Appendix D
Abbreviations and Acronyms
(A)ATSR Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (also AATSR)
ABI Advanced Baseline Imager
ACE aerosol-cloud-ecosystem (mission)
ACRIMSAT Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite
ADCS Altitude Determination and Control System
ADM Air Data Management
AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
ALOS Advanced Land Observation Satellite
ALT altimeter
AMSR-E Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System
AMSU Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
AoA Analysis of Alternatives
APS Aerosol Polarimeter Sensor
ASAR Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar
ASCAT advanced scatterometers
ASCENDS Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days and Seasons
ASTER Advanced Spacebone Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
ATLID Atmospheric Light Detection and Ranging Instrument
ATMS Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder
AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
BIOMASS Biomass monitoring mission for carbon assessment (ESA)
CALIPSO Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations
CDR climate data record
CEOS Committee on Earth Observations Satellites
CERES Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System
CERES S’COOL Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System Students’ Clouds Observations On-Line
CGMS Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites
CHAMP Coral Health and Monitoring Project or Challenging Minisatellite Payload
CLARREO Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory
CMIS Conical Microwave Imager and Sounder
CNES Centre National d’Etude Spatiales
COSMIC Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate
CrIS Cross-track Infrared Sounder
CryoSat Cryosphere Satellite (mission)
DESDynI Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice Mission
DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
DOD Department of Defense
DSCOVR Deep Space Climate Observatory
EarthCARE ESA’s cloud and aerosol (mission)
ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
ECV essential climate variable
EDR environmental data record
ENVISAT Environmental Satellite
EOS Earth Observing System
ERB Earth’s radiation budget
ERBS Earth Radiation Budget Sensor
ESA European Space Agency
ET-EGOS Expert Team on Evolution of the Global Observing System
EUMETSAT European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
Feng Yun Feng Yun Wind and Cloud (meteorological satellite)
FPAR fraction of photosynthetically active radiation
GACM Global Atmospheric Composition Mission
GCOM Global Change Observation Mission
GCOS Global Climate Observing System
GEMS Global and regional Earth-system (Atmosphere) Monitoring
GEO geosynchronous Earth orbit
GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems
GERB geostationary Earth radiation budget
GFO Geosat (Geodetic Satellite) Follow-on
GHRSST-PP Global High Resolution SST Pilot Project
GIFTS Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer
GLAS Geoscience Laser Altimeter System
GLI Global Imager
GLM Geostationary Lightning Mapper
GMES Global Monitoring for Environmental Security
GMI Giant Magneto-Impedance
GMS Geostationary Meteorological Satellite
GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
GOME Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment
GOS Global Observing System
GOSAT Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite
GPM Global Precipitation Measurement
GPS/RO Global Positioning System/Radio Occultation
GRACE Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
GRAS Global Navigation Satellite System Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding
HES Hyperspectral Environmental Suite
HIRDLS High-Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder
HIRS High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder
IASI Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer
ICESat Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite
IEOS Integrated Earth Observation System
IOCCG International Ocean Colour Coordination Group
IORD Integrated Operational Requirements Document (NPOESS)
IOS Integrated Observing System
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IR infrared
IRS Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
ISRO Indian Space Agency
ITAR International Traffic in Arms Regulations
ITSC Information Technology Support Center
JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
LAI leaf area index
LDCM Landsat Data Continuity Mission
LEO low Earth orbit
MAM mirror attenuated mosaic
MERIS Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (ESA)
Meteosat Meteorological satellite for European counterpart to GOES
MetOp Meteorological Operational Satellite (European)
METSAT Meteorological Satellite
MIPAS Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding
MIS Microwave Imager and Sounder
MISR Multi-Angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer
MLS microwave limb sounder
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-Radiometer
MSG Meteosat Second Generation
MSU microwave sounding unit
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NESDIS National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service
NESDIS/STAR National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service/Center for Satellite Applications and Research
NIR near infrared
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NODC National Oceanic Data Center (NOAA)
NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
NPP NPOESS Preparatory Project
NRC National Research Council
NSTC National Science and Technology Council
OCO Orbiting Carbon Observatory
OLS Operational Line Scanner
OMI Ozone Monitoring Instrument
OMPS Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite
OPAG Open Programme Area Group
OSIP Operational Satellite Improvement Program
OSSE Observing System Simulation Experiment
OSTM Ocean Surface Topography Mission
OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy
OSTST Ocean Surface Topography Science Team
P3I preplanned product improvement
PALSAR Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
PARASOL Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar
PATH Precipitation and All-Weather Temperature and Humidity
POES Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite
POLDER Polarization and Directionality of Earth’s Reflectances
QuikSCAT Quick Scatterometer
RADARSAT Radar Satellite (Canada)
SAGE Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment
SAR synthetic aperture radar
SARAL Satellite with Argos and AltiKa
SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking
SBUV Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument
SBUV/2 Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectral Radiometer, MOD 2
ScaRAB Scanner for the Radiation Budget
SCIAMACHY Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography
SCLP Snow and Cold Land Processes
SeaWiFS Sea-Viewing Wide-Field Sensor
SESS Space Environment Sensor Suite
SEVIRI Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager
SGLI Second Generation Global Imager
SIM Spectral Irradiance Monitor
SMAP Software Assurance Management Program
SMMR Scanning Multichannel (or Multifrequency) Microwave Radiometer
SMOS Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity
SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
SORCE Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
SPOT Satellite Probatoire de l’Observation de la Terre
SSI spectral solar irradiance
SSM/I Special Sensor Microwave Imager
SSMIS Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder
SST sea surface temperature
STAR Center for Satellite Applications and Research
SuS Survivability Sensor
SWOT Surface Water-Ocean Topography
TES Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer
TIM Total Irradiance Monitor
TMI TRMM [Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission] Microwave Imager
TOMS Total Ozone Mapping (Spectrolab/System/Spectrometer)
TOPEX Ocean Topography Experiment
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
TSI total solar irradiance
TSIS Total Solar Irradiance Suite
UARS Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UV ultraviolet
VAS VISSR Atmospheric Sounder
VIIRS Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite
VIRI visible and infrared imager
VISSR Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer
WindSat a joint Integrated Program Office/DOD/NASA satellite-based polarimetric microwave radiometer
WMO World Meteorological Organization
XOVWM Extended Ocean Vector Winds Mission