thesensingofCO2mixingratios.PDFVIP

Comparative analysis of alternative spectral bands of CO and O `for 2 2 the sensing of CO2 mixing ratios Denis Pliutau, and Narasimha S. Prasad NASA Langley Research Center, 5 N. Dryden St., MS 468, Hampton VA, 23681 ABSTRACT We performed comparative studies to establish favorable spectral regions and measurement wavelength combinations in alternative bands of CO and O , for the sensing of CO mixing ratios (XCO ) in missions such as ASCENDS. The 2 2 2 2 analysis employed several simulation approaches including separate layers calculations based on pre-analyzed atmospheric data from the modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications (MERRA), and the line-by- line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM) to obtain achievable accuracy estimates as a function of altitude and for the total path over an annual span of variations in atmospheric parameters. Separate layer error estimates also allowed investigation of the uncertainties in the weighting functions at varying altitudes and atmospheric conditions. The parameters influencing the measurement accuracy were analyzed independently and included temperature sensitivity, water vapor interferences, selection of favorable weighting functions, excitations wavelength stabilities and other factors. The results were used to identify favorable spectral regions and combinations of on / off line wavelengths leading to reductions i