The SCIAMACHY instrument on ENVISAT: first performance monitoring results

Since March 2002 the spectrometer SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY) is orbiting the Earth aboard the new European environmental satellite ENVISAT. SCIAMACHY will measure during the next years concentrations and distributions of atmospheric trace gases (O₃, BrO, OClO, ClO, SO₂, H₂CO, NO₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, H₂O, N₂O), clouds, and aerosols. To assure the quality of these data products at any time during the whole mission a detailed knowledge of the instruments status and behavior is mandatory. To achieve this a comprehensive monitoring concept has been developed and implemented. This paper presents selected results of performance monitoring activities from the commissioning phase and from early nominal operations of the instrument, showing that SCIAMACHY is in good shape.