Transmittance and water retrievals from the B2 channel of the stratospheric and mesospheric sounder

Abstract The data from the B2 water vapour channel of the Stratospheric And Mesospheric Sounder (SAMS) has been reanalysed using a two-stage retrieval process which produces an estimate of transmittance of water for the channel in addition to H 2 O volume mixing ratio cross-sections. The water retrievals range from 70N to 50S in latitude and from 4.0 to 9.5 scale heights in the vertical and represent zonal mean mixing ratios. Comparisons are drawn between the retrieved water vapour cross-sections, other measurements and current model results.