Northern CO2 observations from a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) mission
Abstract
A detailed understanding of the carbon cycle at northern latitudes in the coming years will require measurements to study the carbon balance of boreal forests, emissions from increasing anthropogenic activity in the Arctic and the stability of permafrost carbon. The proposed Polar Communications and Weather (PCW) mission will consist of two satellites in Highly Elliptical Orbits (HEOs), together giving quasi-geostationary coverage of the northern high latitudes (~50-90°N). Although the primary mission drivers are Arctic weather and communications, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is also considering an additional science payload under the PHEOS (Polar Highly Elliptical Orbit Science) program. The proposed PHEOS Weather, Climate and Air quality instrument suite would provide unprecedented observational coverage of atmospheric composition at northern high latitudes using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) with near-IR and thermal-IR bands and a UV-visible grating spectrometer. An investigation into the potential of CO2 observations from such a mission, including Observing System Simulations Experiments (OSSEs), helps to quantify the benefits of northern CO2 observations using this observational approach and also highlights some of the challenges involved.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.A33I0265N
- Keywords:
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- 0315 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Biosphere/atmosphere interactions;
- 0394 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Instruments and techniques;
- 0428 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Carbon cycling;
- 0480 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Remote sensing