Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere

Measurements either from the ground or from satellites have been a major contribution to this effort, and satellite instruments such as LIMS (Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere) on the Nimbus 7 satellite (I) in 1979 and ATMOS (Atmospheric Trace Molecular Spectroscopy instrument), a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer aboard Spacelab 3 (2) in 1987, have produced valuable data sets that still challenge our models. But these remote techniques are not always adequate for resolving photochemistry on the small scale, particularly in the lower stratosphere. In some cases, the altitude resolution provided by remote techniques has been insufficient to provide unambiguous concentrations of trace gas species at specific altitudes. Insufficient altitude resolution is a handicap particularly for those trace species with large gradients in either altitude or latitude. Often only the most abundant species can be measured. Many of the reactive trace gases, the key species in most chemical transformations, have small abundances that are difficult to detect accurately from remote platforms. 

L1MS Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere ST C02, HNOj, 0, H20, NOj Nimbus 7 (1978-79)... 

Both absorption and emission experiments have been made using a number of different instruments. The Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer (LRIR) and Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) are both infrared radiometers which were flown aboard Nimbus 6 and 7, respectively, and recorded data in 1978 and 1979 (Gille et al., 1980 Gille and Russell, 1984). The six channels of LIMS observed emission by C02, HN03,03, H20 and N02 from 15-65 km. 

Satellite observations have added much to our understanding of the morphology of atmospheric ozone, both in terms of its altitude profile and total column density (see Box 5.3). For example, early observations by the Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (BUV) on board Nimbus 4, as well as by the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS), and the Solar and Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SBUV) on board Nimbus 7 led to the first global view of the distribution of ozone... 

Gille, J.C., and J.M. Russell, The limb infrared monitor of the stratosphere (LIMS) Experiment description, performance and results. J Geophys Res 89, 5125, 1984. 

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