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

Abstract

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