Atmospheric observations made using the Aquameter water band radiometer

During late September and early October of 1998 the FISTA (Flying Infrared Signatures Technology Aircraft) aircraft made a series of three flights carrying a suite of instruments that included a Russian-built water band radiometer called the Aquameter. This instrument is designed to produce high spatial resolution imagery in four spectral bands in the M/LWIR (Mid-Long InfraRed). For these flights, three of the Aquameter's spectral channels made observations in various parts of the water band from 5.4 to 7.2 /spl mu/m while the fourth channel observed to the ground in the 4.6 to 4.9 /spl mu/m band. The purpose of these flights was to obtain data to refine models of background clutter in support of instrument and experiment design for the RAMOS (Russian American Observation Satellite) program. These radiometrically accurate multispectral images combined with data from other instruments, such as the PEELS (Portable Eyesafe Environmental Lidar System) lidar which supplied accurate data on cloud heights and composition, have allowed us to make important observations of the atmospheric structure as it appears in the M/LWIR and begin to identify the physical mechanisms responsible. Presented in this paper are a sample of our observations to date including imagery of various types of cloud structure and tropospheric waves observed in clear air with scales ranging from tenths to tens of kilometers visible in the water band.