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MOPITT Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere

Animation of MOPITT science (4.1MB Quicktime .mov) Animation of MOPITT scanning path (3.4MB Quicktime .mpg) Latest MOPITT Images (via Visible Earth) First light image MOPITT is an instrument designed to enhance our knowledge of the lower atmosphere and to particularly observe how it interacts with the land and ocean biospheres. Its specific focus is on the distribution, transport, sources, and sinks of carbon monoxide and methane in the troposphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas with nearly 30 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide; it is known to leak from swamps, livestock herds, and biomass burning, but the total output from these individual sources is unknown. Carbon monoxide, which is expelled from factories, cars, and forest fires, hinders the atmosphere's natural ability to rid itself of harmful pollutants. MOPITT is the first satellite sensor to use gas correlation spectroscopy. The sensor measures emitted and reflected radiance from the Earth in three spectral bands. As this light enters the sensor, it passes along two different paths through onboard containers of carbon monoxide and methane. The different paths absorb different amounts of energy, leading to small differences in the resulting signals that correlate with the presence of these gases in the atmosphere. MOPITT's spatial resolution is 22 km at nadir and it 'sees' the Earth in swaths that are 640 km wide. Moreover, it can measure the concentrations of carbon monoxide in 5-km layers down a vertical column of atmosphere, to help scientists track the gas back to its sources.