NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

ISSUE # 31
Spring 2015

CONTENTSREPORT

Main events in 2014		
Major project outcomes in 2014 
GOSAT in the year after nominal lifetime	
Statistics of selected RA proposals and published papers

SPECIAL COLUMN S

いぶき
IBUKI

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER

01
02
03
05

GOSAT then and now			   Dr. A. Sumi
Measuring Greenhouse Gases from Space:    The GOSAT, OCO-2, and GOSAT-2 Partnership	   Dr.
D. Crisp
PUBLISHED PAPERS, etc.		04

DATA PRODUCT UPDATE Data Processing Status Update

11

06
08

National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
A newsletter on the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite“IBUKI” (GOSAT) project from the NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce

http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/

REPORT

Main events in 2014

It is more than a year after the issue #30 of this newsletter, so
at first let us introduce main events since.
The 6th GOSAT RA PI Meeting was held at EPOCHAL TSUKUBA,
Ibaraki, Japan, during June 9(Mon) to 12(Thu) with the participantsof 60 PIs and Co-Is, and 66 from involved parties, NIES, JAXA, NASA,and others, counting a total of 126 persons. The meeting started
with [1] plenary session, followed by sessions on [2] calibration, [3]algorithms, [4] validation, [5] modeling, [6] data application, and[7] closing. After each session of [1] - [6], a discussion of some 30
minutes was held.
After a welcome speech by the NIES President, Dr. Sumi andan opening remarks by Prof. Shimoda of Tokai University (RAcommittee chair person), session [1] saw 4 reports on current statusof GOSAT project and outline of TIR L2 algorithms, closed withsummary of action items from the previous meeting.
Each following session had oral presentations as follows: [2] two
on O2 A-band and TIR band of the FTS, [3] seven on latest retrieval
outcomes of CO2 and CH4 concentrations, three on clouds, andtwo others (12 in all), [4] four by ground-based high resolution FTS,
two by comparison with IASI*1, and two others (8 in all), [5] threeeach on assimilation and regional characteristics of flux, and fourothers (10 in all), [6] six on aerosol retrieval including PM2.5, fiveon regional trends of GHGs, and nine others (20 in all).
At session [7] JAXA Vice President, Mr. Yamamoto and theMinistry of the Environment, Japan made closing addresses, andthe meeting was summarized after confirmation of action items tofinish all agendas.
Among those which the participants confirmed and shared
were: improved quality of the latest L1 product, the necessities

At the entrance hall of EPOCHAL TSUKUBA, International Congress Center.

of clarifying the cause of systematic bias in L2 products,
augmentation of TCCON sites, accuracy enhancement of retrieval,further improvement of absorption cross-section database ofgases, continued comparison between models, promotion of
application researches.
The meeting also had a poster session with 9 presentations, a
reception in the second evening, and technical tours to JAXA and
NIES in the fourth afternoon.
Photo left:
A group visiting NIES
(Climate Change ResearchHall) on a technical tour
after the meeting on June
12, 2014.

Photo right:
Another group visiting
JAXA (H-II rocket in the
background).
*1 IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) is a sensor
mounted on the European meteorological satellites MetOp to measureinfrared radiation from the ground surface to acquire humidity-,
temperature-distribution at troposphere/lower stratosphere, andatmospheric trace gas data which are important for climate monitoring,
global change, and atmospheric chemistry.

1­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

The Annual Summer Open House was held on July 19 (Sat) withas many as 4,144 people visiting in spite of the occasional rain on
the day. At the event, the GOSAT/GOSAT-2 team presented theirresearch outcomes around the theme of “Global Environmental
Monitoring (Measurement from Space)” at the Climate Change
Research Hall using a variety of means including the usual sphericaldisplays, tablet PCs, and posters. A new attraction this year, withyounger visitors as its target, was the “Panel Expedition Quiz”. 790
younger visitors participated in the quiz, creating an unusually
festive atmosphere this year. We would like to thank all those who
visited us.

Entrance to UNFCCC COP20/CMP10 (photo by PANG Shijuan).

research outcomes on climate change and future observation plan.
An event "Contributions of Japan's Satellite Remote Sensing to
Climate Change Detection", co-hosted by NIES, was held at Japan
pavilion on Dec. 2 (Tue), details of which can be seen here:

http://www.mmechanisms.org/e/cop20_japanpavilion/index.html

Photo above: children doing
quiz with hints given fromthe staffs.
Photo left: a family operating
the demonstration system
listening to the staff 's
explanation.
* This event is held annuallyon the 3rd or 4th Sat. of July at
NIES. The various centers use
the occasion to introduce theirresearch and its outcomes in aneasily-understandable mannerto the general public, as well thegeneral scope of environmental
issues.

At booth, research outcomes and plans of GOSAT and GOSAT-2
were displayed as follows.
For the first week (Dec. 1-6) details of 5 years' global CO2/CH4
sink/source observation by GOSAT and the procedure of obtaining
those data were explained, which attracted a high level of visitors'
interest, especially, images of changing concentration of thosegases shown on a portable display. For GOSAT-2, the successor,
its latest required specification and expected outcomes were
presented.
The second week (Dec. 8-12) included the explanation of thepress release "IBUKI (GOSAT) Satellite's Historically Unprecedented
Observation of Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions of Mega-City Regions
from Space" held on Dec. 4, indicating the possible monitoringof anthropogenic emission using GOSAT data measuring MegaCities and their adjacent areas from space. The outline of the press
release is introduced at next "Major project outcomes in 2014".

Photo left: Dr. Yokota
interviewed by a

Peruvian TV channel
at GOSAT/GOSAT-2

UNFCCC COP20 was held at Lima, Peru for two weeks from
Dec. 1 (Mon), 2014. From NIES, 6 people attended including
GOSAT project leader Dr. Yokota, GOSAT-2 project team leader
Dr. Matsunaga, and specialist Ms. Pang, and presented the latest

booth (photo by
PANG Shijuan).

