Carbon Dioxide Retrieval from Space Spectral Data of ARGUS 1000 Spectrometer

ARGUS 1000 is a new generation of miniature pollution-monitoring remote sensing instruments to monitor greenhouse-gas emission from the space. ARGUS 1000 was launched on the CanX-2 micro-satellite April 28, 2008. Operating in the infrared and in a nadir-viewing mode, ARGUS provides a capability for the monitoring of Earth-based sources and sinks of anthropogenic pollution. It has 136 infrared channels in the spectral range of 0.9 - 1.7 microns with an instantaneous spatial resolution of 1.25 km. With a mass of just 228 g in flight-model configuration, the instrument is a demonstrator for a future micro-satellite network that can supply near-real time monitoring of pollution events in order to mitigate global warming. ARGUS 1000 is the predecessor of the similar micro-spectrometer Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) - a NASA satellite mission that was intended to provide global space-based observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Since December 2008 we start receiving valuable spectral data from space instrument. Recent spectra taken over Ontario, Canada show the efficiency of the instrument performance. The expected accuracy of CO2 retrieval from ARGUS 1000 spectrometer is presented.