# Atmospheric limb sounding
*methodologies*

Retrieves vertical profiles of atmospheric composition (O3, H2O, temperature) from limb or solar/stellar occultation geometry; high vertical resolution makes it suited for stratospheric and upper-tropospheric science.

## Specifications
- **family**: Atmospheric spectroscopy
- **requirements envelope**: {"kind":"spectral","spectral_range_nm":{"min":250,"max":2500},"bands_min":100,"calibration_tier_min":"radiometric","snr_min":200,"daylight_required":true,"cloud_tolerant":false}
- **entity type**: methodology
- **last verified date**: 2026-05-22
- **verified by**: sw
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **attributes**: {"family":"Atmospheric spectroscopy","summary":"Retrieves vertical profiles of atmospheric composition (O3, H2O, temperature) from limb or solar/stellar occultation geometry; high vertical resolution makes it suited for stratospheric and upper-tropospheric science.","requirements_envelope":"{\"kind\":\"spectral\",\"spectral_range_nm\":{\"min\":250,\"max\":2500},\"bands_min\":100,\"calibration_tier_min\":\"radiometric\",\"snr_min\":200,\"daylight_required\":true,\"cloud_tolerant\":false}"}
- **technology**: optical-spectral-sensing

## Editorial
Profile retrieval via optimal estimation or radiative transfer inversion against solar Fraunhofer lines. Limb geometry provides the vertical resolution that distinguishes this class from nadir column-mapping methods; tangent-height stepping yields profiles rather than integrated columns. [Wikipedia: Atmospheric sounding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_sounding)

## Sources
- [wikipedia] | Wikipedia: Atmospheric sounding | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_sounding | tier=community | accessed=2026-05-22

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/methodologies/atmospheric-limb-nadir-sounding
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)