The NPOESS Aircraft Sounder Testbed - Microwave (NAST-M) is an airborne microwave radiometer operated 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: one operating across eight channels between 50-57 GHz and the other across nine at 118 GHz. In 2003, NAST-M was upgraded with two additional radiometers at 183 and 425 GHz to enhance water vapor retrievals and detect 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. Its typical integration time is 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Unpublished
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