Abstract

Anthropogenic emissions of CO₂ over the past century has altered significantly the global carbon cycle. Our understanding of the long-term climatic effects of these emissions would be improved greatly by satellite-based remote sounding of CO₂. We provide an initial analysis of a simple satellite-based filter radiometer tuned to the spectral region around 6300 cm^-1 (≈1.6 µm) to measure the atmospheric column of CO₂ from space. We find that such an instrument has potential and that the sensitivity would be limited by our knowledge of the tropospheric temperature and water-vapor profiles.

© 2001 Optical Society of America

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