OCOFTS

Orbiting Carbon Observatory-Fourier Transform Spectrometer Validation - Darwin

1 September 2005 - 30 September 2026

Lead Scientist: Vivienne Payne

Observatory: SGP

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) Science/Validation Team have deployed, operated, and maintained ground-based solar-viewing Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) mobile laboratories at the Lamont, OK Southern Great Plains (SGP) and Darwin Tropical West Pacific (TWP) ARM sites for several years. The data has been utilized to validate space-based CO2 retrievals from a variety of different satellite instruments. The data collected by the instruments at the ARM sites will play a key role in validating data from NASA's OCO-2 and proposed OCO-3 satellites. The data at the TWP site will also be used as part of the NASA Seekers aircraft campaign. Long term operation of both FTS instruments will continue through the projected end of the OCO-2 mission (2016) and possibly beyond for OCO-3, and is very important to the NASA missions.