Journal article
C. Frankenberg, S. Sanghavi, A. Saha, P. Wennberg, D. J. Jacob, A. Michalak
Geophysical Research Letters, 2025
Geophysical Research Letters, 2025
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APA
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Frankenberg, C., Sanghavi, S., Saha, A., Wennberg, P., Jacob, D. J., & Michalak, A. (2025). On the Use of N2 ${\mathbf{N}}_{\mathbf{2}}$ O as a Light‐Path Proxy for Accurate Greenhouse Gas Measurements From Space. Geophysical Research Letters.
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Frankenberg, C., S. Sanghavi, A. Saha, P. Wennberg, D. J. Jacob, and A. Michalak. “On the Use of N2 ${\Mathbf{N}}_{\Mathbf{2}}$ O as a Light‐Path Proxy for Accurate Greenhouse Gas Measurements From Space.” Geophysical Research Letters (2025).
MLA
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Frankenberg, C., et al. “On the Use of N2 ${\Mathbf{N}}_{\Mathbf{2}}$ O as a Light‐Path Proxy for Accurate Greenhouse Gas Measurements From Space.” Geophysical Research Letters, 2025.
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@article{c2025a,
title = {On the Use of N2 ${\mathbf{N}}_{\mathbf{2}}$ O as a Light‐Path Proxy for Accurate Greenhouse Gas Measurements From Space},
year = {2025},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
author = {Frankenberg, C. and Sanghavi, S. and Saha, A. and Wennberg, P. and Jacob, D. J. and Michalak, A.}
}
Abstract
Accurate greenhouse gas retrievals require either precise radiative transfer modeling or light‐path proxies to separate trace gas variations from photon path‐length changes caused by scattering. Nitrous oxide ( N2 ${\mathrm{N}}{2}$ O) is a compelling light‐path proxy, particularly in challenging environments such as the humid tropics, where current retrieval methods face low data yields due to persistent partial cloud cover and substantial surface heterogeneity. This study evaluates N2 ${\mathrm{N}}{2}$ O as a proxy for CO2 ${\text{CO}}{2}$ and CH4 ${\text{CH}}{4}$ retrievals, leveraging its spectral proximity and atmospheric stability. Radiative transfer simulations demonstrate that N2 ${\mathrm{N}}{2}$ O effectively mitigates errors from scattering and albedo variability, especially for CH4 ${\text{CH}}{4}$ , demonstrating consistent performance across high aerosol optical depths and low albedos. While CO2 ${\text{CO}}{2}$ requires small adjustments due to its partially saturated band, the proxy approach offers significant advantages. These findings underscore the promise of N2 ${\mathrm{N}}{2}$ O‐based retrievals to enhance data quality for future greenhouse gas satellite missions.