Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme

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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 2: Atmosphere - trace gases, Methods - remote sensing

UP 2.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 5, 2018, 10:45–11:15, G 1.011

Remote Sensing of Greenhouse Gases from Ground and Space — •André Butz — Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Oberpfaffenhofen — Insitut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg

Understanding the sources and sinks of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane is key to projecting future climate. It is the respective man-made emissions that drive climate change and, it is the climate-carbon feedbacks that are among the largest uncertainties.

Here, I will review recent progress in ground-based and space-based remote sensing of carbon dioxide and methane. A particular focus will be on ground-based spectroscopic techniques that we deployed on mobile platforms at source regions such as the Mt. Etna volcano, Italy, and the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. Volcanic carbon dioxide emissions could be reliably detected at distance of 5-10 km from the crater at detection levels of about 1/1000 of the background concentration showcasing the excellent accuracy achievable in the field. Methane emissions from coal mining in Poland were found to be among the largest localized methane sources in Europe. Another focus will be on current and next-generation greenhouse gas satellite sounders and the challenges for reliable concentration retrievals. Current satellites such as GOSAT have been shown to provide robust information on climatically driven carbon cycle anomalies on sub-continental scales. Next-generation satellites will aim at improved sampling density and resolution to constrain regional-scale sources and sinks.