Earth Observation and Data Assimilation Acronyms
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Page last updated 17/03/2010.
Numerals A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Numerals | Go to top of page |
1DVAR | One-Dimensional Variational Assimilation |
3DVAR | Three-Dimensional Variational Assimilation |
4DVAR | Four-Dimensional Variational Assimilation (3 space + time) |
A | Go to top of page |
AAPP | ATOVS and AVHRR Processing Package (EUMETSAT) |
AATSR | Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer |
AC | Analysis Correction Scheme (pre variational data assimilation) |
ACOBS | OBServations file used in the Analysis Correction Scheme (Met Office) |
ACRIM | Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor |
ADEOS | Advanced Earth Observing Satellite |
AIREPS | Aircraft observations (UKMO data analysis system) |
AIRS | Advanced Infrared Sounder |
AMDAR | Aircraft Meteorological Data and Reporting |
AMSR | Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer |
AMSU | Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit |
ASAR | Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar |
ASTER | Advanced Spacebourne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer |
Analysis | The optimised (or simultaneous best-fit) to a model background and a set of observations |
ATLID | Atmospheric Lidar |
ATOVS | Advanced TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder |
ATS | Applications Technology Satellite |
ATSR | Along Track Scanning Radiometer |
AVHRR | Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer |
AVNIR | Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer |
B | Go to top of page |
Background | A model forecast, valid at the start of an assimilation cycle. It provides a best guess to the analysis before the observations are taken into acount. |
BADC | British Atmospheric Data Centre |
BAS | British Antarctic Survey |
BDDN | Broadband Data Distribution Network |
BIRA/IASB | Belgian Institue for Space Aeronomy |
BLUE | Best Linear Unbiased Estimator |
BNSC | British National Space Centre |
BUV | Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer |
C | Go to top of page |
CALVAL | Calibration and Validation |
CASI | Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager |
CCD | Charged Coupled Device |
CCR | Cloud Cover Radiometer |
CDA | Command and Data Acquisition |
CEOS | Committee on Earth Observation Satellites |
CERES | Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System |
CESAR | Cold Atmospheric Emission Spectral Radiometer |
CGAM | Centre for Global Atmosphere Modelling |
CG | Conjugate Gradient |
CIRA | Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere |
CLAES | Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer |
CNES | Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales |
COASTLOOC | COAstal Surveillance Through Observation of Ocean Colour |
COMMA | Cologne Model of the Middle Atmosphere |
CPOM | Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling |
CryoSat | Cryosphere Satellite |
CSIRO | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
CTM | Chemical Transport Model |
CZCS | Coastal Zone Colour Scanner |
D | Go to top of page |
DAAC | Distributed Active Archive Centre |
DANTE | Data AssimilatioN Towards Envisat |
DAO | Data Assimilation Office |
DARC | Data Assimilation Research Centre |
DARE | Data Assimilation in Readiness for Envisat |
DCP | Data Collection Platform |
DCS | Data Collection System |
DIAL | Differential Absorption Lidar |
DLR | German Aerospace Centre |
DMSP | Defense Meteorological Satellite Programme |
DOAS | Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy |
DORIS | Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite |
DPI | Data Presence Indicator |
DRIR | Direct Readout Infrared Radiometer |
DS | Dwell Sounding |
DSR | Data Set Record |
DU | Dobson Unit |
E | Go to top of page |
EBS | Error Breeding System |
EC | European Commission |
ECMWF | European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts |
ECOC | Electrochemical Ozone Cell |
EEM | EURAD Emission Model |
EKF | Extended Kalman Filter |
EM | Error Mode |
EMLS | EOS Microwave Limb Sounder |
ENIAC | Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer |
EnKF | Ensemble Kalman Filter |
ENRICH | European Network for Research Global Change |
ENVISAT | Environmental Satellite |
EOF | Empirical Orthogonal Function |
EOS | Earth Observing System |
EOS-AERO | EOS Aerosol Mission |
EOS-ALT | EOS Altimetry Mission |
EOS-AM | EOS Morning Crossing (Ascending) Mission |
EOS-CHEM | EOS Chemistry Mission |
EOS-COLOR | EOS Ocean Colour Instrument |
EOS-PM | EOS Afternoom Crossing (Descending) Mission |
EOSAT | Earth Observing Satellite Company |
EOSDIS | EOS Data and Information System |
EOSP | Earth Observing Scanning Ploarimeter |
EPA | Environment Protection Agency |
