Abstract
Abstract. The GHG-CCI project (http://www.esa-ghg-cci.org/) is one of several projects of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). The goal of the CCI is to generate and deliver data sets of various satellite-derived Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) in line with GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) requirements. The “ECV Greenhouse Gases” (ECV GHG) is the global distribution of important climate relevant gases – namely atmospheric CO2 and CH4 - with a quality sufficient to obtain information on regional CO2 and CH4 sources and sinks. The main goal of GHG-CCI is to generate long-term highly accurate and precise time series of global near-surface-sensitive satellite observations of CO2 and CH4, i.e., XCO2 and XCH4, starting with the launch of ESA’s ENVISAT satellite. These products are currently retrieved from SCIAMACHY/ENVISAT (2002-2012) and TANSO-FTS/GOSAT (2009-today) nadir mode observations in the near-infrared/shortwave-infrared spectral region. In addition, other sensors (e.g., IASI and MIPAS) and viewing modes (e.g., SCIAMACHY solar occultation) are also considered and in the future also data from other satellites. The GHG-CCI data products and related documentation are freely available via the GHG-CCI website and yearly updates are foreseen. Here we present an overview about the latest data set (Climate Research Data Package No. 2 (CRDP#2)) and summarize key findings from using satellite CO2 and CH4 retrievals to improve our understanding of the natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks of these important atmospheric greenhouse gases. We also shortly mention ongoing activities related to validation and initial user assessment of CRDP#2 and future plans.
Highlights
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas responsible for global warming (IPCC, 2013)
The Greenhouse Gases (GHG)-Climate Change Initiative (CCI) data products and related documentation are freely available via the GHG-CCI website and yearly updates generated with improved retrieval algorithms and covering longer time series are foreseen
We present an overview about the latest data set - Climate Research Data Package No 2 (CRDP#2) (Sect. 2) - and summarize key findings from using satellite CO2 and CH4 retrievals to improve our understanding of the natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks of these important greenhouse gases
Summary
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas responsible for global warming (IPCC, 2013). The goal of the GHG-CCI project (Buchwitz et al, 2013a), which is one of several projects of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI, Hollmann et al, 2013), is to generate global satellite-derived CO2 and CH4 data sets as needed to improve our understanding of the regional sources and sinks of these important atmospheric gases. Multi-year measurements from two satellite instruments can be used to retrieve information on CO2 and CH4 with sufficient near-surface-sensitivity: SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT (2002 - April 2012) (Burrows et al, 1995; Bovensmann et al, 1999) and TANSO-FTS on-board GOSAT (launched in 2009) (Kuze et al, 2009) Both instruments perform (or have performed) nadir observations in the nearinfrared/short-wave-infrared (NIR/SWIR) spectral region covering the relevant absorption bands of CO2, CH4 and O2 (needed to obtain the “dry-air column” used to compute GHG column-averaged dry-air mole fractions, i.e., XCO2 (in ppm) and XCH4 (in ppb)). Seasonal averages of CRDP#2 products are shown in Fig. 2 for XCO2 and Fig. 3 for XCH4
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
