Precise, global, space-based observations of
atmospheric CO2 would complement the measurements made by the
ground-based network and improve our understanding of CO2 sources
and sinks. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mission is being developed to address this
need. OCO carries a high resolution grating spectrometer designed to measure
the near-infrared absorption by CO2 and molecular oxygen (O2)
in reflected sunlight. High resolution spectra taken in the CO2
bands near 1.61 and 2.06 mm provide constraints on the CO2 column
abundance, with the greatest information content near the surface.
Bore-sighted, high resolution spectra in the 0.76 mm O2 A-band
provide constraints on the surface pressure and atmospheric optical path
length.
Author: D. Crisp and the OCO Science Team (David dot Crisp at jpl dot nasa dot gov)
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