GCM Global Climate Model

GDR Geophysical Data Record

GEO Geosynchronous orbit

Geos3 Geodynamics Experimental Ocean Satellite 3

GIS Geographic information system

GLC Global Land Cover

GLCC Global Land Cover Classification

GLIMS Global Land Ice Measurement from Space

GLOBSCAR Global Burn Scar

GMCC Global Monitoring for Climate Change

GMS Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (Japan)

GOME Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment

GOMS Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite (Russia)

GPM Global Precipitation Mission

GPS Global Positioning System

GPS/MET Global Positioning System/Meteorology

GRACE Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center

GWE Global Weather Experiment

HALOE Halogen Occultation Experiment

HCl Hydrochloric acid

HIRS High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder

HNLC High nutrient low chlorophyll

I Light intensity

ICESat Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite

IGY International Geophysical Year

InSAR Interferometric synthetic aperture radar

IPAR Intercepted photosynthetically active radiation

IR Infrared

IRIS Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer

IRS Indian Remote Sensing Satellite

ISCCP International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project

ITOS Improved TIROS Operational System

JAXA Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency

JERS Japanese Earth Resources Satellite

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory

LAC Local area coverage

LACIE Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment

LAGEOS Laser Geodynamics Satellites

LAI Leaf area index

Landsat Land Satellite

LaRC Langley Research Center

LEO Low earth orbit

Lidar Light detection and ranging

LIMS Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere

LRIR Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer

MABL Marine atmospheric boundary layer

MAPS Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites

MCC Mesoscale Convective Complex

McIDAS Man-Computer Interactive Data Access System

MERIS Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer

MET Meteorology

MISR Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer

MLS Microwave Limb Sounder

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MOPITT Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere

MOS Maritime Observation Satellite

MSS Multispectral scanner

MTSAT Multi-functional Transport Satellite (Japan)

NAE National Academy of Engineering

NAS National Academy of Sciences

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NDVI Normalized difference vegetation index

NHC National Hurricane Center

NIR Near-infrared

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOx Nitrogen oxides

NPP Net primary productivity

NRC National Research Council

NSCAT NASA Scatterometer

NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center

NWS National Weather Service

O₃ Ozone

OCI Ocean Color Imager

OCTS Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor

OMI Ozone Monitoring Instrument

P Productivity

PECAD Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division

P-I Photosynthesis irradiance

PR Precipitation radar

PRI Photochemical reflective index

PSC Polar stratospheric clouds

QuikSCAT Quick Scatterometer

RA Radar Altimeter

Radar Radio detection and ranging

RAPID Research into Adaptive Particle Imaging Detectors

RBV Return beam videocon

RES Radio-echo sounding

SAGE Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment

SAMS Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder

SAR Synthetic aperture radar

SBUV Solar backscattered ultraviolet