Major project outcomes in 2014
L4A global CH4 flux and L4B global CH4 distribution (see nextpage) were released to the general public as standard products
upgraded from research products in July 2014, following thosepreviously released CO2 L4A/L4B. L4A is estimated from FTS SWIR
L2 data and ground-based observation data using inverse model
analysis, and L4B is a 3-dimensional concentration distribution
simulated from L4A using atmospheric transport model. For
details, please refer to L4A/L4B “Product Format Descriptions”
and “Important Notes at Releasing” under “Document & Technical

Information” – “Document (Product Description)” at GUIG site.
In Dec. 2014, IBUKI (GOSAT) Satellite's Historically Unprecedented
Observation of Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions of Mega-City Regions
from Space” was press released showing CO2 concentrations inmega-cities and their surroundings were analyzed for the three
and a half years from June 2009 to December 2012, based on theobservational data acquired by IBUKI , indicating the tendency
for higher CO2 concentrations in mega-cities than those in theirsurroundings, and furthermore, positive correlations between

2­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

differences in CO 2 concentrations and the concentrations
estimated from data for fossil fuel consumption, those which toindicate that IBUKI observations have the potential to enable us todetect enhanced CO2 concentrations with their origin in fossil fuelconsumption for mega-cities and to demonstrate the potential

utility of satellite observation of CO2 concentrations as a tool formonitoring greenhouse gas emissions (inventory) from fossil fuels.
For details, please visit: (http://www.nies.go.jp/whatsnew/2014/201412

10/20141210-e.html)* Upper figures show an example of L4 browse image (average of May,
2012): left (L4A) shows sink/source in CH4 weight (mg) per day/square

meter for each of 43 global regions with its uncertainty at center (L4A) ,and right (L4B), 3-dimensional concentration showing at 800m-altitude(ETA: 975) in this case. You can view these data via the site below

clicking “Login” – “Guest user login” – “L4 Browse Image”. CH4 products
include animations as is the case with CO2.
http://data.gosat.nies.go.jp/* Lower figure, used in the press release, shows seven regions withconspicuously higher CO 2 concentrations from anthropogenic
activities.

GOSAT in the year after nominal lifetime
GOSAT is now in the year after nominal
lifetime, having accomplished 5 years’
observation since its launch in 2009, asreported in the issue #30 of this newsletter.
Let us introduce two incidents in the pastyear.
The observation equipment automatically
stopped at 23:00, May 24, 2014(UT), due
to power generation shortage (1/2 ofnormal status) caused by standstill of oneof two solar paddles failing to face the Sun,
eventually to resume observation at 23:00,
May 30(UT ), after prompt handling by
JAXA, in a mode to observe just below thesatellite. The present 1/2 power generationis enough for nominal observation, ensuring
to continue the operation with one active
paddle. Halted observation on request
restarted on July 2.
Another disorder of FTS’ pointing
mechanism occurred, making the mirror too
frequently unable to stand still after tilting
to catch the targeted reflection within adetermined time, however, switching to
the redundant system (see figure right) wasstarted on Dec. 15, 2014 and completed on
Jan. 26, 2015, enabling to continue steadyobservation since.
These periods being without observation
unfortunately, GOSAT runs smoothly after
nominal lifetime except above two incidents,
its TANSO-CAI to have achieved taking 1
million frames this April, some of which
are displayed at "The Images of the Earthcaptured by IBUKI ".
* Figure right above:
GOSAT faces its solar paddles
right to the Sun to get the highest
power generation efficiency
while flying down to the south
on daylight hemisphere. The
disorder occurred at the "rightwing" (arrowed).

* Figure right:
the main pointing mechanism(red circle) becoming unable tostand still within a determined
period of time for observation, it
was switched to the redundant
pointing mechanism (blue circle).

3­­↑

Monitoring
cameraCornercube

c. Fourierinterferometermechanism

Redundant
pointing mechanism

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

SPECIAL COLUMN -1

GOSAT then and now
such as ozone by Limb-viewing method * 6 ,recall that Dr. Teruyuki Nakajima of CCSR * 13

The sensor was intended to measure not only

be possible without knowing the aerosol

was proposed following ILAS * 7 and ILAS-II * 7.

ozone but other trace gases in the atmosphere,
primarily CO2, using FTS*8.

Time and its attendant changes

The 2000s brought recession and the MTSAT*9

launch failure of January 2000 compounded
the situation. Considerable efforts (and money)

had to be used to salvage the reliability ofand SWIFT*11 from Canada, and the latter using

one year, but enthusiasm and momentum weremaintained with the preparation and subsequent

instruments), we should operate mission

instruments on proven ones. This was one of thelesson learned from our experience with ADEOS.

This idea led to a proposal for a series of satellites

and attention for greenhouse gases throughout
Japan, from which arose a new realm of debate
which questioned the relevance of measuringozone at that particular point in time. Rather, it
was suggested that measuring global CO2 simply

would be more appropriate for the needs of theboth politics and economics means that annual
applications for budget must be completed,regardless of the fact that the particular proposal
may be long-term. Now there seems to be ashared understanding that long and continuous

operation of satellites, such as GMS* 4, should

be maintained by a particular operationalorganization. In Japan, earth observation is

being redefined as an operational development,

six meetings were held between December 2002
and September 2003.

It seemed at the time that both NASDA * 12greenhouse gases mission, as an apparent
commenced its first commitment period from2008. The committee designated me as its chairbecause I was a modeler. A researcher, while

having a dedicated involvement in observation
itself, might generally be assumed to have

STA (ditto) after Japan had unsuccessfully sent

IMG, an FTS instrument, to space on ADEOS

for the first time in the world. However, theCommittee decided to proceed in a spirit of
optimism, as a whole. Doubts remained withregard to measuring total amounts of CO2 withof the importance of CO 2 measurements andthat is what they want to do, leave them to it”.
We did not have too many misgivings about
our ability to achieve our ultimate goal of flux
estimation on a sub-continental scale, and wereconfident that this could be worked out withmodeling regardless. On the other hand, thecommunity itself, who had been involved withthe discontinued mission of ozone observation
and atmospheric chemistry with SOFIS or ODUS,

were less than impressed with this development.

After the launch

I would now like to give my account of thenecessitated. First, the fact that the US satellite

to launch a satellite with a new concept, andthat, though, a little more background isOCO*15 was due to launch with a similar mission

also to contend with the issue of the technicalat this time. JAXA (formerly NASDA) appears to

Dr. Gen Inoue from NIES was convinced

JAXA proposed an extremely reliable satellite

feasibility of “measuring facing-down”.

infrared region, an assertion of which manysatellites.

possible to ascertain the entire atmosphericsensor to observe stratospheric trace gases

the time) and Science and Technology Agency,

would need to achieve a breakthrough in order

thinking needs to change, we must deal with the

The same has happened at NIES: SOFIS * 5, aof International Trade and Industry, MITI (atperiod following the launch of GOSAT. Before

general consensus at the time was that wethat we could easily retrieve the total amountcurrent reality as it stands in regards to long-life

