The Doppler Wind And Temperature Sounder

Martin McHugh, Dave Fritts, Larry Gordley
2014 Zenodo  
The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder (DWTS) is novel sensor concept for measuring global winds and temperatures from cloud-top to the thermosphere. This will significantly improve medium- and long-range weather forecasts and enable more advanced tracking of severe storms. The approach uses the inherent high spectral resolution from gas filter correlation radiometry to simultaneously measure the Doppler shift and linewidth of limb emission spectra as viewed from low-Earth orbit. DWTS images
more » ... he limb through low-pressure gas cells containing CO2, NO and NO2. We describe here how very accurate vector winds and kinetic temperatures can be inferred from these observations. Profiles of temperature and wind can be measured day and night continuously from 15 to over 250 km at intervals of 10 km along-track with less than 2% uncertainty. A constellation of 6-12 DWTS instruments on small satellites would provide unprecedented observations of global atmospheric dynamics from the lower stratosphere into the middle thermosphere, greatly improving weather and storm forecasting. We present the current status and plans to realize this important mission.
doi:10.5281/zenodo.11111 fatcat:znlhtcpvazdmhhpq44kbc7zf34