Measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide column from space using reflected sunlight

Jianping Mao; Stephan Randolph Kawa

doi:10.1117/12.511323

16 February 2004 Measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide column from space using reflected sunlight

Jianping Mao, Stephan Randolph Kawa

Proceedings Volume 5235, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511323
Event: Remote Sensing, 2003, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

A series of sensitivity studies is carried out to explore the feasibility of space-based global carbon dioxide (CO₂) measurements for global and regional carbon cycle studies. The detection method uses absorption of reflected sunlight in the CO₂ vibration-rotation band at 1.58 μm. The sensitivities of the detected radiances are calculated using a line-by-line model implemented with the DISORT model to include atmospheric scattering. The results indicate that (a) the small (~1%) changes in CO₂ near the Earth’s surface are detectable in this CO₂ band provided adequate sensor signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution are achievable; (b) the modification of sunlight path length by scattering of aerosols and cirrus clouds could lead to large systematic errors in the retrieval; therefore, ancillary aerosol/cirrus cloud data are important to reduce retrieval errors; (c) the atmospheric path length, over which the CO₂ absorption occurs, must be known in order to correctly interpret horizontal gradients of total column CO₂; thus an additional sensor for surface pressure measurement needs to be attached for a complete measurement package; (d) CO₂ retrieval requires good knowledge of the atmospheric temperature profile, e.g. approximately 1-K RMS error in layer temperature. Several candidate technologies are available to potentially meet these requirements.

Citation Download Citation

Jianping Mao and Stephan Randolph Kawa "Measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide column from space using reflected sunlight", Proc. SPIE 5235, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII, (16 February 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511323

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