HR: 08:20h
AN: B21E-02    [Abstracts]
TI: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Mission
AU: * Miller, C E
EM: charles.e.miller@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 183-501 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 United States
AB: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission will make the first global, space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) with the precision, resolution, and coverage needed to characterize CO$_2$ sources and sinks on regional scales. The measurement approach and instrument specifications were determined through an analysis of existing carbon cycle data and a series of observing system simulation experiments. During its 2-year mission, OCO will fly in a 1315 LST sun-synchronous orbit with a 16-day ground-track repeat time, 15 minutes ahead of the EOS Aqua platform and the A-train constellation. OCO will carry a single instrument that incorporates three bore-sighted high-resolution spectrometers designed to measure reflected sunlight in the 0.76 $\mu$m O$_2$ A-band and in the CO$_2$ bands at 1.61 and 2.06 $\mu$m. Soundings recorded in these three bands will be used to retrieve the column-averaged CO$_2$ dry air mole fraction (\ital{X$_{CO2}$}). A comprehensive validation program was included in the mission to ensure that the space-based \ital{X$_{CO2}$} retrievals have precisions approaching 0.3$%$ (1 ppm) on regional scales. OCO data products will be used in global synthesis inversion and data assimilation models to quantify CO$_2$ sources and sinks. While OCO will have a nominal lifetime of only 2 years, it will serve as a pathfinder for future long-term CO$_2$ monitoring missions.
UR: http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov
DE: 1640 Remote sensing
DE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks
DE: 0330 Geochemical cycles
DE: 0365 Troposphere--composition and chemistry
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting