Data Analysis of the Far Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere Instrument

The Far Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument is a high resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer that is capable of measuring the atmospheric radiation from 100 to 1000 cm-1. It successfully collected over 15,000 spectra over Fort Sumner, New Mexico on a balloon platform in June of 2005. The preliminary analysis of the data shows that the instrument is well calibrated. The FIRST radiance compares well with collocated AIRS overpass observations and with those calculated from radiative transfer calculations. This talk will show results of further analysis of the FIRST data. Since the atmospheric water is one of the major contributors to the far-infrared radiation, we will explore the short-term variability of water vapor during the entire balloon observation period. We will discuss derivation of the atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles, and inference of IR cooling rate from the measured FIRST spectra.