Toward CO2 and CH4 measurements by ground based observations of surface-scattered sunlight: Radiative transfer modeling
- 1University of Heidelberg, Institute of Environmental Physics, Germany (christin.pross@iup.uni-heidelberg.de)
- 2Detusches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Precise knowledge of sources and sinks in the carbon cycle is desired to understand
its sensitivity to climate change and to account and verify man-made emissions. An
important role herein play extended sources like urban areas. While in-situ measure-
ments of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are highly accurate but localized,
satellites measure column-integrated concentrations over an extended footprint. Our
innovative measurement technique aims at determining CO2 and CH4 concentrations
near to the ground on the scale of a few kilometers and therefore fills the sensitivity
gap between in-situ and satellite measurements.
Using a modified EM27/SUN Fourier transform spectrometer we are able to record
spectra of surface scattered sunlight in the range of 4000 − 11000 cm−1 . To accurately
retrieve CO2 and CH4 concentrations an advanced retrieval method is required that
includes the simultaneous estimation of atmospheric scattering properties.
Based on our radiative transfer and retrieval software RemoTeC, we built a simulation
environment that includes atmospheric scattering processes. With this tool we can
generate and retrieve synthetic scattered light observations. Here we present our
simulation environment, first results and ongoing developments.
How to cite: Proß, C., Hemmer, B., Wellmann, C., Kostinek, J., and Butz, A.: Toward CO2 and CH4 measurements by ground based observations of surface-scattered sunlight: Radiative transfer modeling, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3576, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3576, 2020
