Space Science and Engineering Center University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Absolute Radiance Interferometer is an instrument developed by SSEC scientists and engineers that is capable of measuring infrared radiation in Earth’s atmosphere to a high-degree of accuracy. Roughly the size of a small freezer, the ARI is designed to be flight ready for future satellite missions.

A ground-based instrument developed by SSEC, the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) measures temperature, water vapor, and trace gases in the boundary layer.

SSEC engineers are developing new blackbody technologies to improve the calibration of infrared remote sensing instruments.

The Combined HSRL and Raman Measurement Study (CHARMS) is an effort through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program to evaluate the potential of combining two advanced lidar systems to provide information about aerosols and clouds in the Earth’s atmospheric column.

SSEC engineers support the drilling operations of the Ice Drilling Program funded by the National Science Foundation. Our engineers develop, operate, and maintain a variety of drills that are deployed to drill through ice and retrieve ice cores used for research studies.

SSEC has developed two LIght Detection And Ranging (Lidar) instruments to take highly detailed atmospheric measurements used in numerical model development: the Volume Imaging Lidar and the High Spectral Resolution Lidar.

SSEC scientists use high spectral resolution data from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Aircraft Sounding Testbed-Interferometer (NAST-I) in field campaigns to validate and calibrate satellite data for the purpose of improving operational weather forecasts.

SSEC, in collaboration with other departments on campus, maintains a Reliable Automated Instrumentation Network (RAIN) for research purposes. On the AOSS building rooftop, instruments measure atmospheric parameters, while North, South, East, and West facing cameras record weather events. A buoy on Lake Mendota monitors lake quality and weather conditions.

The SSEC Portable Atmospheric Research Center (SPARC) is a vehicle outfitted with a suite of instruments to make ground-based measurements used for studying the atmosphere during field campaigns across the country. The SPARC is part of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Facilities for Atmospheric Research and Education (FARE) Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF) program.

Designed and built at SSEC, the Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) measures temperature and water vapor profiles. Data gathered in field experiments is used to advance our understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere, support calibration and validation of current satellite sensors, and help to develop future weather satellite sounders.

This collaboration between the UW-Madison Department of Astronomy, Space Astronomy Lab, and SSEC will design and build a near infrared (NIR) upgrade to the Robert Stobie Spectrograph (RSS) on the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT).