A review of 10 years of CO2LAS flights

摘要

The CO2LAS Laser Absorption Spectrometer has been flying for 10 years measuring the weighted, column averaged carbon dioxide concentration between an aircraft and the ground using a continuous-wave heterodyne technique operating at a wavelength of 2.05 microns. Initially flying on a Twin Otter the instrument now flies on the NASA DC-8. We provide an overview of the instrument development and changes that have occurred over that time, review the results of the flights undertaken to date and discuss the practical challenges of making an accurate integrated column measurement of carbon dioxide. We conclude by looking forward to future improvements for the instrument and approach.