II due to difference of opinion between Ministrydifficulties seeing the broader picture. The

rather than “science”. This is the prevailing trendin space development today. While this way offact that IMG-II (IMG*14: Interferometric Monitor

tacit support for NIES prevailed: as it were “ifObserving Satellite Project was convened, andconsequence of the Kyoto Protocol, whicha real challenge. The daily-changing nature of

to sense CO2. Discussions with regards to thisPromotion Committee for the Greenhouse Gases

with sufficient accuracy, the Research andmeant 15 years operation by three satellites witha good idea in theory, making it a reality was

physical amounts, even should near-infrared fail

1% precision, but in this case also, awarenessand MOE were already determined to launcha respective duration of five years. While this was

ensure the retrieval of water vapor and otherwas really possible to accomplish the objective- GCOM1*3, GCOM2*3, and GCOM3*3 - for long-term climate change monitoring mission, whichthat it would be better to have thermal infraredfor Greenhouse Gases) was not onboard ADEOS-

was adopted leading to heightened awarenesstime. To study the feasibility whether or not it

structure and control subsystems for mission

capacity to sense CO2 in the upper atmosphere,

thus facilitating measurements of CO 2 in thesatellite. In the meantime, the Kyoto Protocol

proposed as a greenhouse gases observing

in the air. One important idea was the ongoing

adopting newly-developed buses (the support

near the surface, while others supported it for its

thermal infrared had their background in theby facing SOFIS down rather than sideways

orientation of our endeavours: rather thanthat it would be of no use for measuring CO2

microwave radiometers. GCOM-A1 was thenarrival of ADEOS-II*1. At the same time, various

proposals of sensors to follow ADEOS-II werebe onboard. Some parties were of the opinion

onboard as an “insurance,” and its capacity to

ODUS*10 (an ozone observing sensor), SOFIS,

Unfortunately, ADEOS was mal-functioned within

whether or not thermal infrared band should

imperative, and proposals for GCOM-A1 and
GCOM-B1 came into being, the former withand the years of Japan’s “bubble” economy.

amount. In addition, there was discussion on

lower atmosphere when coupled with nearinfrared measurements. I was of the opinion

reorganization of satellite projects became

for global observation by satellites in Japan,

insisted that no precise measurement would

and for many other underlying reasons, therockets and satellite instruments. In this context,

The journey to GOSAT
In the late 90s ADEOS * 1 was launched in
1996 and TRMM*2 in 1997: an exciting period

Dr. Akimasa Sumi, President,
National Institute for Environmental
Studies, Japanof CO 2 using its absorption at 1.6 μm near-others were skeptical, asking how it would bemass without exact topographical data,
which could easily give rise to errors of 1%. I

4­­have been determined get there first. Second,
bus after the serial failures of ADEOS and ADEOSII, in particular of the heavy-duty solar paddles

equipped on both sides of the satellite. This
led to objections of a “Once bitten, twice shy”
nature, these paddles have in fact proved to beeminently useful in prolonging the operational
life of GOSAT. Naturally however, preparation

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

for whatever inevitability must always be of the

expectations for new science utilizing satellite

the accompanying shutdown of Japan’s nuclear

Researchers at NIES, despite their small

paradigm of space development in Japan, andin the proposal of anti-warming measures.

essence.

numbers and in the face of the overwhelming
skepticism of the community did their best toachieve their goals. Another factor of significant
bearing on this attitude was the failure of OCO.

This translated to a certain “ambivalence” onour part: while on the one hand we had positive
perceptions stemming from the participation ofmany researchers in the project, on the other wewere oppressed by the difficulties of achieving

results which would rank alongside thosebeing produced by researchers throughout
the world. It is my sincere opinion that NIES

did a good job despite the constraint of having

insufficient numbers of researchers, in managing
to produce the outcomes which we have today.

data. Hardware first, science later: this is an old
one which needs to be overcome. However,
one of the valuable lessons which GOSAT has

imparted is in pointing the way forwards for
how a satellite mission should be developed,that is: if you select a mission built only on 100%
established technologies, while this may give

you a sense of reassurance at the time, thismission will most likely have fallen behind theneeds of the time for launch to come, and willrisk obsolescence as an observation mission. You
must live with the risk of faith in the capacity oftechnological development to facilitate cutting-edge science by the time of the launch, which isan extremely difficult call to make.

The MOE did not initially seem to have a

Nevertheless, the point has been made thathigh level of faith in the prospects of GOSAT.

from Japan, and this is true in the sense thatrole in MOE global policymaking for warming

there should be more new sciences delivered

Japan has been traditionally poor in addressing

However, the project began to play a pivotal
following the Great East Japan Earthquake and*1 ADvanced Earth Observing Satellites are Japanese satellites with the objective
to acquire data of global environmental changes such as ozone layer depletion,
greenhouse effect, etc., launched in 1996/2002, nicknamed MIDORI / MIDORI-II .
*2 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission is a joint space mission between USA(NASA) and Japan (NASDA*12 and CRL (Communication Research Laboratory)),
and also the name of the satellite.
*3 Global Change Observation Mission is a Japanese project to observe
environmental change for a long period of time globally from space.
*4 Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (Himawari ) is on the geostationary
orbit at 140 degrees of east longitude to carry out weather observation fromspace being part of the World Weather Watch (WWW) project of the World
Meteorological Organization.
*5 Solar Occultation FTS* 8 for Inclined-orbit Satellite, is a sensor intended
onboard ILAS-III.
*6 Limb-viewing method is, unlike nadir-viewing of GOSAT (looking down the
globe), to observe in the direction of peripheral border, "solar occultation" of
which is referred here.
*7 Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometers are Japan's first atmosphericobserving sensors to monitor and research the ozone layer in the polar
stratosphere developed by Ministry of the Environment of Japan. They were
installed on ADEOS (MIDORI ) / ADEOS-II (MIDORI-II ). NIES processed theobservation data.
*8 Fourier Transform Spectrometer obtains interfering light by moving one

power plants, one result of which was a hiatus

GOSAT-2 has now acquired its budget andthere is also the potential that GOSAT-3 will
also do so. The issue of the awareness of theimplications and inherent difficulties of utilizing

space operationally remains, and I believe wehave some work to do. Fortunately GOSAT hascome this far, but we have to remain prepared

for the possibility of failure at any time. Hereinlies an essential difficulty of space business. In

this context, we cannot be too careful about
ensuring the ongoing and proper operation ofsatellites, including considerations such as the

securing of a long-term budget foundation.
GOSAT-2 does not preclude the need to improve

GOSAT data processing, such that it is also a
reality that these projects will continue to costmore and more into the future: this is ultimately
what we cannot afford to forget.

of a pair of 2 mirrors on each optical path and observes spectra after Fouriertransformation.
*9 Multi-functional Transport SATellite is a large stationary satellite with missionsof both meteorological observation and air traffic control, codeveloped by
MLTI (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) and JMA (.Japan
Meteorological Agency).
*10 Ozone Dynamics Ultraviolet Spectrometer is a Japanese sensor to observeozone and atmospheric pollution and later renamed OPUS (Ozone and Pollution
measuring UV Spectrometer), planned but not realized.
*11 Stratospheric Wind Interferometer For Transport studies is a stratosphericwind profiler.
*12 NAtional Space Development Agency of Japan is renamed and re-organized
into JAXA now.
*13 Center for Climate System Research in the University of Tokyo is now reorganized into AORI (Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute).
*14 Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse gases is a Fourier transform
spectrometer developed by MITI to observe infrared spectra, mounted on ADEOS
for the purpose of greenhouse gas observation.
*15 Orbiting Carbon Observatory is one of the missions of Earth System Science
Pathfinder Project in NASA, USA, a satellite dedicated to studying atmosphericCO2. The launch of OCO-1 unfortunately failed in February, 2009, however, its
successor OCO-2 was developed by NASA and successfully launched in July, 2014.

Statistics of selected RA proposals and published papers
On the other hand, published papers have increased rapidly in the last

Below are statistics of selected RA proposals (left: per field ofyears. Please visit the site below to see all the papers:

research, center: per country of the research organization). The number

http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/technology/references.htm

of applications peaked around 2008 - 2010, still keeping steady activities
throughout the 1st to the latest RA to realize the accumulation of 122.
Field of Research
Calibration

Selected RA
Themes4

Algorithm

21

Validation

29

Country *Selected

RA Themes

Japan

35

USA

22

Germany

10

China

6

Year

Published Papers
With
GOSAT data

Without
GOSAT data

Total

2014

42

1

43

2013

50

4

54

25

7

32

Carbon Balance
Estimation/AtmosphericTransport Models

17

Canada5

2012

Data Application

48

France

5

2011

15

5

20

Data App./Validation

2

Netherlands

5

2010

3

14

17

UK

5

Russia

4

2009

1

12

13

Finland

4

2008

0

5

5

Others

21

2007

0

1

1

122

Total

136

49

185

Carbon Balance
Estimation/AtmosphericTransport Models &Data App.

1

Total

122

Total

* Per organization RA PI belongs.

5­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

SPECIAL COLUMN -2

Measuring Greenhouse Gases from Space:
The GOSAT, OCO-2, and GOSAT-2 Partnership
Dr. D Crisp,  Jet Propulsion Laboratory,  California Institute of Technology

Human activities such as fossil fuelcombustion, cement production, anddeforestation have increased the atmospheric
CO 2 concentration by more 40% since thebeginning of the industrial age. A quarter ofthis increase has been added since 2000 andthe rate continues to increase. Until recently,
most of the CO2 emissions were coming fromthe industrialized world, where there are goodrecords of the amount of fossil fuel burned.
However, in 2007, China surpassed the U.S.
as the single largest emitter of CO 2, and thedeveloping world now accounts for about 60%
of all emissions. In many developing countries,
fossil fuel use has been increasing so fast thatit has been impossible to accurately track
CO2 emissions. The best existing inventories
indicate that fossil fuel combustion and otherhuman activities are now adding at least 40
billion tons of CO 2 to the atmosphere eachyear, but the uncertainties on these estimatesare growing almost as rapidly as the emissions
themselves.
If all of the CO 2 emitted by these humansources remained in the atmosphere, theatmospheric CO2 concentration would increaseby more than one percent (1%) per year.
Interestingly, precise measurements from a
global network of greenhouse gas monitoring
stations indicate that less than half of this CO2
is remaining airborne. The rest is apparently
being absorbed by natural sinks in the ocean
and land biosphere, whose identity, andlocation are poorly understood. Roughly one
quarter of the human emissions are apparently
being absorbed by the ocean, where they arecontributing to ocean acidification. The landbased processes responsible for absorbing theother quarter of these emissions are far moremysterious. Some studies have attributed thisabsorption to tropical, mid-latitude, or boreal
forests, while other indicate that these forest
just as likely to be net sources as sinks of CO2.

The efficiency of these natural sinks also appears
to vary dramatically from year to year. Someyears, they absorb almost all of the CO2 emitted
by human activities, while in other years, they
absorb almost none. The reasons for this are notyet known.

Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon
Observations-Fourier Transform Spectrometer( TANSO-FTS * 4 ), a high resolution Fouriertransform spectrometer, designed measureboth CO2 and methane (CH4), the second mostabundant human produced greenhouse gas.

Because the identity, location, and processes
controlling these natural sinks is not wellunderstood, it is not possible to determine howmuch longer they will continue to operate, andreduce the rate of atmospheric CO 2 buildup
by half. This lack of understanding introduces
a major source of uncertainty in predictionsof the rate of future CO 2 increases, and theireffect on the climate. Measurements fromthe ground based greenhouse gas network
accurately track the global atmospheric CO 2
budget and its trends, but do not have theresolution or coverage needed to identify thesources emitting CO2 into the atmosphere or thenatural sinks absorbing this gas at the Earth’s
surface. This information is critical to any carbon
management strategy.

To fully exploit the capabilities of these
two systems and meet their demanding
measurement requirements, the OCO andGOSAT teams formed a close collaboration
early in the development phases of these
two missions. The primary objectives of thiscollaboration were to improve the accuracy andreliability of the products from both missions
and to facilitate the combined use of OCO andGOSAT XCO2 estimates in studies of CO2 sources
and sinks. The teams initially focused on the
cross calibration of the OCO and GOSAT sensors
and the development of a common approachfor validating the XCO 2 products retrieved
from these spacecraft measurements againstinternationally-recognized standards.

One way to improve the resolution andcoverage of CO 2 measurements is to collecthigh resolution observations of the columnaveraged CO 2 dry air mole fraction (XCO 2 * 1 )from space. Estimates of XCO2 can be derived
from high resolution spectroscopic observationsof reflected sunlight in near infrared CO 2
and molecular oxygen (O 2 ) bands. This is aparticularly challenging space-based remotesensing measurement because the surface
sources and sinks of CO2 must be inferred fromvery small spatial and temporal variations in
XCO2. Even the largest CO 2 sources and sinks
produce changes in the background XCO 2
distribution no larger than 2% on scales ranging
from that of a large city or medium sized country,
and most of them produce changes smaller
than 0.25%. Measuring such small changes in
an atmospheric trace gas from space require
unprecedented accuracy in space based sensors.
The NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO*2)
and the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing
SATellite (GOSAT, nicknamed IBUKI ) were thefirst two satellite sensors designed specificallyto address this challenge and collect spacebased observations of XCO2 with the sensitivity,
coverage, and resolution needed to quantify
CO 2 fluxes on regional scales over the globe.
While their overall objectives were similar, thesensors carried by these two missions werequite different. OCO was to carry an imaging
grating spectrometer*3 designed to collect large
number of precise CO2 and O2 measurements
along a narrow ground track. GOSAT carried the6­­

GOSAT was successfully launched on 23
January 2009 and has been returning global
measurements of CO 2 and CH 4 since late
April of that year. The OCO mission was loston 24 February 2009 when its launch vehicle
malfunctioned and failed to reach orbit.
Immediately after the loss of OCO, the GOSAT
Project Team at JAXA and NIES, invited the
OCO team to contribute to the analysis ofmeasurements collected by the GOSAT. NASA
responded by reformulating the OCO scienceteam as the Atmospheric CO 2 Observations
from Space (ACOS*5) team and encouraged thiscollaboration.
Since 2009, the ACOS and GOSAT teams haveconducted joint, annual, vicarious calibration
campaigns*6 at Railroad Valley, Nevada to track
the long-term radiometric performance of the
TANSO-FTS instrument. The methods used inthese campaigns evolved from those used tocharacterize the radiometric performance ofhigh spatial resolution, imaging radiometers.
For TANSO-FTS, the conventional, surface
based radiometric measurements havebeen augmented with surface and aircraft
measurements of atmospheric temperature andtrace gas profiles, as well as observations fromother space based instruments to characterizespatial variations of the surface reflectancewithin the sounding footprint.
The ACOS team also used the XCO2 retrieval
algorithm developed for the OCO mission
to estimate XCO 2 from the GOSAT TANSOFTS spectra. The close collaboration with the

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

GOSAT Project team yielded rapid advancesin the development of this retrieval algorithm
and produced an independent GOSAT XCO 2
product that is widely used by the science
community. Comparisons of the ACOS XCO 2
retrievals with surface-based XCO 2 estimatesfrom the Total Carbon Column Observing
Network ( TCCON * 7 ) helped to identify andcorrect subtle biases associated with air mass,
surface pressure, optically-thick aerosols, icecovered surfaces, and other environmental
factors. Persistent spectral residuals common to
TCCON and TANSO-FTS retrievals have revealed
limitations in the spectroscopy of CO2 and O2,
which are being addressed with new laboratory
measurements. With these refinements, recent
ACOS XCO2 estimates show little or no bias andhave random errors that are typically less than
0.5% on regional scales over much of the Earth.
These XCO2 estimates are now being used in flux
inversion models to assess their impact on our
understanding CO2 sources and sinks.

*Preliminary version of global CO 2 distribution
based on OCO-2 observation data (unit: ppm).

Meanwhile, in early 2010, NASA approved
the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), a“carbon copy” of the OCO * 2 spacecraft. On 2
July 2014, OCO-2, was successfully launchedfrom Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
A month later, OCO-2 entered the 705-km
Afternoon Constellation (A-Train), just ahead ofJapanese GCOM-W1*8 satellite. Its instrument, a3-channel, imaging grating spectrometer, wasthen cooled to its operating temperatures andbegan a comprehensive series of instrument
checkout and calibration activities. In early
September, OCO-2 started collecting almost one
million soundings over the sunlit hemisphereeach day. Preliminary results indicate thatbetween 15 and 30% of these measurements
are sufficiently cloud free to yield precise, fullcolumn estimates of XCO2. This high sampling
rate is expected to yield almost 100 times as
many useful XCO 2 measurements as GOSAT,

substantially improving the spatial resolution
and coverage. Initial deliveries of calibrated OCO2 spectra to the NASA Goddard Earth Science
Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)
began on December 30, 2014. Routine deliveriesof XCO 2 to the GES DISC began on 30 March,
2015.
The GOSAT and OCO-2 teams are continuing
to work closely together to cross calibrate
the measurements and cross validate thedata products from these two missions sothat they can be combined to enable morecomprehensive studies of CO 2 sources andsinks. To encourage this cooperation, NASAhas recently added several members of the
GOSAT Project Team to the OCO-2 Scienceteam, and others are encouraged to participate.
In addition, NASA and members of the GOSAT
Project Team are currently negotiating a muchbroader collaboration that will implementa joint science team for GOSAT, OCO-2, andfuture CO 2 missions, including GOSAT-2 andOCO-3. GOSAT-2 is currently being developed
through a partnership between JAXA, NIES,
and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan in
preparation for a 2018 launch. Its instruments
will measure carbon monoxide (CO) as well as
CO2, CH4 and aerosols. The OCO-3 mission will
deploy the OCO-2 flight spare instrument on theJapanese Equipment Module Exposed Facility(JEM-EF) on the International Space Station (ISS)in 2018.
The operational phases of GOSAT-2 and OCO-3
will overlap substantially, but these two sensors
will be deployed in orbits that sample the Earth’s sunlit hemisphere in different ways. Like

*1 XCO2 means Column-averaged CO2 concentration, the ratio of the number of
CO2 molecules to that of dry air molecules in a column above a unit surface area.
*2 Please refer to *14 in page 5.
*3 An instrument to observe spectra utilizing the phenomenon that the locationof strongest interference of light diffracted by grated pattern varies according to
the wavelength.
*4 TANSO-FTS (Thermal And Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation) is thesensor onboard GOSAT with the other, TANSO-CAI (Cloud and Aerosol Imager).
As for FTS, please refer to *7 in page 5.
*5 Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space team is a group organized aroundOCO (Orbiting Carbon Observatory) science team involving researchers of JPL*13,
Caltech, and Colorado State University.

OCO

GOSAT and OCO-2, GOSAT-2 will be deployed
in a near-polar, sun synchronous orbit, whichenables measurements over most of the Earth’s sunlit hemisphere at a fixed time of day inthe early afternoon. In contrast, OCO-3 will be
deployed in a low-inclined orbit that provides
measurements at latitudes within 51 degreesof the equator. OCO-3/ISS measurements willcomplement those from GOSAT-2 by providing
the first space-based CO2 measurements at local
times spanning dawn to dusk. This will provide
the first opportunity to determine whether
diurnal variations in CO2 can be detected fromspace-based sensors. It will also provide the firstopportunity to monitor diurnal variations inchlorophyll fluorescence, a quantity thought tobe strongly correlated with the CO2 uptake byland plants.
The strong, continuing collaboration between
the GOSAT and OCO-2 teams has dramaticallyaccelerated our ability to collect, analyze and use
space based measurements of CO2 for studiesof the carbon cycle. This collaboration provides
a model for future space based greenhousegas monitoring efforts. The extension ofthis collaboration to the GOSAT-2 and OCO3 missions provides opportunities to extend
this valuable climate data record beyond thelifetimes of GOSAT and OCO-2 missions. This
closely coordinated ad hoc constellation ofgreenhouse gas satellites also paves the way
for future space-based greenhouse monitoring
systems.

*Between the photos of OCO and GOSAT below is atapestry of friendship between OCO and GOSAT.

GOSAT*6 For details, please refer to RRV (Railroad Valley) articles in Newsletters No. 7,
No. 19, No. 24, and No. 29.
*7 Total Carbon Column Observing Network is a network of the ground-based
high-resolution FTS observations. Currently, its observations are carried out inabout twenty locations worldwide. TCCON's column-averaged abundances ofgreenhouse gases are used for validating greenhouse gases observation bysatellites and other carbon cycle studies.
*8 GCOM-W1 (Global Change Observation Mission-W1) is a satellite launched
in GCOM project (refer to *3 in page 5) to observe global water circulation,
nicknamed "SHIZUKU", waterdrop in Japanese, with a microwave radiometer
onboard which observes precipitation, vapor amounts, wind velocity above theocean, sea water temperature, water levels on land areas, and snow depths.

