Abstract

The Climate Absolute Radiance and REfractivity Observatory (CLARREO) is being designed to provide benchmark radiance spectra for detecting long-term trends associated with changes in the Earth’s climate. The CLARREO must be designed to be able to detect small spectral radiance variations associated with decadal trends in the Earth’s atmospheric temperature and water vapor, as well as clouds, aerosols, and trace gases impacting greenhouse warming and/or atmospheric pollution. Unlike prior radiation measurements intended for climate monitoring and model validation, CLARREO is being designed to possess high spectral resolution over the entire spectral band ranging from the visible to the far-infrared, with exceptional radiometric accuracy (0.1 K, 3-σ sigma) and SI (Standards Institute) traceability. Unlike operational satellite radiance measurements, CLARREO will be in a specialized 90-degree inclination orbit in order to obtain unbiased temporal sampling over the entire globe.

© 2009 Optical Society of America