EPS | Ensemble Prediction System |
ERB | Earth Raditation Budget |
ERBE | Earth Raditation Budget Experiment |
ERBE-NS | ERBE Nonscanner |
ERBE-S | ERBE Scanner |
ERBS | Earth Raditation Budget Satellite |
ERS | European Remote Sensing Satellite |
ERTS | Earth Resources Technology Satellite |
ESA | European Space Agency |
ESABC | Envisat Stratospheric Aircraft and Balloon Campaign |
ESAMS | European Symposium on Atmospheric Measurements from Space |
ESMR | Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer |
ESOC | European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt |
ESSA | Environmental Science Service Administration |
ESSC | Environmental Systems Science Centre |
ETKF | Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter |
EU | European Union |
EUMETSAT | European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites |
EURAD | University of Koln CTM of the EURAD project |
F | Go to top of page |
FAAM | Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (UK) |
FISH | Fast In situ Stratospheric Hygrometer |
FMI | Finnish Meteorological Institute |
FOAM | Forecasting Ocean-Atmosphere Model |
FOV | Field of View |
FTIR | Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer |
FTS | Fourier-Transform Absorption Spectrometer |
FWS | Filter Wedge Spectrometer |
G | Go to top of page |
GAC | Global Aerospace Corporation |
GARP | Global Atmospheric Research Programme |
GCM | Global Circulation Model |
GDAS | Global Data Assimilation System |
GEO | Geostationary Earth Observatory |
GEOS DAS | Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System |
GERB | Geostationary Earth Radiation Experiment |
GHIS | GOES High Resolution Interferometer Sounder |
GLAS | Geoscience Laser Altimeter System |
GLAS | Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences |
GLOSS | UKMO data analysis system |
GLRS | Geoscience Laser Ranging System |
GMS | Geostationary Meteorologicl Satellite |
GOCE | Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer |
GOES | Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite |
GOME | Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment |
GOMOS | Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars |
GOSCOMP | Global Operational Sea Surface Temperature Computation |
GPS | Global Positioning System |
GRACE | Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment GUV Ground-based Ultraviolet Radiometer |
GRIB | Grid data in binary form |
GSM | Global Spectral Model |
GTS | Global Telecommunications System |
GVAR | GOES Variable |
H | Go to top of page |
HadAMx | Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model version x (Met Office) |
HadCMx | Hadley Centre Coupled Model version x (Met Office) |
HALOE | Halogen Occultation Experiment |
HIRDLS | High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder |
HIRIS | High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer |
HIRS | High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder |
HIS | High Spectral Resolution Interferometer Sounder |
HMMR | High Resolution Multifrequency Microwave Radiometer |
HRC | Highly Reflective Cloud |
HRDI | High Resolution Doppler Interferometer |
HRIR | High Resolution Infrared Radiometer |
HRIS | High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer |
HRPT | High Resolution Picture Transmission |
I | Go to top of page |
IASB | Institut d'Aeronomie Spatial de Belgique |
IASI | Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer |
IAU | Incremental Analysis Update |
IDCS | Image Dissector Camera System |
IFOV | Instantaneous Field of View |
IFS | Integrated Forecasting System (ECMWF's forecasting model) |
ILAS | Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer |
IMG | Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases |
IMK | Institut fuer Meteorologie und Klimaforschung |
Innovation | The vector difference y-H[xb], where y is the observation vector, H is the forward model, and xb is the model background state. |
INSAT | Indian National Satellite |
INTERDOL | INTERcomparison of envisat chemistry instruments data to strengthen the global monitoring of the Depletion of the Ozone Layer |
IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
IR | Infrared |
IRIS | Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer |
IRTS | Infrared Temperature Sounder |
ISAMS | Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder |
ISRO | Indian Space Research Organization |
ITCZ | Intertropical Convergence Zone |
ITIR | Intermediate Thermal Infrared Radiometer |
ITOS | Improved TIROS Operational System |
ITPR | Infrared Temperature Profile Radiometer |
IUP Bremen | Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen |
J | Go to top of page |
JMA | Japan Meteorological Agency |
JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
K | Go to top of page |
KF | Kalman Filter |
KNMI | Het Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut |
L | Go to top of page |
LAM | Local Area Model |
LASA | Lidar Atmospheric Sounder and Altimeter |
LAWS | Laser Atmospheric and Wind Sounder |
LEO | Low Earth Orbit |
LIMS | Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere |
LIS | Lightning Imaging Sensor |
LLR | Laser Retro Reflector |
LMD | Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Paris |
LOS | Line Of Sight |
LRIR | Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer |
LS | Linearization State |
LST | Land Surface Temperature |
LUT | Look Up Table |
LW | Long wave |
M | Go to top of page |
MAERI | Marine Atmosphere Emitted Radiance Interferometer |
MARS | Meteorolical Archive and Retrieval System (ECMWF) |
MCSST | Multichannel Sea Surface Temperatures |
MERIS | Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer |
METAR | Meteorological Airfield Report |
METDB | METeorological Data Base (Met Office) |
MeteoSat | Meteorological Satellite |
MetO | Met Office (UK) |
MetOP | Meteorological Operation Program (polar orbiter satellites) |
METSAT | Meteorological Satellite |
MHS | Microwave Humidity Sensor |
MIMR | Multifrequency Imaging Microwave Radiometer |
MIPAS | Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding |
MISR | Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer |
MLS | Microwave Limb Sounder |
MMCC | Mission Management Control Centre |
MO | The Met Office (UK) |
MODIS | Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer |
MOGREPS | Met Office Global and Regional Ensemble Prediction System |
MOPITT | Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere |
MOPS | Moisture Observation Pre-processing System |
MORECS | Met Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System |
MOSES | Met Office Surface Exchange Scheme |
MOZART | a Model for OZone and chemical tracers |
MRF | Medium Range Forecast |
MRIR | Medium Resolution Infrared Radiometer |
MSC | Meteorological Satellite Centre |
MSDOL | Monitoring of Stratospheric Depletion of Ozone Layer |
MSG | Meteosat Second Generation |
MSSCC | Multicolour Spin Scan Cloud Camera |
MSU | Microwave Sounding Unit |
MTPE | Mission To Planet Earth |
MTS | Microwave Temperature Sounder |
MWR | Microwave Radiometer |
MUSE | Monitor of Ultraviolet Solar Energy |
MVIRI | Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager |
N | Go to top of page |
NAE | North Atlantic and Europe (Met Office model domain) |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
NASDA | National Space Development Agency |
NCAR | National Centre for Atmospheric Research (USA) |
NCAS | National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NERC, UK) |
NCDC | National Climatic Data Centre |
NCEO | National Centre for Earth Observation (NERC, UK) |
NCEP | National Centers for Environmental Prediction (USA) |
NDSC | Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change |
NEODAAS | NERC Earth Observation Data Acquisition and Analysis Service |
NEODC | NERC Earth Observation Data Centre |
NERC | Natural Environment Research Council (UK) |
NESDIS | National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service |
NESR | Noise Equivalent Spectral Radiance |
NEXRAD | Next Generation Radar |
NILU | Norwegian Institute for Air Research |
NIR | Near Infrared |
NMC | National Meteorological Centre (USA) |
NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmosphere Admisistration |
NOC | National Oceanography Centre (UK) |
NRT | Near Real Time |
NSCAT | NASA Scatterometer |
NSSDC | National Space Science Data Centre |
NWP | Numerical Weather Prediction |
O | Go to top of page |
OCCAM | Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Modelling |
OCO | Orbiting Carbon Observatory |
OCTS | Ocean Colour and Temperature Scanner |
OI | Optimal Interpolation |
OLR | Outgoing Longwave Radiation |
OMI | Ozone Monitoring Experiment |
OPD | Observation Processing Database |
OPS | Observation Processing System (data selection and quality control system) of the Met Office |
OSE | Observing System Experiment |
OSSE | Observing System Simulation Experiment |
OVID | Optical Visible and near Infrared Detector |
OZVAL | Geophysical cross-VALidation of Envisat OZone products through assimilation in a global photochemical transport model (an ENVISAT AO proposal) |
P | Go to top of page |
PBL | Planetary Boundary Layer |
PCG | Project Coordinating Group |
Probability Density Function | |
PF | Perturbation Forecast |
PGE | Probability of Gross Error |
PMD | Polarisation Measurement Device |
PML | Plymouth Marine Laboratory |
PMR | Pressure Modulator Radiometer |
PMSL | Pressure Mean Sea Level |
POD | Precise Orbit Determination |
POEM | Polar Orbit Earth Observation Missions |
POES | Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite |
PPMV | Parts Per Million by Volume |
PR | Precipitation Radar |
PSAS | Physical space Statistical Assimilation System |