7­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

Selected Research Themes of 7th and 8th RA
Principal Investigator
Research Theme
Validation1.

Voltaire A. Velazco

Research Organization

University of Wollongong (Australia)

Southern Hemisphere Validation of GOSAT XCO2 and XCH4 Spatio-Temporal Variability from TCCON solar FTS Measurements inAustralia and New Zealand
Data Application
1.

Muhammad Evri

Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) of Indonesia (Indonesia)

2.

Takafumi Sugita

National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan)

Multistage Sensing of Land-Atmosphere and Monitoring of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Over Indonesia Using GOSAT Toward
National Platform of Climate Change (National Action Plan for GHG; RAN-GRK)
A comparison study on CH4 column amounts derived from TANSO/FTS, aircraft, and stratospheric limb observations

Now accepting applications for 9th RA･････

Update on the GOSAT Data Policy

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Institute

GOSAT data user is expected to read and follow this GOSAT dataof Japan (MOE) agreed to revise the definition of the GOSAT data

(http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/technology/download/GOSAT_Data_

Policy revision B hereafter.

for Environmental Studies (NIES), and Ministry of the Environment
products in March 2015 and updated the GOSAT Data Policy. Each

PolicyB_jp.pdf) (N.B.: English version will be released shortly.)

PUBLISHED PAPERS ( from Jan. to Dec., 2014 )Field of Research: validation, atmospheric transport models
Name of Journal: Sci. China Earth Sci. (volume 57, pages 1393-1402,
2014)
Title: A comparison of atmospheric CO2 concentration GOSAT-based
observations and model simulations
Authors: Lei, L., Guan, X., Zeng, Z., Zhang, B., Ru, F., and Bu, R.
Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. (volume 111, pages
E1327-E1333, 2014)
Title: Global and time-resolved monitoring of crop photosynthesis
with chlorophyll fluorescence
Authors: Guanter, L., Zhang, Y., Jung, M., Joiner, J., Voigt, M., Berry, J. A.,
Frankenberg, C., Huete, A. R., Zarco-Tejada, P., Lee, J.-E., Moran, M. S.,
Ponce-Campos, G., Beer, C., Camps-Valls, G., Buchmann, N., Gianelle,D., Klumpp, K., Cescatti, A., Baker, J. M., and Griffis, T. J.
Field of Research: other
Name of Journal: J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos. (volume 119, pages 26542673, 2014)
Title: Satellite observations of CO2 from a highly elliptical orbit forstudies of the Arctic and boreal carbon cycle
Authors: Nassar, R., Sioris, C. E., Jones, D. B. A., and McConnell, J. C.
Field of Research: data application, atmospheric transport models
Name of Journal: Polar Science, (volume 8, pages 129-145, 2014)
Title: Column-averaged CO2 concentrations in the subarctic fromGOSAT retrievals and NIES transport model simulations
Authors: Belikov, D. A., Bril, A., Maksyutov, S., Oshchepkov, S., Saeki, T.,
Takagi, H., Yoshida, Y., Ganshin, A., Zhuravlev, R., Aoki, S., and Yokota, T.
Field of Research: other
Name of Journal: Remote Sens. Environ. (volume 147, pages 1-12,
2014)
Title: Prospects for chlorophyll fluorescence remote sensing from the
Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2
Authors: Frankenberg, C., O'Dell, C., Berry, J., Guanter, L., Joiner, J.,
Kohler, P., Pollock, R., and E. Taylor, T.
Field of Research: data application, carbon balance estimation
Name of Journal: Geophys. Res. Lett. (volume 41, pages 1809-1815,
2014)
Title: The seasonal variation of the CO 2 flux over Tropical Asia
estimated from GOSAT, CONTRAIL, and IASI
Authors: Basu, S., Krol, M., Butz, A., Clerbaux, C., Sawa, Y., Machida, T.,
Matsueda, H., Frankenberg, C., Hasekamp, O. P., and Aben, I.
Field of Research: carbon balance estimation, data application
Name of Journal: Chinese Sci. Bull. (volume 59, pages 1547-1555,
2014)
Title: China's sizeable and uncertain carbon sink: a perspective fromGOSAT
Authors: Zhang, L., Xiao, J., Li, L., Lei, L., and Li, J.
(continued)

8­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

Field of Research: algorithm
Name of Journal: Chinese Sci. Bull. (volume 59, pages 1499-1507,
2014)
Title: CH4 retrieval from hyperspectral satellite measurements inshort-wave infrared: sensitivity study and preliminary test with GOSAT
data
Authors: Deng, J., Liu, Y., Yang, D., and Cai, Z.

Collatz, G. J., Menemenlis, D., Ott, L., Pawson, S., Jones, D., and Nassar,
R.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: IEEE T. Geosci. Remote Sens. (volume 52, pages
7764-7774, 2014)
Title: A Comparison of In Situ Aircraft Measurements of Carbon
Dioxide and Methane to GOSAT Data Measured Over Railroad Valley
Playa, Nevada, USA
Authors: Tadic, J. M., Loewenstein, M., Frankenberg, C., Butz, A., Roby,
M., Iraci, L. T., Yates, E. L., Gore, W., and Kuze, A.

Field of Research: carbon balance estimation, other
Name of Journal: Geophys. Res. Lett. (volume 41, pages 2598-2605,
2014)
Title: Influence of differences in current GOSAT XCO2 retrievals on
surface flux estimation
Authors: Takagi, H., Houweling, S., Andres, R. J., Belikov, D., Bril, A.,
Boesch, H., Butz, A., Guerlet, S., Hasekamp, O., Maksyutov, S., Morino,
I., Oda, T., O'Dell, C. W., Oshchepkov, S., Parker, R., Saito, M., Uchino, O.,
Yokota, T., Yoshida, Y., and Valsala, V.

Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: Technometrics (volume 56, pages 174-185, 2014)
Title: Spatio-temporal data fusion for very large remote sensing
datasets
Authors: Nguyen, H., Katzfuss, M., Cressie, N., and Braverman, A.

Field of Research: data application, carbon balance estimation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 3703-3727,
2014)
Title: Inferring regional sources and sinks of atmospheric CO2 fromGOSAT XCO2 data
Authors: Deng, F., Jones, D. B. A., Henze, D. K., Bousserez, N., Bowman,
K. W., Fisher, J. B., Nassar, R., O'Dell, C., Wunch, D., Wennberg, P. O.,
Kort, E. A., Wofsy, S. C., Blumenstock, T., Deutscher, N. M., Griffith, D.
W. T., Hase, F., Heikkinen, P., Sherlock, V., Strong, K., Sussmann, R., andWarneke, T.

Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 5853-5869,
2014)
Title: Variations of oxygen-18 in West Siberian precipitation during
the last 50 years
Authors: Butzin, M., Werner, M., Masson-Delmotte, V., Risi, C.,
Frankenberg, C., Gribanov, K., Jouzel, J., and Zakharov, V. I.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Meas. Tech. (volume 7, pages 1723-1744,
2014)
Title: The Greenhouse Gas Climate Change Initiative (GHG-CCI):
comparative validation of GHG-CCI SCIAMACHY/ENVISAT and
TANSO-FTS/GOSAT CO2 and CH4 retrieval algorithm products withmeasurements from the TCCON
Authors: Dils, B., Buchwitz, M., Reuter, M., Schneising, O., Boesch, H.,
Parker, R., Guerlet, S., Aben, I., Blumenstock, T., Burrows, J. P., Butz, A.,
Deutscher, N. M., Frankenberg, C., Hase, F., Hasekamp, O. P., Heymann,J., De Mazière, M., Notholt, J., Sussmann, R., Warneke, T., Griffith, D.,
Sherlock, V., and Wunch, D.

Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Meas. Tech. (volume 7, pages 1003-1010,
2014)
Title: Comparisons of CH4 ground-based FTIR measurements nearSaint Petersburg with GOSAT observations
Authors: Gavrilov, N. M., Makarova, M. V., Timofeev, Y. M., andPoberovsky, A. V.
Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 3991-4012,
2014)
Title: A multi-year methane inversion using SCIAMACHY, accounting
for systematic errors using TCCON measurements
Authors: Houweling, S., Krol, M., Bergamaschi, P., Frankenberg, C.,
Dlugokencky, E. J., Morino, I., Notholt, J., Sherlock, V., Wunch, D., Beck,
V., Gerbig, C., Chen, H., Kort, E. A., Röckmann, T., and Aben, I.

Field of Research: data application, atmospheric transport models
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 6139-6158,
2014)
Title: Assimilation of atmospheric methane products into the MACCII system: from SCIAMACHY to TANSO and IASI
Authors: Massart, S., Agusti-Panareda, A., Aben, I., Butz, A., Chevallier,F., Crevoisier, C., Engelen, R., Frankenberg, C., and Hasekamp, O.

Field of Research: other
Name of Journal: Atmos. Meas. Tech. (volume 7, pages 1105-1119,
2014)
Title: The impact of spectral resolution on satellite retrieval accuracyof CO2 and CH4
Authors: Galli, A., Guerlet, S., Butz, A., Aben, I., Suto, H., Kuze, A.,
Deutscher, N. M., Notholt, J., Wunch, D., Wennberg, P. O., Griffith, D. W.
T., Hasekamp, O., and Landgraf, J.

Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial
Information System (volume 22, pages 11-16, 2014)
Title: Cross-Correlation Analysis between GOSAT and CO 2
Concentration Observed by the KGAWC Station (in Korean language )Authors: Choi, J. H., Joo, S. M., Um, J. S.
Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: Glob. Change Biol. (volume 20, pages 3103-3121,
2014)
Title: Terrestrial gross primary production inferred from satellite
fluorescence and vegetation models
Authors: Parazoo, N. C., Bowman, K., Fisher, J. B., Frankenberg,C., Jones, D. B. A., Cescatti, A., Pérez-Priego, Ó., Wohlfahrt, G., andMontagnani, L.
(continued)

Field of Research: atmospheric transport models, carbon balance
estimation
Name of Journal: Tellus B (volume 66, 22486, 2014)
Title: Carbon monitoring system flux estimation and attribution:
impact of ACOS-GOSAT XCO2 sampling on the inference of terrestrial
biospheric sources and sinks
Authors: Liu, J., Bowman, K., Lee, M., Henze, D., Bousserez, N., Brix, H.,

9­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

Field of Research: validation, data application
Name of Journal: Advances in Space Research (volume 54, Pages
1933–1940, 2014)
Title: Study of satellite retrieved CO2 and CH4 concentration over
India
Authors: Prasad, P., Rastogi, S., and Singh, R.P.
Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: PloS ONE (volume 9, e105050, 2014)
Title: Combining XCO2 measurements derived from SCIAMACHY
and GOSAT for potentially generating global CO2 maps with highspatiotemporal resolution
Authors: Wang, T., Shi, J., Jing, Y., Zhao, T., Ji, D., and Xiong, C.
Field of Research: data application, carbon balance estimation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 8173-8184,
2014)
Title: Spatially resolving methane emissions in California: constraints
from the CalNex aircraft campaign and from present (GOSAT, TES)
and future (TROPOMI, geostationary) satellite observations
Authors: Wecht, K. J., Jacob, D. J., Sulprizio, M. P., Santoni, G. W.,
Wofsy, S. C., Parker, R., Bösch, H., and Worden, J.
Field of Research: validation, data application
Name of Journal: Atmos. Meas. Tech. (volume 7, pages 2631-2644,
2014)
Title: A method for colocating satellite XCO2 data to ground-based
data and its application to ACOS-GOSAT and TCCON
Authors: Nguyen, H., Osterman, G., Wunch, D., O'Dell, C., Mandrake, L.,
Wennberg, P., Fisher, B., and Castano, R.
Field of Research: data application
Name of Journal: IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. (volume 7, pages 389-398,
2014)
Title: Comparison of Column-Averaged Volume Mixing Ratios
of Carbon Dioxide Retrieved From IASI/METOP-A Using KLIMA
Algorithm and TANSO-FTS/GOSAT Level 2 Products
Authors: Laurenza, L., Del Bianco, S., Gai, M., Barbara, F., Schiavon, G.,
and Cortesi, U.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Int. J. Remote Sens. (volume 35, pages 5628-5636,
2014)
Title:Comparisons of satellite (GOSAT ) and ground-based
spectroscopic measurements of CH4 content near Saint Petersburg:
influence of data collocation
Authors: Gavrilov, N. M., Makarova, M. V., Timofeyev, Y. M., andPoberovskii, A. V.
Field of Research: atmospheric transport models, data application
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 9807-9830,
2014)
Title: To what extent could water isotopic measurements help us
understand model biases in the water cycle over Western Siberia
Authors: Gryazin, V., Risi, C., Jouzel, J., Kurita, N., Worden, J.,
Frankenberg, C., Bastrikov, V., Gribanov, K., and Stukova, O.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Meas. Tech. (volume 7, pages 2987-3005,
2014)
Title: Validation of XCH4 derived from SWIR spectra of GOSAT TANSOFTS with aircraft measurement data

