Hyperspectral sounding a revolutionary advance in atmospheric remote sensing

Hyperspectral remote sounding was introduced with the High spectral resolution Interferometer Sounder (HIS) that flew on the NASA ER-2 aircraft in the mid-1980s. The results from the HIS demonstrated that high vertical resolution sounding information could be achieved using quasi-continuous spectra of the atmosphere's radiance to space. This has led to a series of research and operational satellite instruments designed to exploit the hyperspectral resolution sounding approach. The experimental versions, the ADEOS IMG (Interferometer for the Measurement of trace Gases) and the Aqua AIRS (Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder) have already been orbited. The IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) and the CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) instruments are soon to be orbited on the METOP and the NPP/NPOESS operational series of polar orbiting satellites, respectively. Geostationary satellite hyperspectral resolution sounding instrumentation was initiated with the experimental GIFTS (Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer) instrument whose development is providing risk reduction for the next generation of operational geostationary satellite instruments (e.g., the GOES-R Hyperspectral Environmental Suite, HES). This presentation traces the evolution of the hyperspectral resolution sounding program. Intercomparisons of the different satellite instrument approaches are discussed. Experimental results from the current aircraft and experimental satellite systems are presented to demonstrate the power of the hyperspectral resolution sounding technique.