ARGOS: Aerosol Radiometer for Global Observation of the Stratosphere

Overview

Most missions dedicated to studying the relationship between aerosols and Earth systems focus on the troposphere, but stratospheric aerosols are also important, impacting systems such as the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) and climate change. ARGOS will allow researchers to gather impactful data describing the direct radiative effects of anthropogenic aerosols in the stratosphere and make significant contributions to our limited knowledge of how these particles behave and influence other Earth systems.

Science Area

Aerosols play a major role in Earth systems like climate change, weather, and cloud formation. Human activities, as well as natural events such as volcanic eruptions, cause a dramatic increase in aerosols circulating through our atmosphere. Learning more about how these particles behave in the stratosphere would provide researchers with new insights into innumerable dynamic Earth systems, paving the way for improved models describing phenomena like severe weather.

Technology

ARGOS will simultaneously collect limb scattering data optimized for aerosol scattering between the wavelengths of 850 – 1500 nm and in eight viewing directions, providing a more balanced measurement sensitivity compared to similar instruments currently in operation. A key element of the ARGOS design is the central prism, a multifaceted mirror that directs incoming radiation from each aperture towards a 2D detector array at the base of the sensor. The baseline optical design assumes an orbital altitude of 500 – 600 km and uses a 1.3˚ vertical slit to consistently obtain radiance profiles that cover 0 – 60 km.

Advancements

• Multiple viewing directions improve global distribution of aerosol sensitivity when compared to current state-of-the-art instruments, greatly increasing spatial sampling capabilities.
• Octagonal prism mirror provides simultaneous measurements with consistent optical paths for each aperture, allowing researchers to better understand how stratospheric aerosols impact numerous Earth systems across the stratosphere.
• CCD detector allows ARGOS to gather its simultaneous measurements across multiple wavelengths with good vertical resolution, making it easier for scientists to gather data on aerosols of various sizes situated at different levels of the stratosphere.

Principal Investigator

Matthew DeLand is a senior research scientist at Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI), working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and serving as Principal Investigator for ARGOS. Matthew earned is M.S. in Physics from Johns Hopkins and his B.S. in Physics from Washington University in St. Louis. Matthew’s co-investigators include Matthew Kowalewski and Peter Colarco, both at GSFC.