Monday, 10 January 2005
Trace Gas Observations by AIRS and Preliminary Validation Results Against Airborne Measurements from INTEX
Global measurements of CO2, CO, and CH4 are made possible by observations from the Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder (AIRS) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Tropospheric CO abundances are retrieved from the 4.67 micron (2180 cm-1) region of AIRS spectra in the 1-0 vibration-rotation band using the operational AIRS physical retrieval algorithm running in research mode. Using the same software, multiple CO2 spectral bands are used to retrieve the CO2 content excluding spectral regions used for temperature determination. Airborne in-situ measurements of CO and CO2 acquired between July 1 and August 15, 2004, during INTEX (Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment) provided numerous opportunities for validation of AIRS retrievals. Near realtime AIRS CO retrievals and trajectory forecasts during INTEX assisted with flight planning. In return, INTEX in-situ measurements not only assist with validation of AIRS retrievals, but can help improve AIRS retrieval algorithms. The chemical sources and their implications of these measurements will be presented along with methods for improving the AIRS retrieval algorithm.
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