BackForwardInstrument:  BUV 

Instrument details
Acronym BUV
Full name Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer
Purpose Vertical profile of ozone and other species. Also solar irradiance
Short description UV spectro-radiometer. 12 discrete 1-nm bandwidth channels in the interval 250 to 340 nm
Background Early UV instrument of a series that, after several up-datings, is still in use.
Scanning Technique Nadir view only.
Resolution 220 km s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle About 1650 measurements/day. Global coverage (170 km spacing) in 10 days, in daylight
Mass 14.5 kg Power 7 W Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1970 to 1980
Last update: 2012-05-04
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Cross-nadir shortwave (UV/VIS) sounder
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • UV/VIS/NIR sounders, nadir and limb
  • UV/VIS/NIR nadir sounder
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • O3
  • O3 Total Column
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Aerosol column burden2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry for absorbing aerosol
Aerosol effective radius2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry for absorbing aerosol
Aerosol mass mixing ratio2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry for absorbing aerosol
Aerosol Optical Depth2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry for absorbing aerosol
Aerosol type2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry for absorbing aerosol
HCHO Total Column3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry. HCHO lines around 350 nm
NO2 Total Column3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry. Several NO2 lines
O3*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry. Ozone lines in the bands around 260 nm (Hartley) and/or 340 nm (Huggins)
O3 Total Column*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectroradiometer. Ozone lines in the bands around 260 nm (Hartley) and/or 340 nm (Huggins)
PSC occurrence3 - highCoarse vertical resolution.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry
SO2 Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry. SO2 lines around 350 nm
Aerosol volcanic ash2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry, specifically sensitive to ash
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Along-track only.UV spectrometry, specifically sensitive to ash