ARM’s SHIRE Campaign Supports NASA Satellite Mission

Published: 27 January 2026

An extended-range atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer is currently deployed to Antarctica as part of SHIRE

The following is based on a story by the University of Wisconsin.

The Southern Hemisphere polar Infrared Radiation Experiment (SHIRE) is an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility small campaign featuring the deployment of an ARM extended-range atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI) in support of the NASA-led Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) satellite mission.

PREFIRE consists of two CubeSat satellites launched in May and June 2024 to measure the amount of far-infrared energy radiated from the Arctic and Antarctic into space. This information can help improve forecasting of weather severity and storm frequency.

As part of SHIRE, the ARM AERI began providing validation data for the CubeSat measurements in October 2025 at Scott Base in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and is scheduled to run there until October 2026. The extended-range AERI has a spectral range that allows for measurements in the far-infrared region.

SHIRE aims to capture the variable synoptic weather conditions observed at Scott Base by using the AERI to provide vertical profiles of temperature, water vapor, and cloud properties that can then be paired with PREFIRE observations for thorough validation of general circulation models in Antarctica. Time-series retrievals from the AERI will offer additional contextualization for data obtained from PREFIRE’s CubeSat overpasses. Generally, one CubeSat passes over Scott Base once every two to three days.

By using PREFIRE’s top-of-the-atmosphere measurements in conjunction with the AERI’s ground-based data, researchers will also be able to better understand how Antarctica’s atmosphere absorbs and emits thermal energy. With both sets of measurements, scientists can evaluate how infrared radiation behaves under different atmospheric conditions and across various seasons, helping to reduce uncertainty in future Antarctic earth system models.

Data from previous AERI deployments in Antarctica, including the ARM West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE), will also be used to compare and contrast the changing and variable atmospheric spectral emissions observed as part of SHIRE. During the 2015–2017 AWARE deployment at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, the AERI and other ARM instruments collected data on energy components, changing air masses, and cloud microphysical properties to improve model simulations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

SHIRE is a U.S. Department of Energy ARM User Facility campaign funded by Earth Sciences New Zealand in collaboration with Antarctica New Zealand, NASA PREFIRE, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Canterbury.

Read the full story on the University of Wisconsin website.