Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADEOS Advanced Earth Observing Satellite
AFGL Air Force Geophysics Laboratory
AL Aeronomy Laboratory of NOAA, USA
AMSU-B Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
ARC NASA Ames Research Center, USA
ARM Atmospheric Radiation Monitoring
ATLAS Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (Spacelab Shuttle Missions)
ATMOS Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy
CCR Clear Column Radiance
CLAES Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (on UARS)
CMDL NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, USA
CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
DAAC Distributed Active Archive Center, NASA LaRC, USA
DIAL Differential Absorption LIDAR
DLH Diode Laser Hygrometer
DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Germany
DMSP Defence Meteorological Satellite Program
DOE Department of Energy, USA
ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
EI Emission Index
ENSO El Niño and the South Oscillation
EOS Earth Observing System (of NASA's global satellite system)
ERBE Earth Radiation Budget Experiment
FIRS Far-Infrared Spectrometer
FISH Fast In-situ Stratospheric Hygrometer
FTIR Fourier Transform Infra-Red
FWHM Full Width Half Maximum
GOES Goddard Positioning System
GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, USA
HALOE Halogen Occultation Experiment (on UARS)
HITRAN HIgh-resolution TRANsmission
HIRS High Resolution Infrared Sounder
ILAS Improved Limb Absorption Spectrometer
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISAMS Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder
LASE LIDAR Atmospheric Sensing Experiment
LIDAR LIght Detection And Ranging
LIMS Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere
LS Lower Stratosphere
MAS Microwave Atmospheric Sounder
MIPAS Michelson Interferometer for passive Atmospheric Sounding
MJO Madden-Julian Oscillation
MLS Microwave Limb Sounder (on UARS)
MOZAIC Measurement of Ozone by Airbus In-Service Aircraft
MPAE Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie, Germany
MSU Microwave Sounding Unit
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA
NASDA National Space Development Agency, Japan
NCEP National Center for Environmental Prediction, USA
NDSC Network for the Detection of Statospheric Change
NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NOAA)
NIST National Institute for Standards and Technology, USA
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA
NRL Naval Research Laboratory, USA
POAM Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurements
POLARIS Photochemistry of Ozone Loss in the Arctic Region in Summer
POLINAT Pollution from Aircraft Emissions in the North Atlantic Flight Corridor
ppmv parts per million (by volume), i.e. 10-6
PV Potential Vorticiy
QBO Quasi-Biennal Oscillation
RH Relative humidity
RMS Root-Mean-Square
SAGE Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment
SAMS Stratospheric And Mesospheric Sounder
SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, USA
SPADE Stratospheric Photochemistry Aerosols and Dynamics Expedition
SPARC Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate
SSB Single sideband
SSM/I Special Sensor Microwave Imager
SSMT2 Special Sensor Microwave / Temperature 2 parameter of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program microwave instrument
SSU Stratospheric Sounding Unit
TDL Tuneable Diode Laser
TIGR TOVS Initial Guess Retrieval
TIO Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillation
TOVS TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder
UARS Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
UKMO United Kingdom Meteorological Office, UK
UT Upper Troposphere
UTH Upper Tropospheric Humidity
VUV Vacuum Ultra Violet
WASPAM Wasserdampf und Spurengasmessungen mit Mikrowellen
WCRP World Climate Research Programme
WMO World Meteorological Organisation
WVMS Water Vapour Millimetre-wave Spectrometer