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Atmospheric CO 2 retrieved from ground‐based near IR solar spectra
Author(s) -
Yang Zhonghua,
Toon Geoffrey C.,
Margolis Jack S.,
Wennberg Paul O.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014537
Subject(s) - mixing ratio , spectral line , column (typography) , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , mixing (physics) , spectrometer , volume (thermodynamics) , solar telescope , solar observatory , absorption (acoustics) , telescope , physics , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , remote sensing , optics , geology , chemistry , astronomy , geometry , mathematics , connection (principal bundle) , quantum mechanics , chromatography , magnetic field
The column‐averaged volume mixing ratio (VMR) of CO 2 over Kitt Peak, Arizona, has been retrieved from high‐resolution solar absorption spectra obtained with the Fourier transform spectrometer on the McMath telescope. Simultaneous column measurements of CO 2 at ∼6300 cm −1 and O 2 at ∼7900 cm −1 were ratioed to minimize systematic errors. These column ratios were then scaled by the mean O 2 VMR (0.2095) to yield column‐averaged vmrs of CO 2 . These display similar behavior to the Mauna Loa in situ surface measurements. During the period 1977–1995, the column‐averaged mixing ratio of CO 2 increased at an average rate of 1.49 ± 0.04 ppmv/yr with seasonal variations of ∼7 ppmv peak‐to‐peak. Our retrievals demonstrate that this remote technique is capable of precisions better than 0.5%.