Articles | Volume 5, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2003-2012
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2003-2012
Research article
 | 
20 Aug 2012
Research article |  | 20 Aug 2012

Aircraft measurements of carbon dioxide and methane for the calibration of ground-based high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometers and a comparison to GOSAT data measured over Tsukuba and Moshiri

T. Tanaka, Y. Miyamoto, I. Morino, T. Machida, T. Nagahama, Y. Sawa, H. Matsueda, D. Wunch, S. Kawakami, and O. Uchino

Abstract. Aircraft measurements of carbon dioxide and methane over Tsukuba (36.05° N, 140.12° E) (February 2010) and Moshiri (44.36° N, 142.26° E) (August 2009) were made to calibrate ground-based high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometers (g-b FTSs) and to compare with the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). The aircraft measurements over Tsukuba in February 2010 were successful in synchronizing with both the g-b FTS and GOSAT for the first time. Airborne in situ and flask-sampling instruments were mounted on the aircraft, and measurements were carried out between altitudes of 0.5 and 7 km to obtain vertical profiles of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and other gaseous species.

By comparing the g-b FTS measurements with the airborne measurements, the column-averaged dry air mole fractions of CO2 (XCO2) and CH4 (XCH4) retrieved from the g-b FTS measurements at Tsukuba were biased low by 0.33 ± 0.11% for XCO2 and 0.69 ± 0.29% for XCH4.

The g-b FTS values at Moshiri were biased low by 1.24% for XCO2 and 2.11% for XCH4. The GOSAT data show biases that are 3.1% ± 1.7% lower for XCO2 and 2.5% ± 0.8% lower for XCH4 than the aircraft measurements obtained over Tsukuba.