humidity4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Very coarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.NIR spectrometry including the ro-sigma-tau band of water vapour around 940 nm
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.NIR spectrometry covering the 940 nm band
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA3 - highInformation on BRDF needed.UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Upward spectral radiance at TOA4 - fairMissing all Long-waves.UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Aerosol volcanic ash2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (specifically sensitive to ash), VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry including the 760 nm band for high-level ash
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (specifically sensitive to ash), VIS, NIR and SWIR spectrometry including the 760 nm band for high-level ashl