Initial Results from SOFIE/AIM

SOFIE (the Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment) has been operating since May 2007 onboard AIM (the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite). SOFIE measurements target the polar mesosphere, where noctilucent clouds form each summer. Increases in the frequency and brightness of these ultra-high clouds have been attributed to global climate change, but conclusive evidence is lacking, and relatively little is known about the processes governing their formation. SOFIE is now providing key measurements to advance our understanding of these clouds and their environment. The instrument acquires limb path transmittances in 16 spectral bandpasses from the UV to the IR. Vertical profiles of cloud properties, temperature, water vapor, ozone, methane and nitric oxide are inverted from these transmittance measurements. With over a year of observations in hand, we now have information leading to a better understanding of the formation of noctilucent clouds, including the first ever measurements of the cosmic dust layer. In this presentation we describe the instrument, outline the retrieval process, and discuss preliminary science results from the SOFIE experiment.