Remote sensing of vertical profiles of atmospheric trace constituents with MIPAS limb-emission spectrometers

A deeper understanding of long-term ozone trends and periods of significant ozone depletion as well as of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect requires the concerted actions of experimenters and modelers. With respect to observations, atmospheric constituents need to be measured simultaneously and on a global basis. Fourier-transform infrared spectrometers are especially suited for this measurement task. A promising and challenging branch of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy is its application to limb-emission sounding by the use of cryogenic instrumentation. This method allows the measurements to be made independently of the time of the day. The MIPAS (Michelson interferometer for passive atmospheric sounding) balloon-borne (MIPAS-B) and space-based (MIPAS-S) experiments apply this technique. While the MIPAS-B instrument has already been used for several years for stratospheric process studies, the MIPAS-S instrument is in development for the European Space Agency's ENVISAT mission. Instrumental aspects of these MIPAS experiments are highlighted, the most important results in ozone research achieved with MIPAS-B are reviewed, and a brief overview of the scientific capabilities of the MIPAS space experiment is given.