BackForwardInstrument:  TES-nadir 

Instrument details
Acronym TES-nadir
Full name Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer
Purpose Atmospheric chemistry.  Tracked species: CFC-11, CFC12, CH4, CO, CO2, H2O, HCl, HDO, HNO3, N2, N2O, NH3, NO, NO2, O3, OCS, SO2 and aerosol
Short description
  • Imaging interferometer, four bands, 43,750 channels [see detailed characteristics below]
  • More information here
Background

New development
Scanning Technique

Cross-track mode: array of 16 detectors of 0.53 x 0.53 km2 IFOV s.s.p. moving in 10 steps to cover a FOV of 5.3 x 8.5 km2 that can be pointed everywhere within a cone of 45° aperture or a swath of 885 km. The cross-nadir mode is alternative to the limb mode
Resolution Cross-track mode: 0.53 x 0.53 km at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Cross-track mode: if used full time and exploiting strategic pointing, in 16 days (the orbital repeat cycle) a global coverage could be obtained  for cells of ~ 80-km side
Mass 385 kg Power 334 W Data Rate 4.5 Mbps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2004 to 2018
Last update: 2024-09-30
Detailed characteristics
Spectral range (µm) Spectral range (cm-1) Spectral resolution (unapodised) NEΔT @ specified scene temperature
11.11-15.38 µm 650-900 cm-1 0.059 cm-1 < 1 K @ 280 K
8.70-12.20 µm 820-1150 cm-1 0.059 cm-1 < 1 K @ 280 K
5.13-9.09 µm 1100-1950 cm-1 0.059 cm-1 < 1 K @ 280 K
3.28-5.26 µm 1900-3050 cm-1 0.059 cm-1 < 2 K @ 280 K
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
  • C2H2
  • C2H6
  • CFC-11
  • CFC-12
  • CH4 mole fraction
  • CO
  • CO2 mole fraction
  • COS
  • ClONO2
  • H2O
  • HNO3
  • N2O mole fraction
  • NO
  • NO2
  • NO2 Total Column
  • O3
  • O3 Total Column
  • PAN
  • SF6
  • 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
Atmospheric temperature1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry in the CO2 4.3 and 15 micrometer bands
C2H2*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. C2H2 lines around 7.5 and 13.7 micrometers
CFC-11*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.TIR spectrometry. CFC-11 lines around 9.2 and 11.7 micrometers
C2H6*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. C2H6 lines around 3.3 and 12 micrometers
CFC-12*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. CFC-12 lines around 8.8 and 10.8 micrometers
HCFC-221 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. HCFC-22 lines around 7.6, 9.0 and 12.3 micrometers
CH3Br1 - primaryCloud sensitive.Spectrometry in the HC3Br bands around 6.7, 7.9 and 10.5 micrometers
CH4 mole fraction*2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. CH4 lines around 3.4, 4.3 and 7.7 micrometers
ClONO2*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. ClONO2 lines around 5.7, 7.7 and 12.5 micrometers
Cloud cover3 - highDiscontinuous coverage.MWIR and TIR 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 type4 - fairDiscontinuous coverage.MWIR and TIR spectrometry
CO*3 - highCloud sensitive.MWIR spectrometry. CO lines around 4.6 micrometers
CO2 mole fraction*2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. CO2 lines around 4.3 and 15 micrometers
COS*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. COS lines around 4.8 and 11.6 micrometers
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR spectrometry including water vapour and CO2 bands
H2O*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR/TIR spectrometry in a range centred on 6.3 micrometers
Height of the top of PBL3 - highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. Height of PBL top from temperature profile
Height of the tropopause3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Height of tropopause from temperature profile
HNO3*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. HNO3 lines around 5.9, 7.6 and 11.3 micrometers
Land surface temperature2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.MWIR and TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections)
Long-wave Earth surface emissivity1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Long time series needed.MWIR and TIR spectrometry measuring land temperature in many windows. Emissivity inferred by statistical analysis
N2O mole fraction*2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O lines around 4.5 and 7.7 micrometers
N2O51 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry. N2O5 lines around 5.8 and 8 micrometers
NO*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR spectrometry. NO lines around 5.3 micrometers
NO2*3 - highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. NO2 lines around 6.1 micrometers
NO2 Total Column*1 - primaryCloud 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
PAN*1 - primaryCloud 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 temperature1 - primaryCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR spectrometry (inclusive of several narrow-bandwidth windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections)
SF6*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. SF6 lines around 10.5 micrometers
SO2*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers
SO2 Total Column*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. SO2 lines around 7.3 and 8.6 micrometers
Specific humidity1 - 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 tropopause2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR spectrometry. Tropopause temperature from temperature profile
Upward spectral radiance at TOA2 - very highMissing all Short-waves.MWIR and TIR spectrometry resolving water vapour lines in the bands around 6.3 micrometers and 11 to 15 micrometers; and other greenhouse gases
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA3 - highSpectral interpolation needed.MWIR and TIR spectrometry in the windows regions around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 4,3, 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 4,3, 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Wind (horizontal)3 - highCloud sensitive.. Limited to high latitudes.TIR spectrometry in the 6.3 micrometers band. Wind profile in clear air by tracking water vapour patches in the humidity profile