Abstract

The solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument on the Nimbus 7 satellite, when operated in the continuous spectral scan mode, measures the radiance emerging from the atmosphere between 200 nm and 400 nm. In these spectral scans we observe emission features resulting from fluorescent scattering of sunlight in the nitric oxide gamma bands, superimposed on a background of Rayleigh scattered sunlight. We have developed a technique for subtracting this background to allow estimation of the nitric oxide band intensities. We then can calculate total nitric oxide above 45 km on a global and seasonal basis.

© 1983 Optical Society of America