MIPAS instrument and Level 1 verifications using Level 2 retrieval code

MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) is a Fourier transform spectrometer operating on board the ENVISAT satellite and is acquiring high spectral resolution middle infrared emission limb sounding spectra of the Earth atmosphere from space. The instrument measures an interferogram that is transformed and calibrated in the Level 1 analysis. The calibrated spectrum is used in Level 2 for the retrieval of minor atmospheric constituents. The fitting technique used in Level 2 has also been exploited for the retrieval of some instrument parameters and for the verification of the results of Level 1 calibration. The results of this verification procedure are discussed.