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.
MOPITT is a scanning radiometer employing gas
correlation spectroscopy to measure upwelling and
reflected infrared radiance in three absorption bands
of carbon monoxide and methane. The instrument
modulates sample gas density by changing the length
or the pressure of the gas sample in the optical path
of the instrument. MOPITT has a spatial resolution of
22 km at nadir and a swath width of 640 km.
MOPITT operates continuously, providing science
data on both day and night portions of an orbit.
Calibration, using the onboard blackbodies and a
space look, occurs during each normal scan. A long
calibration occurs monthly and provides calibration
at an elevated blackbody temperature.
MOPITT is a Principal Investigator instrument
provided by Canada, managed by the Canadian Space
Agency, and built by COM DEV Ltd. in Cambridge,
Ontario. The MOPITT Team Leader is James R.
Drummond. Refer to the MOPITT Web Site for more
details at
http://www.atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca/MOPITT/home.html.
MOPITT data will be used to:
- measure and model carbon monoxide and
methane concentrations in the troposphere;
- obtain carbon monoxide profiles with a
resolution of 22 km horizontally and 3 km vertically,
with an accuracy of 10 percent;
- measure the methane column in the troposphere
with a resolution of 22 km and a precision of
better than 1 percent; and
- generate global maps of carbon monoxide and
methane distribution, and provide increased
knowledge of tropospheric chemistry.
![[MOPITT with technician]](images/MOPITT_tech.jpg)
![[MOPITT Carbon Monoxide]](images/MOPITT_CO2.jpg)
