Abstract
We present a study on the retrieval sensitivity of the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CO2 (XCO2) for the Chinese carbon dioxide observation satellite (TanSat) with a full physical forward model and the optimal estimation technique. The forward model is based on the vector linearized discrete ordinate radiative transfer model (VLIDORT) and considers surface reflectance, gas absorption, and the scattering of air molecules, aerosol particles, and cloud particles. XCO2 retrieval errors from synthetic TanSat measurements show solar zenith angle (SZA), albedo dependence with values varying from 0.3 to 1 ppm for bright land surface in nadir mode and 2 to 8 ppm for dark surfaces like snow. The use of glint mode over dark oceans significantly improves the CO2 information retrieved. The aerosol type and profile are more important than the aerosol optical depth, and underestimation of aerosol plume height will introduce a bias of 1.5 ppm in XCO2. The systematic errors due to radiometric calibration are also estimated using a forward model simulation approach.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aben I, Hasekamp O, Hartmann W. 2007. Uncertainties in the space-based measurements of CO2 columns due to scattering in the Earth’s atmosphere. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf, 104: 450–459
Baldridge A M, Hook S J, Grove C I, et al. 2009. The ASTER spectral library version 2.0. Remote Sens Environ, 113: 711–715
Boesch H, Baker D, Connor B, et al. 2011. Global characterization of CO2 column retrievals from shortwave-infrared satellite observations of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission. Remote Sens, 3: 270–304
Butz A, Hasekamp O P, Frankenberg C, et al. 2009. Retrievals of atmospheric CO2 from simulated space-borne measurements of backscattered near-infrared sunlight: Accounting for aerosol effects. Appl Optics, 48: 3322–3336
Butz A, Guerlet S, Hasekamp O, et al. 2011. Toward accurate CO2 and CH4 observations from GOSAT. Geophys Res Lett, 38: L14812, doi: 10.1029/2011GL047888
Cai Z, Liu Y, Liu X, et al. 2012. Characterization and correction of Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 ultraviolet measurements and application to ozone profile retrievals. J Geophys Res, 117: D07305, doi: 10.1029/2011JD017096
Chandrasekhar S. 1950. Radiative Transfer. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Connor B J, Boesch H, Toon G, et al. 2008. Orbiting Carbon Observatory: Inverse method and prospective error analysis. J Geophys Res, 113: D05305, doi: 10.1029/2006JD008336
Crisp D, Atlas R M, Breon F M, et al. 2004. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission. Adv Space Res, 34: 700–709
Hartmann J M, Tran H, Toon G. 2009. Influence of line mixing on the retrievals of atmospheric CO2 from spectra in the 1.6 and 2.1 μm regions. Atmos Chem Phys, 9: 4873–4898
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2007. 2007. Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Solomon S, et al., eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Kuang Z, Margolis J, Toon G, et al. 2002. Spaceborne measurements of atmospheric CO2 by high-resolution NIR spectrometry of reflected sunlight: An introductory study. Geophys Res Lett, 29: 1716
Kuze A, Suto H, Nakajima M, et al. 2009. Thermal and near infrared sensor for carbon observation Fourier-transform spectrometer on the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite for greenhouse gases monitoring. Appl Optics, 48: 6716–6733
Liu Y, Duan M Z, Cai Z N, et al. 2011. Chinese Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TanSat) Project. 2011 AGU Fall Meeting
Min M, Wang P C, Zong X M, et al. 2011. Cirrus cloud macrophysical and optical properties over North China from CALIOP measurements. Adv Atmos Sci, 28: 653–664
Mishchenko M I, Travis L D, Lacis A A. 2002. Scattering, Absorption, and Emission of Light by Small Particles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
O’Dell C W, Connor B, Bosch H, et al. 2012. The ACOS CO2 retrieval algorithm—Part 1: Description and validation against synthetic observations. Atmos Meas Tech, 5: 99–121
Rayner P J, O’Brien D M. 2001. The utility of remotely sensed CO2 concentration data in surface source inversions. Geophys Res Lett, 28: 175–178
Rodgers C D. 2000. Inverse Methods for Atmospheric Sounding: Theory and Practice. Sigapore: World Scientific
Rothman L S, Gordon I E, Barbe A, et al. 2009. The HITRAN 2008 molecular spectroscopic database. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transfer, 110: 533–572
Spurr R J D. 2006. VLIDORT: A linearized pseudo-spherical vector discrete ordinate radiative transfer code for forward model and retrieval studies in multilayer multiple scattering media. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf, 102: 316–342
Yang D X, Liu Y, Cai Z N. 2013. Simulations of aerosol optical properties to top of atmospheric reflected sunlight in the near infrared CO2 weak absorption band. Atmos Ocean Sci Lett, 6: 60–64
Yokota T, Yoshida Y, Eguchi N, et al. 2009. Global concentrations of CO2 and CH4 retrieved from GOSAT: First preliminary results. SOLA, 5: 160–163
Yoshida Y, Ota Y, Eguchi N, et al. 2011. Retrieval algorithm for CO2 and CH4 column abundances from short-wavelength infrared spectral observations by the Greenhouse gases observing satellite. Atmos Meas Tech, 4: 717–734
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cai, Z., Liu, Y. & Yang, D. Analysis of XCO2 retrieval sensitivity using simulated Chinese Carbon Satellite (TanSat) measurements. Sci. China Earth Sci. 57, 1919–1928 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-013-4707-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-013-4707-1