Hyperspectral earth observation from IASI: Five years of accomplishments

The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) forms the main infrared sounding component of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites's (EUMETSAT's) Meteorological Operation (MetOp)-A satellite (Klaes et al. 2007), which was launched in October 2006. This article presents the results of the first 4 yr of the operational IASI mission. The performance of the instrument is shown to be exceptional in terms of calibration and stability. The quality of the data has allowed the rapid use of the observations in operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) and the development of new products for atmospheric chemistry and climate studies, some of which were unexpected before launch. The assimilation of IASI observations in NWP models provides a significant forecast impact; in most cases the impact has been shown to be at least as large as for any previous instrument. In atmospheric chemistry, global distributions of gases, such as ozone and carbon monoxide, can be produced in near-real time, and short-lived species, such as ammonia or methanol, can be mapped, allowing the identification of new sources. The data have also shown the ability to track the location and chemistry of gaseous plumes and particles associated with volcanic eruptions and fires, providing valuable data for air quality monitoring and aircraft safety. IASI also contributes to the establishment of robust long-term data records of several essential climate variables. The suite of products being developed from IASI continues to expand as the data are investigated, and further impacts are expected from increased use of the data in NWP and climate studies in the coming years. The instrument has set a high standard for future operational hyperspectral infrared sounders and has demonstrated that such instruments have a vital role in the global observing system.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • opensky@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Library

Resource Type publication
Temporal Range Begin N/A
Temporal Range End N/A
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format PDF
Standardized Resource Format PDF
Asset Size N/A
Legal Constraints

Copyright 2012 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be "fair use" under Section 107 or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law (17 USC, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the Society's permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statements, requires written permission or license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policies, available from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or amspubs@ametsoc.org. Permission to place a copy of this work on this server has been provided by the AMS. The AMS does not guarantee that the copy provided here is an accurate copy of the published work.
Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email opensky@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library
Distributor N/A
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email opensky@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library

Author Hilton, Fiona
Armante, Raymond
August, Thomas
Barnet, Chris
Bouchard, Aurelie
Camy-Peyret, Claude
Capelle, Virginie
Clarisse, Lieven
Clerbaux, Cathy
Coheur, Pierre-Francois
Collard, Andrew
Crevoisier, Cyril
Dufour, Gaelle
Edwards, David
Faijan, Francois
Fourrie, Nadia
Gambacorta, Antonia
Goldberg, Mitchell
Guidard, Vincent
Hurtmans, Daniel
Illingworth, Samuel
Jacquinet-Husson, Nicole
Kerzenmacher, Tobias
Klaes, Dieter
Lavanant, Lydie
Masiello, Guido
Matricardi, Marco
McNally, Anthony
Newman, Stuart
Pavelin, Edward
Payan, Sebastien
Pequignot, Eric
Peyridieu, Sophie
Phulpin, Thierry
Remedios, John
Schluessel, Peter
Serio, Carmine
Strow, Larrabee
Stubenrauch, Claudia
Taylor, Jonathan
Tobin, David
Wolf, Walter
Zhou, Daniel
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2012-03-01T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:46:35.098513
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:11938
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Hilton, Fiona, Armante, Raymond, August, Thomas, Barnet, Chris, Bouchard, Aurelie, Camy-Peyret, Claude, Capelle, Virginie, Clarisse, Lieven, Clerbaux, Cathy, Coheur, Pierre-Francois, Collard, Andrew, Crevoisier, Cyril, Dufour, Gaelle, Edwards, David, Faijan, Francois, Fourrie, Nadia, Gambacorta, Antonia, Goldberg, Mitchell, Guidard, Vincent, Hurtmans, Daniel, Illingworth, Samuel, Jacquinet-Husson, Nicole, Kerzenmacher, Tobias, Klaes, Dieter, Lavanant, Lydie, Masiello, Guido, Matricardi, Marco, McNally, Anthony, Newman, Stuart, Pavelin, Edward, Payan, Sebastien, Pequignot, Eric, Peyridieu, Sophie, Phulpin, Thierry, Remedios, John, Schluessel, Peter, Serio, Carmine, Strow, Larrabee, Stubenrauch, Claudia, Taylor, Jonathan, Tobin, David, Wolf, Walter, Zhou, Daniel. (2012). Hyperspectral earth observation from IASI: Five years of accomplishments. UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7v40vw8. Accessed 24 July 2025.

Harvest Source