Compact static interferometer instrument studies for greenhouse gas detection

International Conference on Space Optics (ICSO), vol. 11180, pp. 67

Abstract

The detection and quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), is presently one of the main goals of remote sensing of atmospheric gasses on a global scale, for the strong impact these molecules have on climate change. Of particular urgency is the quantification of emissions from anthropogenic sources, a high-priority task addressed by the ESA Copernicus mission CO2M, which will provide global coverage detection of CO2 and CH4. The observation of CO2M, capable of quantifying emissions from the major sources, can be complemented by other observation systems addressing the smaller, and more numerous, sources. In this domain, static interferometers can offer several advantages. This paper reports on the main results of two activities completed within the ESA Future Missions activities in the Earth Observation Program, for the development of small instruments based on static interferometer designs, for the detection of CO2. The two studies, named Carbon-HIGS and Carbon-CGI, investigated two instruments operating in the SWIR and NIR bands, with a targeted precision of 2 ppm and an accuracy of 1 ppm for CO2 atmospheric concentration, covering a relatively small swath of 50 km at a spatial sampling better than 300 m. We summarize the general detection principles, the result of the design activities, and the estimated instrument performances. Both concepts are suitable candidates to work in conjunction with the Copernicus mission offering a zoom-mode observation, for quantification of medium-sized GHG sources and improved localization and understanding of anthropogenic emissions. Additional presentation content can be accessed on the supplemental content page.

Authors 17

1. Flavio Mariani

   European Space Research and Technology Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   European Space Research and Technology Ctr. (Netherlands)

2. Denis Siméoni

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

   Affiliation as printed

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

3. Nurcan Alpay Koc

   Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

   Affiliation as printed

   TNO (Netherlands)

4. Vitalii Khodnevych

   IRT Saint Exupéry

   Affiliation as printed

   IRT Saint Exupéry (France)

5. Nicolas Tetaz

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

   Affiliation as printed

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

6. Bruno Chétrite

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

   Affiliation as printed

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

7. Mikaël Carlavan

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

   Affiliation as printed

   Thales Alenia Space (France)

8. S. Ferron
   Affiliation as printed

   ACRI-ST (France)

9. Jean‐Luc Vergely
   Affiliation as printed

   ACRI-ST (France)

10. Nick van der Valk

    Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

    Affiliation as printed

    TNO (Netherlands)

11. Hedser H. van Brug

    Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

    Affiliation as printed

    TNO (Netherlands)

12. Benjamin J. M. Brenny

    Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

    Affiliation as printed

    TNO (Netherlands)

13. Huib J. Visser

    Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

    Affiliation as printed

    TNO (Netherlands)

14. Jochen Landgraf Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    Space Research Organisation Netherlands

    Affiliation as printed

    SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (Netherlands)

15. Stephanie P. Rusli Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

    Space Research Organisation Netherlands

    Affiliation as printed

    SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (Netherlands)

16. Roman Windpassinger

    European Space Agency · European Space Research and Technology Centre

    Affiliation as printed

    European Space Research and Technology Ctr., European Space Agency (Netherlands)

17. B. Sierk

    European Space Agency · European Space Research and Technology Centre

    Affiliation as printed

    European Space Research and Technology Ctr., European Space Agency (Netherlands)