Near Real Time Infrared Radiances from AIRS/Aqua Satellite

2378 infrared channels provide calibrated radiance measurements in the 3.74 to 15.4 micron spectrum. The dataset contains 6-minute data granules, each covering 90 footprints across track by 135 lines along track. It is produced by NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the EOS Aqua satellite for the Land Atmosphere NRT Capability Earth Observing System (LANCE).

Use Cases

• Retrieve atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles by analyzing radiance from specific infrared channels.
• Assimilate near real-time geolocated radiance data into numerical weather prediction models to improve forecast accuracy.
• Monitor trace gases and cloud properties using spectral radiance information across 2378 channels.
• Study the impact of spacecraft maneuvers on instrument calibration by comparing spectral_freq parameter shifts before and after events.
• Validate radiative transfer models by comparing simulated brightness temperatures with observed radiances from co-aligned AIRS and AMSU-A footprints.

Strengths

• 2378 infrared channels provide high spectral resolution for detailed atmospheric profiling.
• Data is delivered in near real-time with a three-hour latency requirement for timely analysis.
• Each 6-minute granule provides spatially extensive coverage with 90 across-track by 135 along-track footprints.

Limitations

• A 2021 spacecraft maneuver caused spectral response function shifts, affecting brightness temperatures for 575 channels by more than 0.1 K.
• NRT processing uses predictive rather than definitive ephemeris/attitude data, which may introduce geolocation inaccuracies.
• Granules are produced without adjacent temporal data if previous or subsequent granules are unavailable within 5 minutes, potentially creating data gaps.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Data collected by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) grating spectrometer aboard the EOS Aqua satellite.

Time Range

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Freshness

Near real-time with three-hour latency.

Geography

Global coverage from polar-orbiting satellite.