Carbon dioxide column abundances at the Wisconsin Tall Tower site

Creators: Washenfelder, R. A.; Toon, G. C.; Blavier, J.-F.; Yang, Z.; Allen, N. T.; Wennberg, P. O.; Vay, S. A.; Matross, D. M.; Daube, B. C.

Abstract

We have developed an automated observatory for measuring atmospheric column abundances of CO_2 and O_2 using near-infrared spectra of the Sun obtained with a high spectral resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). This is the first dedicated laboratory in a new network of ground-based observatories named the Total Carbon Column Observing Network. This network will be used for carbon cycle studies and validation of spaceborne column measurements of greenhouse gases. The observatory was assembled in Pasadena, California, and then permanently deployed to northern Wisconsin during May 2004. It is located in the heavily forested Chequamegon National Forest at the WLEF Tall Tower site, 12 km east of Park Falls, Wisconsin. Under clear sky conditions, ∼0.1% measurement precision is demonstrated for the retrieved column CO_2 abundances. During the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment–North America and CO_2 Boundary Layer Regional Airborne Experiment campaigns in summer 2004, the DC-8 and King Air aircraft recorded eight in situ CO_2 profiles over the WLEF site. Comparison of the integrated aircraft profiles and CO_2 column abundances shows a small bias (∼2%) but an excellent correlation.

Additional Information

© 2006 American Geophysical Union. Received 6 February 2006; revised 12 May 2006; accepted 26 May 2006; article first published online 18 November 2006. We thank Jeffrey Ayers for maintaining the ground-based FTS laboratory in Park Falls, Wisconsin. We thank Arlyn Andrews and the NOAA CCGG for providing WLEF Tall Tower CO_2 measurements. Bruce Daube thanks Victoria Chow and Bhaswar Sen for their support in obtaining the balloon CO_2 profile. We thank Andrew Orr-Ewing for helpful discussions and providing PGOPHER model results for the O_2 7882 cm^(-1) band. R.A.W. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation and the California Institute of Technology. This work was funded by NASA grant NAG5-12247 and NNG05-GD07G. Research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, is performed under contract with NASA.

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