Abstract
Abstract. In a world of changing climate, political uncertainty, and ever-changing budgets, the benefit of measurements traceable to SI standards increases by the day. To truly resolve climate change trends on a decadal time scale, on-orbit measurements need to be referenced to something that is both absolute and unchanging. One such mission is the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) that will measure a variety of climate variables with an unprecedented accuracy to definitively quantify climate change. In the CLARREO mission, we will utilize phase change cells in which a material is melted to calibrate the temperature of a blackbody that can then be observed by a spectrometer. A material’s melting point is an unchanging physical constant that, through a series of transfers, can ultimately calibrate a spectrometer on an absolute scale. CLARREO consists of two primary instruments: an infrared (IR) spectrometer and a reflected solar (RS) spectrometer. The mission will contain orbiting radiometers with sufficient accuracy to calibrate other space-based instrumentation and thus transferring the absolute traceability. The status of various mission options will be presented.
Highlights
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – “Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850
The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission seeks to improve the absolute accuracy of climate change measurements by bringing SI traceable standards on-orbit
The primary CLARREO measurements as defined in the National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey are spectrally resolved infrared (IR) radiance emitted from Earth to space and spectrally resolved nadir reflected solar (RS) radiation
Summary
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – “Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850. Measuring climate change on a decadal time scale is vital to understanding model accuracy and properly attributing climate change to its source (IPCC 2012). The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission seeks to improve the absolute accuracy of climate change measurements by bringing SI traceable standards on-orbit.
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