Helium-cooled balloon-borne infrared experiment for measurements of stratospheric trace gas emissions

A helium-cooled IR spectrometer with a diffraction-limited telescope was launched on Sept. 23, 1983, from Aire-sur-l'Adour (France) as part of the MAP/Globus 1983 campaign. The float altitude of the balloon was 38 km. Limb scan measurements of atmospheric emissions were taken in the 5.5-19 micron wavelength region. The measurements were performed at about 1 h before sunrise. From several spectral features volume mixing ratios of NO2, H2O, CH4, HNO3, O3, and N2O were derived.