REMOTE SENSING OF ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION IN

AUSTRALIA

Clare Paton-Walsh, Nicholas Jones, Nicholas Deutscher, Stephen Wilson,

Ronald Macatangay and David Griffith

University of Wollongong
Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Tel: 0242215065, Fax: 0242214287
clarem@uow.edu.au

Abstract
Measuring the changing chemistry and composition of our atmosphere and the
increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases relies heavily on remote
sensing techniques. Networks of ground-based remote sensing spectrometers
such as the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change
(NDACC) [Goldman et al., 1999] and the Total Column Carbon Observing
Network (TCCON) [Toon et al., 2009] are complemented by a number of space-
based sensors. Remote sensing techniques have greater uncertainties than
ground level measurements of atmospheric composition but characterise the
total atmospheric column amount. Interpretation of ground level measurements
is often complicated by the effects of vertical transport and changing boundary
layer height, but total column measurements are less sensitive to this problem
because the measurement is integrated over the whole atmosphere. An
increasing number of trace gases such as ozone, methane, oxides of nitrogen,
CFCs and numerous VOCs can now be measured from both ground-based and
space-based sensors, while the TCCON network is directed at very high
precision and accuracy measurements of greenhouse gases.

Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere by Solar Fourier Transform

Spectroscopy

Remote sensing of the atmosphere by solar Fourier transform spectroscopy

uses the Sun as a source of radiation and the sample is the atmosphere, which
lies between the source and the spectrometer. The resulting spectra record the
radiation reaching the ground as a function of frequency (modified by the
spectrometer’s optical components). A schematic of the measurement set-up is
shown in Figure 1 and an example spectrum is shown in Figure 2. The shape of
the resulting spectrum depends upon the solar radiation reaching the top of the
earth’s atmosphere, absorption by the atmosphere and the optical properties of
the instrument recording the radiation.

1
 Molecular vibrational/rotational
transitions produce characteristic
absorption features in solar spectrum

Thermosphere

Mesosphere

Stratosphere

Solar Tracker on Roof

Troposphere

FTIR

Figure 1: Schematic showing how radiation from the sun passes through different
regions of the atmosphere and molecular vibrational/rotational transitions produce
characteristic absorption features in the solar spectrum.

2
The solar radiation reaching the top of the earth’s atmosphere is in essence a
blackbody curve at 5800K with emission and absorption lines of gases in the
solar atmosphere imposed. Terrestrial atmospheric absorption lines contain
information about the species of trace gases present in the atmosphere (line
positions), the amounts of each gas present (line depths/areas) and some
information about the altitude distribution of each gas (line shapes).

Figure 2: An example spectrum recorded by a ground-based solar Fourier transform

spectrometer.

Atmospheric Remote Sensing at Wollongong and Darwin

This presentation will describe the remote sensing instruments at Wollongong
[Paton-Walsh et al., 2005] (see Figure 3) and Darwin [Deutscher et al., 2010]
operated by the University of Wollongong and the global remote sensing
networks to which they belong. Results from analysis of trends in trace gases
from 1996 – 2010 will be presented along with satellite validation exercises and
studies to characterise emissions from biomass burning.

3
Figure 3: The ground-based solar
Fourier Transform infrared
spectrometer at Wollongong,
Australia. The sun’s radiation is
captured by the solar tracker
(shown above) and sent to the
entrance optics of the high
resolution Fourier transform
spectrometer in the laboratory
below (shown right).
(Photography by R Macatangay.)

References
Deutscher, N. M., D. W. T. Griffith, G. W. Bryant, P. O. Wennberg, G. C. Toon, R. A.
Washenfelder, G. Keppel-Aleks, D. Wunch, Y. Yavin, N. T. Allen, J. F. Blavier, R.
Jimenez, B. C. Daube, A. V. Bright, D. M. Matross, S. C. Wofsy, and S. Park, 2010,
Total column CO2 measurements at Darwin, Australia – site description and
calibration against in situ aircraft profiles, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 3(4), 947-958.
Toon, G. C., J. F. Blavier, R. A. Washenfelder, D. Wunch, G. Keppel-Aleks, P. O. Wennberg, B.
J. Connor, V. Sherlock, D. W. T. Griffith, N. M. Deutscher, and J. Notholt, 2009, The
Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), paper presented at The Optical
Society of America Fourier Transform Spectroscopy Meeting, Vancouver, April 2009.
Paton-Walsh, C., N. B. Jones, S. R. Wilson, V. Haverd, A. Meier, D. W. T. Griffith, and C. P.
Rinsland, 2005, Measurements of trace gas emissions from Australian forest fires and
correlations with coincident measurements of aerosol optical depth, Journal Of
Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 110(D24).
Goldman, A., C. Paton-Walsh, W. Bell, G. C. Toon, J. F. Blavier, B. Sen, M. T. Coffey, J. W.
Hannigan, and W. G. Mankin, 1999, Network for the detection of stratospheric change

4
fourier transform infrared intercomparison at Table Mountain Facility, November 1996,
Journal Of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 104(D23), 30481-30503