The NPOESS Aircraft Sounder Testbed - Microwave (NAST-M) is an airborne microwave radiometer maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It measures brightness temperature which can be used to retrieve water vapor profiles in the atmosphere. It consists of two radiometers with one operating across 8 channels between 50-57 GHz and the other operating across 9 channels at 118 GHz. In 2003, NAST-M was upgraded with two additional radiometers operating at 183 and 425 GHz to improve water vapor retrievals and the detection of small hydrometeors. NAST-M has a spatial resolution of 2.6 km and a cross-track swath width of 100 km at a flight altitude of 20 km. It has a typical integration time of 100 ms.
Instrument Details
- Spectrometer/Radiometer
- Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Water VaporEarth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor ProfilesEarth Science > Spectral/engineering > Microwave > Brightness TemperatureEarth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water VaporEarth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
- Lower Stratosphere
- 100 ms
- 2.6 km
- 50-57 GHz, 118 GHz, 183 GHz, 425 GHz
- https://doi.org/10.1109/36.964981
R. Vincent Leslie
R. Vincent Leslie
MIT
NASA
Unpublished
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