PSC | Polar Stratospheric Cloud |
PV | Potential Vorticity |
Q | Go to top of page |
QG | Quasi Geostrophic |
QSCAT | . |
R | Go to top of page |
RA-2 | Radar Altimeter 2 |
RAL | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK) |
Residual | The vector difference y-H[x], where y is the observation vector, H is the forward model, and x is the analysis. |
RF | Radio frequency |
RFTOZ | Regional dIFferences in Transformation of Ozone |
RFTOZAL | Regional dIFferences in Transformation of Ozone and AerosoL |
RIS | Retrofreflector in Space |
RMS | Royal Meteorological Society (UK) |
RMS | Root Mean Square |
ROSE | Research on Ozone in the Stratosphere and its Evolution |
RTM | Radiative Transfer Model |
RTTOV | Radiative Transfer Model for TOVS |
S | Go to top of page |
SA/CNRS | Service d'Aeronomie/ Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) |
SAFIRE | Spectroscopy of the Atmosphere Far Infrared Emission SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar |
SAGE | Stratosphere Aerosol and Gas Experiment |
SAM | Satratospheric Aerosol Measurement |
SAMS | Satratospheric and Mesopheric Sounder |
SATOBS | Geostationary Satellite Data (Met Office data analysis system) |
SAT120 | Satellite (120 km) |
SBUV | Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer |
SCAMS | Scanning Microwave Spectrometer |
SCANSAR | Scanning SAR Imaging Technique (for wide swath coverage) |
SCATS | Scatterometer Winds (Met Office data analysis system) |
SCIAMACHY | Scanning, Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography |
SCMR | Surface Composition Mapping Radiometer |
SCR | Selective Chopper Radiometer |
SCS | Suite Control System (Met Office) |
SEAWIFS | Sea Wide Field-of-view Spectrometer |
SEM | Space Environment Minister |
SEVIRI | Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager |
SIRS | Satellite Infrared Spectrometer |
SLIMCAT | Single layer Isentropic Model of Chemistry And Transport |
SLR | Satellite Laser Ranging |
SMM | Solar Maximum Mission |
SMMR | Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer |
SMOS | Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity |
SMS | Synchronous Meteorological Satellite |
SOCC | Satellite Operations Control Centre |
SODA | Studies of Ozone Distribution based on Assimilated satellite measurements |
SOLSTICE | Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment |
SONDES | radiosondes and wind profilers (Met Office data analysis system) |
SPARC | Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate |
SPOT | Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre |
SR | Scanning Radiometer |
SSI | Spectral Statistical Interpolation |
SSM/I | Special Sensor Microwave Imager |
SSM/T | Special Sensor Microwave Temperature |
SSST | Skin Sea Surface Temperature |
SST | Sea Surface Temperature |
SSU | Stratospheric Sounding Unit |
SW | Shortwave |
SYNOPS | surface synoptic reports (Met Office data analysis system) |
T | Go to top of page |
TES | Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer |
THIR | Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer |
TIP | TIROS Information Processor |
TIROS | Television and Infrared Observational Satellite |
TMI | TRMM Microwave Imager |
TMR | TOPEX Microwave Radiometer |
TOA | Top Of Atmosphere |
TOMS | Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer |
TOVS | TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder |
TOPEX | Ocean Topography Experiment |
TRMM | Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission |
TWERLE | Tropical Wind Energy Conversion and Reference Level Experiment |
U | Go to top of page |
UARS | Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite |
UGAMP | Universities Global Atmospheric Modelling Programme (UK) |
UHF | Ultra High Frequency |
UKMO | United Kingdon Meteorological Office (acronym now obsolete) |
UM | Unified Model (Met Office) |
UPMC | University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France |
USGCRP | US GLobal Change Research Programme |
UTC | Coordinated Universal Time |
UTLS | Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere |
UV | Ultraviolet |
V | Go to top of page |
Var | Variational Data Assimilation |
VAROBS | OBServations file used in the Variational Data Assimilation Scheme (Met Office) |
VAS | VISSR Atmospheric Sounder |
VDUC | VAS Data Utilization Centre |
VHRR | Very High Resolution Radiometer |
VIRR | Visible and Infrared Radiometer |
VIRS | Visible Infrared Scanner |
VIRSR | Visible Infrared Scanning Radiometer |
VIS | Visible |
VISSR | Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer |
VMR | Volume Mixing Ratio |
VTPR | Vertical Temperature Profile Radiometer |
W | Go to top of page |
WEFAX | Weather Facsilile |
WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
WSR | Weather Service Radar |
X | Go to top of page |
Y | Go to top of page |
Z | Go to top of page |