The Nimbus 7 LIMS (Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere) water vapor measurements

Earth orbital instruments, designed to measure the vertical and spatial distribution of atmospheric water vapor is discussed. Specifically, the operation of the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment is examined. The LIMS is a six channel limb scanning radiometer that was launched aboard Nimbus 7 in 1978. Profiles of stratospheric and mesospheric temperature, water vapor, and various other constituents were obtained by inverting the LIMS radiance measurements. This same technique was used in 1981 to analyze the data returned from another limb scanning radiometer aboard the Solar Mesosphere Explorer

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS): A case study

In the late 70's, a refurbishment of the analytical laboratories serving the Materials Division at NASA Lewis Research Center was undertaken. As part of the modernization efforts, a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) was to be included. Preliminary studies indicated a custom-designed system as the best choice in order to satisfy all of the requirements. A scaled down version of the original design has been in operation since 1984. The LIMS, a combination of computer hardware, provides the chemical characterization laboratory with an information data base, a report generator, a user interface, and networking capabilities. This paper is an account of the processes involved in designing and implementing that LIMS

Satellite observation and mapping of wintertime ozone variability in the lower stratosphere

Comparison is made between 30 mbar ozone fields that are generated by a transport chemistry model utilizing the winds from the Goddard Space Flight Center stratospheric data assimilation system (STRATAN), observations from the LIMS instrument on Nimbus-7, and the ozone fields that result from 'flying a mathematical simulation of LIMS observations through the transport chemistry model ozone fields. The modeled ozone fields were found to resemble the LIMS observations, but the model fields show much more temporal and spatial structure than do the LIMS observations. The 'satellite mapped' model results resemble the LIMS observations much more closely. These results are very consistent with the earlier discussions of satellite space-time sampling by Salby

Spatial-frequency response of the limb infrared monitor of the stratosphere

Measurements from the Limb Infrared Monitor of the stratosphere (LIMS) are presented and discussed. From the LIMS design model data, the modulation transfer function (MTF) was calculated for the optical system, the detector field mask, the electronics, and the overall system for each channel. The signal output performance of the instrument was predicted from the system MTF data and model input radiance data for each channel. The MTF measurements made on the flight sensor confirmed the analytical results

The delayed contribution of low and intermediate mass stars to chemical galactic enrichment: An analytical approach

We find a new analytical solution for the chemical evolution equations, taking into account the delayed contribution of all low and intermediate mass stars (LIMS) as one representative star that enriches the interstellar medium.This solution is built only for star formation rate proportional to the gas mass in a closed box model. We obtain increasing C/O and N/O ratios with increasing O/H, behavior impossible to match with the Instantaneous Recycling Approximation (IRA). Our results, obtained by two analytical equations, are very similar to those found by numerical models that consider the lifetimes of each star. This delayed model reproduces successfully the evolution of C/O-O/H and Y-O relations in the solar vicinity. This analytical approximation is a useful tool to study the chemical evolution of elements produced by LIMS when a galactic chemical evolutionary code is not available.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, to be published in the RevMexAA in October 200

Analysis of observations of the middle atmosphere from satellites

Satellite data are being used to investigate problems in middle atmosphere chemistry and dynamics. Efforts have been focused primarily on studies to determine the quality of observed distributions of trace species and derived dynamical quantities. Those data have been used as diagnostics for model-derived constituent profiles and fields and for improving our understanding of some of the fundamental processes occurring in the middle atmosphere. Temperatures and derived winds from Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitoring of the Stratosphere (LIMS) data were compared with long-time series of rawinsonde data at Invercargill, New Zealand, and Berlin, West Germany, and the results are excellent for both quantities. It was also demonstrated that more highly-derived dynamical quantities can be obtained reliably from those LIMS fields. Furthermore, both the diabatic and residual-mean circulations derived using LIMS data agree qualitatively with changes in the distribution of trace species determined independently with the Nimbus 7 SAMS and LIMS experiments. Subsequently, an examination of LIMS data at mid to high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere has revealed a synoptic-scale, upper stratospheric instability during late autumn that is associated with the development of the stratospheric polar jet. Investigation of this phenomenon continues with Stratospheric Sounding Unit (SSU) data sets

LIMS: Database for livestock performance data. Version 1.2. Computer program with system documentation

The LIMS (Livestock Information Management System) software package is designed to facilitate the recording and processing of livestock data in developing countries. The package is not specialised for use with any particular species or production system, but can be used with data for any mammal species for a variety of purposes, such as research, extension and commercial production. The objective is to provide user with a computerised tool that allows them to manage complex livestock performance data set, and to provide help in livestock management without relying on specialist computer and data management support. The LIMS software package has been designed to address six key issues in management of livestock performance data, viz, balance of flexibility and standardisation of data definition, documentation and definition of data sets, assistance in deriving non-observed data (breed, parity, mating - parturition connection), data validation and error correction, reporting for animal management, and data extraction and calculation of standard performance traits for statistical analysis. In order to address these various aspects of livestock data management, the LIMS software has a modular design, with different modules addressing each of the above mentioned issues. A generic data set is distributed along with the LIMS software. LIMS is developed in the CLIPPER language. All data in a LIMS data set are stored in dBASE III + compatible data files

On the Quality of the Nimbus 7 LIMS Version 6 Water Vapor Profiles and Distributions

This report describes the quality of the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) water vapor (H2O) profiles of 1978/79 that were processed with a Version 6 (V6) algorithm and archived in 2002. The V6 profiles incorporate a better knowledge of the instrument attitude for the LIMS measurements along its orbits, leading to improvements for its temperature profiles and for the registration of its water vapor radiances with pressure. As a result, the LIMS V6 zonal-mean distributions of H2O exhibit better hemispheric symmetry than was the case from the original Version 5 (V5) dataset that was archived in 1982. Estimates of the precision and accuracy of the V6 H2O profiles are developed and provided. Individual profiles have a precision of order 5% and an estimated accuracy of about 19% at 3 hPa, 14% at 10 hPa, and 26% at 50 hPa. Profile segments within about 2 km of the tropopause are often affected by emissions from clouds that appear in the finite field-of-view of the detector for the LIMS H2O channel. Zonally-averaged distributions of the LIMS V6 H2O are compared with those from the more recent Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite experiment for November, February, and May of 2004/2005. The patterns and values of their respective distributions are similar in many respects. Effects of a strengthened Brewer-Dobson circulation are indicated in the MLS distributions of the recent decade versus those of LIMS from 1978/79. A tropical tape recorder signal is present in the 7-month time series of LIMS V6 H2O with lowest values in February 1979, and the estimated, annually-averaged "entry-level" H2O is 3.5 to 3.8 ppmv. It is judged that this historic LIMS water vapor dataset is of good quality for studies of the near global-scale chemistry and transport for pressure levels from 3 hPa to about 70 to 100 hPa

LIMS: Livestock Information Management System - Introductory guide

This introductory guide has been written to facilitate the use of the LIMS (Livestock Information Management System) package, details of which are given in the system documentation manual. The LIMS system was based on the experience gained from IDEAS (ILCA's Data Entry and Analysis System) a software package designed for the management of animal performance data. This guide takes the reader through the entire features of the LIMS software using sample data sets. The user is most likely to gain if the manual is read while performing the suggested tasks