Tangent point position and atmosphere composition in limb scanning instruments

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: De Cosmo, Francesco Pio, Sgheri, Luca
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author De Cosmo, Francesco Pio
Sgheri, Luca
author_facet De Cosmo, Francesco Pio
Sgheri, Luca
contents In the forward model for limb-scanning instruments, ray tracing must be accounted for because variations in air refractivity cause the lines of sight to bend from straight paths into curves. The tangent point of a line of sight is defined as the minimum height point. The lines of sight can be adjusted by varying the nadir angles of the instrument, which must be calibrated to account for Earth's ellipticity and the actual atmospheric conditions sampled by these paths. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the nadir angles, atmospheric properties, and tangent point positions, using a configuration relevant to the CAIRT instrument. Atmospheric data from reanalysis databases are utilized, and the lines of sight are determined by numerically solving the Eikonal equation. Our findings are compared to those of a previous study conducted for the MIPAS instrument, highlighting key differences.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_08543
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Tangent point position and atmosphere composition in limb scanning instruments
De Cosmo, Francesco Pio
Sgheri, Luca
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
In the forward model for limb-scanning instruments, ray tracing must be accounted for because variations in air refractivity cause the lines of sight to bend from straight paths into curves. The tangent point of a line of sight is defined as the minimum height point. The lines of sight can be adjusted by varying the nadir angles of the instrument, which must be calibrated to account for Earth's ellipticity and the actual atmospheric conditions sampled by these paths. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the nadir angles, atmospheric properties, and tangent point positions, using a configuration relevant to the CAIRT instrument. Atmospheric data from reanalysis databases are utilized, and the lines of sight are determined by numerically solving the Eikonal equation. Our findings are compared to those of a previous study conducted for the MIPAS instrument, highlighting key differences.
title Tangent point position and atmosphere composition in limb scanning instruments
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.08543