Abstract

Results of carbon monoxide (CO) measurements in the atmosphere, that have been performed by the MAPS (Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite) instrument, show that the Gas Filter Correlation Radiometric (GFCR) technique is a powerful tool for atmospheric trace gas studies [Reichle et al., 1986]. The MAPS instrument has flown several times aboard the Space Shuttle. Based on the same GFCR approach, the MicroMAPS and MOPITT [Drummond et al., 1993] instruments are scheduled for launch in 1997 and 1998. Both of these instruments are remote sensors, and hence, their retrievals should be validated through the comparison of satellite data to the results obtained by other techniques (e.g. ground-based solar spectroscopy, in situ aircraft and ground measurements, modeling results, etc.). Spatial resolution of satellite and nonsatellite measurements ranges from several meters (in situ techniques) to up to ~ 10 km (remote methods). Moreover, radiative transfer processes in the nonuniform and nonhomogeneous atmosphere make remote methods unequally sensitive to different layers of the atmosphere. Thus, to make all these results intercomparable we need an explicit procedure which relates a retrieved value by any of remote technique to the real distribution of a target gas at the moment and place of observation.

© 1997 Optical Society of America