Authors: Inoue, M., Morino, I., Uchino, O., Miyamoto, Y., Saeki, T.,
Yoshida, Y., Yokota, T., Sweeney, C., Tans, P. P., Biraud, S. C., Machida, T.,
Pittman, J. V., Kort, E. A., Tanaka, T., Kawakami, S., Sawa, Y., Tsuboi, K.,
and Matsueda, H.
Field of Research: atmospheric transport models, data application
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 11427–
11446, 2014)
Title: Impact of the Asian monsoon anticyclone on the variability of
mid-to-upper tropospheric methane above the Mediterranean Basin
Authors: Ricaud, P., Sic, B., El Amraoui, L., Attié, J.-L., Zbinden, R.,
Huszar, P., Szopa, S., Parmentier, J., Jaidan, N., Michou, M., Abida, R.,
Carminati, F., Hauglustaine, D., August, T., Warner, J., Imasu, R., Saitoh,N., and Peuch, V.-H.
Field of Research: data application, algorithm
Name of Journal: Atmosphere (volume 5(4), pages 870-888, 2014)
Title: Mapping Global Atmospheric CO2 Concentration at HighSpatiotemporal Resolution
Authors: Jing, Y., Shi, J., Wang, T., and Sussmann, R.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (volume 50,
pages 904–909, 2014)
Title: Comparisons of Satellite (GOSAT) and Ground Based Fourier
Spectroscopic Measurements of Methane Content near St. Petersburg
Authors: Makarova M. V., Gavrilov, N. M., Timofeev, Y. M., andPoberovskii, A. V.
Field of Research: validation
Name of Journal: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (volume 50,
pages 910–915, 2014)
Title: Comparisons of Satellite (GOSAT ) and Ground Based
Spectroscopic Measurements of CO2 Content near St. Petersburg
Authors: Gavrilov, N. M., and Timofeev, Y. M.
Field of Research: carbon balance estimation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, 12883-12895,
2014)
Title: Estimating regional fluxes of CO2 and CH4 using space-borne
observations of XCH4: XCO2
Authors: Fraser, A., Palmer, P. I., Feng, L., Bösch, H., Parker, R.,
Dlugokencky, E. J., Krummel, P. B., and Langenfelds, R. L.
Field of Research: data application, atmospheric transport models
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 1328113293, 2014)
Title: A joint data assimilation system (Tan-Tracker) to simultaneously
estimate surface CO2 fluxes and 3-D atmospheric CO2 concentrations
from observations
Authors: Tian, X., Xie, Z., Liu, Y., Cai, Z., Fu, Y., Zhang, H., and Feng, L.
Field of Research: carbon balance estimation
Name of Journal: Atmos. Chem. Phys. (volume 14, pages 1373913753, 2014)
Title: Satellite-inferred European carbon sink larger than expected
Authors: Reuter, M., Buchwitz, M., Hilker, M., Heymann, J., Schneising,O., Pillai, D., Bovensmann, H., Burrows, J.P., Bösch, H., Parker, R., Butz,
A., Hasekamp, O., O'Dell, C.W., Yoshida, Y., Gerbig, C., Nehrkorn, T.,
Deutscher, N.M., Warneke, T., Notholt, J., Hase, F., Kivi, R., Sussmann, R.,
Machida, T., Matsueda, H., and Sawa Y.

10­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#31 SPRING 2015

Data Processing Status Update

DATA PRODUCTS
UPDATE

Fumie Kawazoe, Specialist
NIES GOSAT Project Office

As of April 24, 2015

Observation Period and Versions of Publicly Released Data↑

FTS L1B data

■ Version

Switching of FTS
pointing mech.

FTS L2 CO2 column amount  (SWIR)● 161.160 1,747,500 scenes● 161.161
67,210 scenes■■● 02.21● 02.31494,700 scans
51,330 scans● 02.21● 02.31495,100 scans
51,380 scans■■

FTS L2 CH4 column amount (SWIR)↑

Standstill of theright solar paddle

FTS L3 global CO2 distribution (SWIR)FTS L3 global CH4 distribution (SWIR)CAI L1B data■

● 02.21■● 02.21■■● 01.00

1,003,000 frames● 01.00

1,002,960 frames● 01.00

1,002,780 frames● 01.00

2,207 recurrences
727 months■

CAI L1B+ data■

CAI L2 cloud flag■■

CAI L3 global radiance distribution

60 mo.

■CAI L3 global reflectance distribution● 01.00■

CAI L3 NDVI

● 01.00■

L4A global CO2 flux

●
■
●
■
■
●
■
●

L4B global CO2 distribution

L4A global CH4 flux
L4B global CH4 distribution

2009/                       2010/                           2011/                           2012/                             2013/                             2014/                           2015/
    4    6   8   10  12    2    4    6    8   10  12   2    4    6    8   10  12   2    4    6     8   10  12   2    4    6    8   10   12   2   4    6    8   10   12   2   4

Described below are data processed and released from April
2014 to April 2015.
Disorders occurred on solar paddle and TANSO-FTS pointing
mechanism reported in page 3 brought version changes: versions
processed and released [before / after] them are, [V161.160 /V161.161] for FTS L1B, and [V02.21 / V02.31] for FTS SWIR L2. (There
are no data released from May 24, 20:28 to May 30, 5:34, 2014(UT)
due to the solar paddle disorder, and from Dec. 14, 22:50, 2014 toJan. 31, 23:59, 2015(UT) due to the pointing mechanism switching.)
L2 data after Feb. 2015 are now under identification of observed
location before processing and release. New version L3, V02.21, hasbeen released for 60 months until May, 2014 since Mar. 30, 2015.
Other latest processed and released on are: V01.00 for CAI L1B,
CAI L1B+, CAI L2 cloud flag, CAI L3 global radiance/reflectance
distribution, and CAI L3 NDVI, except for data between May 24, 20:27
and May 30, 5:09, 2014(UT) due to the solar paddle disorder.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER

60 mo.

21,810 rectangles

02.03

3yr. 5mo.

02.03

3yr. 5mo.

01.02

3yr.

01.02

3yr.

■

← Observ. Period

L4 products have already been released to the general public as
described in page 2 “Major project outcomes in 2014”, and their latest
versions are V02.03 for CO2 and V01.02 for CH4 since Jan. 28, 2015.
“Browse images of the global radiance distribution” was added
to “Gallery” at GUIG top. Please also visit “The Images of the Earthcaptured by IBUKI ” and others, which are updated any time asneeded.
Version upgrade of FTS L1B, CAI L1B, and CAI L2 will be performed
from this spring to winter. Please check information posted on GUIG
“News & Topics”.
The number of registered users as of April 24 is 624, decrease ofwhich is because "General User" accounts were cut when they had
been inactive during the past 2 years. Please email to the following
address if a new registration is required: gosat-support@nies.go.jp

ISSUE #31 SPRING 2015

Issued on : 2015/5/15

edited and published by : NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce
You can download this newsletter here:
URL : http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/newsletter/top.htm

email : gosat_newsletter@nies.go.jp

いぶき
IBUKI

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER

website : http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/newsletter/top.htm

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305-8506 Japanand preferred language (English or Japanese) at:

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Center for Global Environmental Research
National Institute for Environmental Studies

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