Laser Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: A Tutorial
Gary
D
Spiers, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, gary.spiers@jpl.nasa.gov
(Presenting)
Robert
T
Menzies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, robert.menzies@jpl.nasa.gov
(Presenting)
The use of the absorption of optical radiation by atmospheric species to determine atmospheric composition is well known. Typically the sun has been used as the optical source as is the case for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) that will be launched later this year. The disadvantage with using the sun is that data cannot be collected at night. This is a potential problem for carbon dioxide measurement where there is a diurnal cycle variation in the concentration. Collecting sufficient solar signal for a high accuracy measurement over the wide variety of land and ocean surfaces can also be a problem. To overcome this, lasers can be used as artificial illumination sources. We will provide a tutorial on the use of laser remote sensing for the measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide that surveys the techniques and wavelengths currently being considered.
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