A laser sounder for measuring atmospheric trace gases from space

Haris Riris; James Abshire; Graham Allan; John Burris; Jeffrey Chen; Stephen Kawa; Jian-Ping Mao; Michael Krainak; Mark Stephen; Xiaoli Sun; Emily Wilson

doi:10.1117/12.737607

Translator Disclaimer

17 October 2007 A laser sounder for measuring atmospheric trace gases from space

Haris Riris, James Abshire, Graham Allan, John Burris, Jeffrey Chen, Stephen Kawa, Jian-Ping Mao, Michael Krainak, Mark Stephen, Xiaoli Sun, Emily Wilson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6750, Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing III; 67500U (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737607
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2007, Florence, Italy

Abstract

Mounting concern regarding global warming and the increasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration has stimulated interest in the feasibility of measuring CO₂ mixing ratios from space. Precise satellite observations with adequate spatial and temporal resolution would substantially increase our knowledge of the atmospheric CO₂distribution and allow improved modeling of the CO₂ cycle. Current estimates indicate that a measurement precision of better than 1 part per million (1 ppm) will be needed in order to improve estimates of carbon uptake by land and ocean reservoirs. A 1-ppm CO₂ measurement corresponds to approximately 1 in 380 or 0.26% long-term measurement precision. This requirement imposes stringent long-term precision (stability) requirements on the instrument In this paper we discuss methods and techniques to achieve the 1-ppm precision for a space-borne lidar.

Citation Download Citation

Haris Riris, James Abshire, Graham Allan, John Burris, Jeffrey Chen, Stephen Kawa, Jian-Ping Mao, Michael Krainak, Mark Stephen, Xiaoli Sun, and Emily Wilson "A laser sounder for measuring atmospheric trace gases from space", Proc. SPIE 6750, Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing III, 67500U (17 October 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737607

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE