Assessments the Long‐Term Stability of the SABER Temperature Measurement in the Middle Latitude MLT Region

Abstract The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument aboard the NASA Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite measure temperature and species globally from the stratosphere to the lower thermosphere since January 2002. The nighttime temperatures measured by the same sodium LiDAR at two adjacent middle latitude locations are used as the benchmark to assess the long‐term stability of SABER temperature measurement in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) during 2002–2024. The temperature differences (ΔT) between the concurrent observations from SABER and LiDAR are within ±5 K, with standard deviations (STDs) of 10–15 K in most years at 86–98 km. The drifts of ΔT are of −0.4–1.7 K/decade and the drifts of STDs are 0.2–1.7 K/decade at 86–98 km. However, they are statistically insignificant under a confidence level of 95%. Moreover, the ΔT and its STDs do not depend on solar activities. These comparisons show that the temperatures measured by SABER and the sodium LiDAR coincide well with each other at least in the region where the sodium concentration is high (86–98 km) and the LiDAR measurement is most accurate. The accuracy and precision of the SABER temperature measurement displays no significant systematic change or solar activity dependency.