Remote Sensing of Greenhouse Gases for Carbon Cycle Modelling

• Applicant: Professor Dr. André Butz
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2011 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 183111364

The proposed research aims at contributing to an improved understanding of the biogeochemical processes that control the abundances of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the Earth’s atmosphere. Mitigation of adverse effects of climate change crucially depends on modelling of these processes. Such modelling, however, is hindered by the sparseness of accurate observational constraints. The goal is to overcome this limitation by remote sensing of the atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations, and thereby providing observational constraints that are highly accurate and consistent among the employed retrieval, validation, and modelling methods.The proposed research group will focus on three main research topics. First, we will exploit remote sensing measurements from space-based platforms such as the Greenhouse Gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). We will develop and evalute methods that are able to accurately retrieve atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations from solar backscatter measurements in the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) spectral range. Second, we will develop a ground-based grating spectrometer that is sufficiently versatile and robust to reliably measure atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations under harsh conditions. Thereby, we aim at validating our satellite measurements at the optimal geolocation, providing additional constraints on sources and sinks, and proving the concept for ground-based monitoring networks and on mobile platforms. Third, we will use a carbon cycle model to assess the benefit of our remote sensing measurements for simultaneously constraining sources and sinks of CO2 and CH4. Our comprehensive approach is designed to cover observation, validation, and data interpretation for prototype case studies.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups