Advanced Technologies for Measurement of Decadal Climate Change from Space (Invited)

For the past decade we have been aggressively pursuing a number of technologies in order to realize the capability to accurately measure climate change from orbiting satellites. This work has encompassed instrument development (three separate interferometers), specific instrument components (blackbodies, beamsplitters), and of course advanced detector technology. The work has opened half the infrared spectrum to scientific inquiry, and has addressed with contemporary measurement methods the last outstanding problem of infrared radiation measurement, namely, the measurement of net radiative fluxes within the atmosphere. We are now set to develop the most accurate spectrometer ever built in order to accurately measure climate change on a decadal basis. We will review the various programs, highlighting the technology advances, and show how these have paved the way to obtaining measurements critical to the establishment of a dedicated climate observing system.