THE CARBONSAT END-TO-END SIMULATOR

摘要

The objective of the CarbonSat mission is to improveour knowledge on natural and anthropogenic sources andsinks of CO_2 and CH_4. CarbonSat was one of the twocandidate missions selected for definition studies for becomingEarth Explorer 8 (EE8).The CarbonSat End-to-End Simulator (CSE2ES) simulatesthe full data flow of the mission with a set of modulesembedded in ESA’s generic simulation frameworkOpenSF. A Geometry Module (GM) defines the orbitalgeometry and related parameters. A Scene GenerationModule (SGM) provides simulated radiances and irradiancesfor the selected scenes. The Level 1 Module (L1M)compromises the instrument simulator and the Level 1bprocessor, and provide as main output calibrated spectra.The L1M is implemented in two versions, reflecting theinstrument concepts from the two competing industrialsystem studies. The Level 2 Retrieval Module (L2M) performsthe retrieval from the input level 1b spectra to theatmospheric parameters (CO_2 and CH_4).In this paper, we show sensitivity studies with respect toatmospheric parameters, simulations along the orbit and acase study for the detection of a point source emitting carbondioxide. In summary, the end-to-end simulation withCSE2ES proves the capability of the CarbonSat conceptto reach its requirements.