Aerosol column burden | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Aerosol effective radius | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Aerosol mass mixing ratio | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Aerosol Optical Depth | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Aerosol type | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Atmospheric temperature* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Inaccurate in low troposphere. | TIR spectrometry in the 15 micrometer band |
C2H2 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. C2H2 lines around 7.5 and 13.7 micrometers |
C2H6 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. C2H6 lines around 12 micrometers |
CFC-11 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | TIR spectrometry. CFC-11 lines around 9.2 and 11.7 micrometers |
CFC-12 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. CFC-12 lines around 8.8 and 10.8 micrometers |
CH3Br | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | Spectrometry in the HC3Br bands around 6.7, 7.9 and 10.5 micrometers |
CH4 mole fraction* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | SWIR and TIR spectrometry. CH4 lines around 2.3 and 7.7 micrometers |
ClONO2 | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry. ClONO2 lines around 5.7, 7.7 and 12.5 micrometers |
Cloud cover | 3 - high | Discontinuous coverage. | NIR. SWIR and TIR spectrometry |
Cloud drop effective radius | 4 - fair | At cloud top.. Daylight only. | NIR and SWIR spectrometry |
Cloud ice effective radius | 4 - fair | At cloud top.. Daylight only. | NIR and SWIR spectrometry |
Cloud top height | 2 - very high | Discontinuous coverage. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature |
Cloud top temperature | 1 - primary | Discontinuous coverage. | TIR spectrometry in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) |
Cloud type | 3 - high | Discontinuous coverage. | NIR, SWIR and TIR spectrometry |
CO | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | SWIR spectrometry. CO lines around 2.3 micrometers |
CO2 mole fraction* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | SWIR and TIR spectrometry. CO2 lines around 1.6, 2.1 and 15 micrometers |
COS | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | TIR spectrometry. COS lines around 11.6 micrometers |
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Highly indirect. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry including water vapour and CO2 bands |
H2O* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | MWIR/TIR spectrometry in a range centred on 6.3 micrometers |
Height of the top of PBL* | 5 - marginal | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. Height of PBL top from temperature profile |
Height of the tropopause* | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. Height of tropopause from temperature profile |
HNO3 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry. HNO3 lines around 5.9, 7.6 and 11.3 micrometers |
Land surface temperature | 4 - fair | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution. | TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections) |
Long-wave Earth surface emissivity | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Long time series needed. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry measuring land temperature in many windows. Emissivity inferred by statistical analysis |
N2O mole fraction | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | SWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O lines around 2.3 and 7.7 micrometers |
N2O5 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O5 lines around 5.8 and 8 micrometers |
NO | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | MWIR spectrometry. NO lines around 5.3 micrometers |
NO2 | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers |
NO2 Total Column | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers |
O3* | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. Ozone band around 9.7 micrometers |
O3 Total Column* | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR channel(s). Ozone lines in band around 9.7 micrometers |
PAN | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | MWIR and TIR spectrometry. PAN lines around 5.7, 8.6 and 12.5 micrometers |
PSC occurrence | 2 - very high | Coarse vertical resolution. | MWIR and TIR spectroscopy |
Sea surface temperature | 3 - high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections) |
SF6 | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution. | TIR spectrometry. SF6 lines around 10.5 micrometers |
SO2 | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers |
SO2 Total Column | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers |
Specific humidity* | 1 - primary | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers |
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry in the bands around 6.3 and above 11 micrometers |
Temperature of the tropopause* | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive. | TIR spectrometry. Tropopause temperature from temperature profile |
Upward spectral radiance at TOA | 3 - high | Missing 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 TOA | 3 - high | Spectral 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 ash | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Daylight only. | Opportunity information from greenhouse gas NIR/SWIR spectrometer |
Wind (horizontal) | 3 - high | Limited 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 surface | 2 - very high | Cloud sensitive.. Highly indirect. | TIR spectrometry covering the 11 micrometers window region and the water vapour and CO2 bands around 6.3 and 15 micrometers |