The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, is one of six instruments on board the Aqua satellite, part of the NASA Earth Observing System.
Its purpose is to detect trends in climate variation and observe water and energy cycles.
AIRS uses infrared technology to create 3-D maps of air and surface temperature, water vapor, and cloud properties. Its 2,378 spectral channels provide a spectral resolution more than 100 times greater than previous IR sounders and give more accurate information on the vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and moisture.
Here are the latest AIRS MW/IR/near-IR images from today's overpass of A02, now known as Ana, courtesy of Dr. Edward T. Olsen at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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