Abstract. A new set of hygrometers based on the Lyman ct photofragment fluorescence technique has been developed for operation on aircraft and balloons in the stratosphere and upper troposphere. They combine technical details from existing fluorescence hygrometers with several improvements in order to achieve the highest data quality and to minimize maintenance and operational procedures. With these instruments, stratospheric H20 measurements can be accomplished with a precision of < 0.2 ppmv at 1 s integration time, as has been demonstrated both in the laboratory and under field deployment. The design enables a rapid exchange of the air sample of the order of 1 s for fast measurements of small-scale variations of the H20 mixing ratio in the atmosphere. The hygrometer is calibrated using a laboratory calibration bench with approximately 4% accuracy. Measurements made by the hygrometer are compared with a frost point hygrometer during an aircraft mission at H20 mixing ratios from 280 to 8 ppmv, yielding an agreement between both techniques within the instrumental errors.

Abstract. The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is an imaging limb emission sounder operating in the thermal infrared region. It is designed to provide measurements of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere with high spatial and high spectral resolution. The instrument consists of an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer integrated into a gimbal. The assembly can be mounted in the belly pod of the German High Altitude and Long Range research aircraft (HALO) and in instrument bays of the Russian M55 Geophysica. Measurements are made in two distinct modes: the chemistry mode emphasises chemical analysis with high spectral resolution, and the dynamics mode focuses on dynamical processes of the atmosphere with very high spatial resolution. In addition, the instrument allows tomographic analyses of air volumes. The first measurement campaigns have shown compliance with key performance and operational requirements.

Abstract. The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is an airborne infrared limb imager combining a two-dimensional infrared detector with a Fourier transform spectrometer. It was operated aboard the new German Gulfstream G550 High Altitude LOng Range (HALO) research aircraft during the Transport And Composition in the upper Troposphere/lowermost Stratosphere (TACTS) and Earth System Model Validation (ESMVAL) campaigns in summer 2012. This paper describes the retrieval of temperature and trace gas (H 2 O, O 3 , HNO 3 ) volume mixing ratios from GLORIA dynamics mode spectra that are spectrally sampled every 0.625 cm −1 . A total of 26 integrated spectral windows are employed in a joint fit to retrieve seven targets using consecutively a fast and an accurate tabulated radiative transfer model. Typical diagnostic quantities are provided including effects of uncertainties in the calibration and horizontal resolution along the line of sight. Simultaneous in situ observations by the Basic Halo Measurement and Sensor System (BAHAMAS), the Fast In-situ Stratospheric Hygrometer (FISH), an ozone detector named Fairo, and the Atmospheric chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (AIMS) allow a validation of retrieved values for three flights in the upper troposphere/lowermost stratosphere region spanning polar and sub-tropical latitudes. A high correlation is achieved between the remote sensing and the in situ trace gas data, and discrepancies can to a large extent be attributed to differences in the probed air masses caused by different sampling characteristics of the instruments.This 1-D processing of GLORIA dynamics mode spectra provides the basis for future tomographic inversions from circular and linear flight paths to better understand selected dynamical processes of the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere.

Abstract. The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) presents new opportunities for the retrieval of trace gases in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The radiometric calibration of the measured signal is achieved using in-flight measurements of reference blackbody and upward-pointing "deep space" scenes. In this paper, we present techniques developed specifically to calibrate GLORIA data exploiting the instrument's imaging capability. The algorithms discussed here make use of the spatial correlation of parameters across GLORIA's detector pixels in order to mitigate the noise levels and artefacts in the calibration measurements. This is achieved by combining a priori and empirical knowledge about the instrument background radiation with noisemitigating compression methods, specifically low-pass filtering and principal component analysis (PCA). In addition, a new software package for the processing of GLORIA data is introduced which allows us to generate calibrated spectra from raw measurements in a semi-automated data processing chain.

Abstract. The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is an imaging limb emission sounder operating in the thermal infrared region. It is designed to provide measurements of the Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere with high spatial and high spectral resolution. The instrument consists of an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer integrated in a gimbal. The assembly can be mounted in the belly pod of the German high altitude and long range research aircraft HALO and in instrument bays of the Russian M55 Geophysica. Measurements are made predominantly in two distinct modes: the chemistry mode emphasises chemical analysis with high spectral resolution, the dynamics mode focuses on dynamical processes of the atmosphere with very high spatial resolution. In addition the instrument allows tomographic analyses of air volumes. The first measurement campaigns have shown compliance with key performance and operational requirements.