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 |