Greenhouse Gas Observations from AIM-North

Satellite observations can contribute to our understanding of carbon cycle processes, however, most Earth observing satellites use a Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which allows global sampling, but with infrequent revisits (days to weeks). Geostationary (GEO) satellites can give sub-daily revisits for latitudes up to ~50°N/S, beyond which viewing angles become too large for CO₂ and CH₄ retrievals. Several Canadian Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellite mission possibilities have been studied, since the HEO vantage point enables ‘quasi-geostationary’ observations of higher northern latitudes. Here we present an overview of the Atmospheric Imaging Mission for Northern Regions or AIM-North (www.aim-north.ca), a HEO mission concept currently under consideration by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). AIM-North would provide observations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), air quality species, and solar induced fluorescence (SIF) from vegetation with unprecedented frequency, density and quality for the North. Observations would span land from ~40-80°N with 3x3 km² pixels, every ~60-90 minutes during daylight (where clouds permit). We will briefly discuss how such observations could assist in understanding and quantifying aspects of the northern carbon cycle such as boreal forest CO₂ fluxes, the impact of Arctic greening on atmospheric CO₂, emission of CO₂ and CH₄ from permafrost thaw, and northern anthropogenic CO₂ and CH₄ emissions.