[local physicists] FW: Colloquium Announcement 3/17/2012 (Daniel K. Havey)

[Malin, Delicia M.]

Old Dominion University
Department of Physics
and
Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative

Spring Colloquium Series

Tuesday April 17, 2012

"Impact of Water-Broadening on Atmospheric Remote Sensing of Carbon Dioxide"


Dr. Daniel K. Havey
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
James Madison University



Remote sensing of CO2, an important greenhouse gas, requires high-fidelity reference data of spectral line parameters to be successful. In order to accurately determine column-integrated concentrations of CO2, satellite missions typically rely on optical spectra of both CO2 and O2. Measurements of O2 are important because its concentration is uniform and well-mixed in the atmosphere. Subsequently, measuring O2 remotely allows determination of atmospheric path lengths. One potential source of bias in remote sensing missions aiming to measure CO2 is the influence of H2O on the spectra of O2 and/or CO2. Water makes up approximately 1-4% of Earth’s lower atmosphere and can interfere with remote sensing measurements by (1) appearing as a direct spectral interference or (2) acting as a foreign broadener for CO2 and/or O2 lines.  Recent work by our group will be discussed which quantify water-broadening of CO2 and O2 with modest uncertainty. Neglecting to include our results in retrieval algorithms will result in a complicated spatially and seasonally variable measurement bias. The planned colloquium will move through the basics of atmospheric remote sensing, discuss current measurement needs and challenges, explain research results, and convey the atmospheric implications of those results.


Presentation: Physical Sciences Building II 1100 @ 3:00 pm
Refreshments: 1st Floor Atrium @ 2:30 pm

More details at http://www.physics.odu.edu
All are Welcome!


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