BackForwardInstrument:  TANSO-FTS 

Instrument details
Acronym TANSO-FTS
Full name Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observations - Fourier Transform Spectrometer
Purpose Measurements of CH4, CO2, H2O, O2, O3 and aerosol
Short description 4–band interferometer (3 in NIR/SWIR, 1 in TIR) [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Cross-track mechanical pointing, swath 790 km
Resolution 10.5 km at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage in 3 days
Mass 329 kg Power 400 W Data Rate 5.9 Mbps

 

Providing Agency JAXA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2009 to 2024
Last update: 2021-06-16
Detailed characteristics
Spectral range Spectral range Spectral resolution (unapodised) SNR or NEΔT @ specified input
14.28-5.55 µm 700-1800 cm-1 0.2 cm-1 0.3 K @ 280 K
2.08-1.92 µm 4800-5200 cm-1 0.2 cm-1 300 @ 30 % albedo
1.72-1.56 µm 5800-6400 cm-1 0.2 cm-1 300 @ 30 % albedo
0.775-0.757 µm 12900-13200 cm-1 0.2 cm-1 300 @ 30 % albedo
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 infrared sounder, possibly including VIS channels
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • IR hyperspectral sounders [in SSO]
  • IR hyperspectral sounder [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Atmospheric temperature
  • CH4 mole fraction
  • CO2 mole fraction
  • H2O
  • Height of the top of PBL
  • Height of the tropopause
  • Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
  • O3
  • O3 Total Column
  • Specific humidity
  • Temperature of the tropopause
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.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Aerosol effective radius2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Aerosol mass mixing ratio2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Aerosol Optical Depth2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Aerosol type2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Atmospheric temperature*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Inaccurate in low troposphere.TIR spectrometry in the 15 micrometer band
C2H22 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. C2H2 lines around 7.5 and 13.7 micrometers
C2H62 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. C2H6 lines around 12 micrometers
CFC-112 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. CFC-11 lines around 9.2 and 11.7 micrometers
CFC-122 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. CFC-12 lines around 8.8 and 10.8 micrometers
CH3Br1 - primaryCloud sensitive.Spectrometry in the HC3Br bands around 6.7, 7.9 and 10.5 micrometers
CH4 mole fraction*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. CH4 lines around 7.7 micrometers
ClONO21 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. ClONO2 lines around 5.7, 7.7 and 12.5 micrometers
Cloud cover3 - highDiscontinuous coverage.NIR. SWIR and TIR spectrometry
Cloud drop effective radius4 - fairAt cloud top.. Daylight only.NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Cloud ice effective radius4 - fairAt cloud top.. Daylight only.NIR and SWIR spectrometry
Cloud top height2 - very highDiscontinuous coverage.MWIR and TIR spectrometry in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature
Cloud top temperature1 - primaryDiscontinuous coverage.TIR spectrometry in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type3 - highDiscontinuous coverage.NIR, SWIR and TIR spectrometry
CO2 mole fraction*2 - very highCloud sensitive.SWIR and TIR spectrometry. CO2 lines around 1.6, 2.1 and 15 micrometers
COS3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. COS lines around 11.6 micrometers
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR spectrometry including water vapour and CO2 bands
H2O*2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR/TIR spectrometry in a range centred on 6.3 micrometers
Height of the top of PBL*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Height of PBL top from temperature profile
Height of the tropopause*3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Height of tropopause from temperature profile
HNO32 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. HNO3 lines around 5.9, 7.6 and 11.3 micrometers
Land surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections)
Long-wave Earth surface emissivity2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Long time series needed.MWIR and TIR spectrometry measuring land temperature in many windows. Emissivity inferred by statistical analysis
N2O mole fraction3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. N2O lines around 7.7 micrometers
N2O52 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O5 lines around 5.8 and 8 micrometers
NO2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.MWIR spectrometry. NO lines around 5.3 micrometers
NO23 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers
NO2 Total Column2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers
O3*3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Ozone band around 9.7 micrometers
O3 Total Column*3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR channel(s). Ozone lines in band around 9.7 micrometers
PAN2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. PAN lines around 5.7, 8.6 and 12.5 micrometers
PSC occurrence2 - very highCoarse vertical resolution.MWIR and TIR spectroscopy
Sea surface temperature3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections)
SF62 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. SF6 lines around 10.5 micrometers
SO21 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers
SO2 Total Column1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers
Specific humidity*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry in the bands around 6.3 and above 11 micrometers
Temperature of the tropopause*2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Tropopause temperature from temperature profile
Upward spectral radiance at TOA3 - highMissing all Short-waves.MWIR and TIR spectrometry resolving water vapour lines in the bands around 6.3 micrometers and 11 to 15 micrometers
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA3 - highSpectral interpolation needed.TIR spectrometry covering the 11 micrometers window region and the water vapour and CO2 bands around 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Aerosol volcanic ash2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer
Wind (horizontal)3 - highLimited to high latitudes.. Cloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry in the 6.3 micrometers band. Wind profile in clear air by tracking water vapour patches in the humidity profile
Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.TIR spectrometry covering the 11 micrometers window region and the water vapour and CO2 bands around 6.3 and 15 micrometers