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The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, was launched aboard the Aqua Spacecraft in 2002 as part of NASA's Earth Observing System Afternoon Constellation of satellites known as the 'A-Train.
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Arctic Carbon Dioxide, February 2010 to February 2011
Arctic Carbon Dioxide, February 2010 to February 2011
In this animation, NASA instruments show the seasonal cycle of vegetation and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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Watching Earth Breathe: The Seasonal Vegetation Cycle and Carbon Dioxide
Watching Earth Breathe: The Seasonal Vegetation Cycle and Carbon Dioxide
Although originally designed to measure atmospheric water vapor and temperature profiles for weather forecasting, data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecr...
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Global Carbon Dioxide, July 2003
Global Carbon Dioxide, July 2003
This movie was produced with data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows the spread of carbon monoxide pollution across North America from fires in ...
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Pollution from California's Rim Fire, August 2013
Pollution from California's Rim Fire, August 2013
AIRS scientist Ed Olsen was interviewed and filmed for Eco Company, a national TV show hosted by teens.
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Water Vapor a Greenhouse Gas?
Water Vapor a Greenhouse Gas?
This visualization is a time-series of the global distribution and variation of the concentration of mid-tropospheric carbon dioxide observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the NASA ...
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AIRS Data - Carbon Dioxide Seasonal Variation and Increase, 2002-2008
AIRS Data - Carbon Dioxide Seasonal Variation and Increase, 2002-2008
AIRS mapped the dome of high pressure that settled over the northwestern U.S. and western Canada in late June, sending temperatures into the triple digits.
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Animation showing evolution of heat wave in U.S. Pacific Northwest.
NASA's AIRS Tracks Record-Breaking Heat Wave in Pacific Northwest
AIRS Level 3 daily average water vapor from November 2018 to November 2019 plotted as an isosurface over the globe.
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AIRS Level 3 daily average water vapor
Water Vapor Isosurfaces 12.2018–12.2019
This movie of temperature observations from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft depicts the first major North American weather event of 2014: cold air mo...
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NASA's AIRS Sees Polar Vortex Behind U.S. Big Chill
NASA's AIRS Sees Polar Vortex Behind U.S. Big Chill
From improving forecast prediction skill to identifying errors in climate models to measuring trace gases in Earth's atmosphere, scientists talk about the quality of AIRS data and how it's helping ...
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Using AIRS Data in Science Research
Using AIRS Data in Science Research
A large number of wildfires, many of them triggered by powerful lightning storms on June 21, erupted around California over the next several weeks. At their peak, more than 2,000 fires were active,...
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Carbon Monoxide from California's Wildfires 2008
Carbon Monoxide from California's Wildfires 2008
On June 4, 2011 the Puyuhue-Cordón Caulle volcano complex, located 40.59 deg S, 72.12 deg W in Chile, erupted, sending ash clouds 15 km into the atmosphere and on their way around the world. It was...
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Volcanic Ash from Puyehue Eruption
Volcanic Ash from Puyehue Eruption
Beginning August 26, 2009, and continuing into September 2009, a large wildfire in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles known as the Station Fire burned more than 140,000 acres through ...
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Pollution from California Wildfires Spreads Across the United States
Pollution from California Wildfires Spreads Across the United States
In this animation, the field of view of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft is represented by the blue beam as it sweeps back and forth through the atm...
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AIRS Collects Data and Creates a Temperature Profile
AIRS Collects Data and Creates a Temperature Profile
Time series 2003-2019 shows a persistent source of CO in the Central African regions during late summer with reduced persistence in the South American regions in the later years. 
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Globes shows time series of carbon monoxide transport.
Carbon monoxide time series mosaic animation, 2003-2019
AIRS Level 3 Monthly average temperatures at 500mb from October 2002, to October 2019, north polar view.
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AIRS Level 3 Monthly average temperatures at 500mb from October 2002, to October 2019, north polar view.
Air Temperature 500 hPa, North Polar View, 2002 – 2019
This visualization shows variations in the three dimensional distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere during the summer and fall of 2005. Water vapor at higher altitudes appears brighter.
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Water Vapor Transport, June through November 2005
Water Vapor Transport, June through November 2005
This image shows a detection of sulfur dioxide in AIRS data taken about two days after the Tonga volcano eruptions in January 2022. 
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This image shows a detection of sulfur dioxide in AIRS data taken about two days after the Tonga volcano eruptions in January 2022.
Sulfur Dioxide Detected After Tonga Volcano Eruption in 2022
Monthly AIRS temperature anomaly over the AIRS record (2002-2020) aggregated into five vertical categories.
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Globes and time series showing temperature anomalies.
AIRS Temperature Anomaly Trends, 2002-2020
Global monthly mean temperatures for each month of the AIRS mission at 931 mb with anomaly in temperature in the Arctic region.
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Global monthly mean temperatures for each month of the AIRS mission at 931 mb with anomaly in temperature in the Arctic region.
Shrinking Polar Circle - AIRS Temperature Anomaly Trends in the Arctic
Cyril Crevoisier of France's National Center for Scientific Research talks about the challenges of retrieving atmospheric carbon dioxide and his effort to find its sources and sinks.
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Teasing out Carbon Dioxide From Earth's Atmosphere - An interview with Cyril Crevoisier
Teasing out Carbon Dioxide From Earth's Atmosphere - An interview with Cyril Crevoisier
AIRS brightness temperature differences indicating sulfur dioxide plumes (red) at different times after the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption.
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AIRS brightness temperature differences indicating sulfur dioxide plumes (red) at different times after the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption.
AIRS Tracks Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide Plume from Mauna Loa to Texas over Three Days
Larrabee Strow of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has spent a career teasing out Earth's atmospheric molecules and studying how they react using a technique called high resolution spe...
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How to build an indisputable climate record - An interview with Larrabee Strow
How to build an indisputable climate record - An interview with Larrabee Strow
This visualization shows 3D volumetric water vapor data from the Aqua/Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument.
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Water Vapor In Storm Front Near Southern California, January 2003
Water Vapor In Storm Front Near Southern California, January 2003
This animation shows how light energy is collected by the optics system on the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument and digitized.
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This animation shows how light energy is collected by the optics system on the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument and digitized.
Light Travels Through AIRS Optics

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