The accuracy of Nimbus 7 LIMS temperatures in the mesosphere

Zonal-mean temperatures from the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment are compared with a temperature 'climatology' derived from 4 years of Rayleigh backscatter lidar measurements at 44 N and for the months of March, April, and May, when wave activity and thus atmospheric variability is very weak. The mean difference between the two data sets is less than 3.5 K between 37 and 64 km and is consistent with the theoretical estimates of accuracy reported for the LIMS data. The effects of longitudinal and year-to-year variaiations in this comparison were considered, but they do not change the conclusions significantly. These validation results extend the altitude range of accurate LIMS temperatures in the mesosphere some 10 km higher than previously reported. It also means the LIMS ozone and NO2 retrievals in the lower mesosphere should be free of any major temperature bias error effects.