Articles | Volume 4, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-717-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-717-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article |
|
11 Apr 2011
Retrieval algorithm for CO2 and CH4 column abundances from short-wavelength infrared spectral observations by the Greenhouse gases observing satellite
Y. Yoshida, Y. Ota, N. Eguchi, N. Kikuchi, K. Nobuta, H. Tran, I. Morino, and T. Yokota
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
currently at: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0001, Japan
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Fujitsu FIP Corporation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Fujitsu FIP Corporation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA, UMR CNRS 7583), Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, 94010 Créteil Cedex, France
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Abstract. The Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) was launched on 23 January 2009 to monitor the global distributions of carbon dioxide and methane from space. It has operated continuously since then. Here, we describe a retrieval algorithm for column abundances of these gases from the short-wavelength infrared spectra obtained by the Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS). The algorithm consists of three steps. First, cloud-free observational scenes are selected by several cloud-detection methods. Then, column abundances of carbon dioxide and methane are retrieved based on the optimal estimation method. Finally, the retrieval quality is examined to exclude low-quality and/or aerosol-contaminated results. Most of the retrieval random errors come from instrumental noise. The interferences due to auxiliary parameters retrieved simultaneously with gas abundances are small. The evaluated precisions of the retrieved column abundances for single observations are less than 1% in most cases. The interhemispherical differences and temporal variation patterns of the retrieved column abundances show features similar to those of an atmospheric transport model.
How to cite. Yoshida, Y., Ota, Y., Eguchi, N., Kikuchi, N., Nobuta, K., Tran, H., Morino, I., and Yokota, T.: Retrieval algorithm for CO2 and CH4 column abundances from short-wavelength infrared spectral observations by the Greenhouse gases observing satellite, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 4, 717–734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-717-2011, 2011.
Received: 01 Nov 2010 – Discussion started: 08 Nov 2010 – Revised: 26 Feb 2011 – Accepted: 01 Apr 2011 – Published: 11 Apr 2011