Satellite remote sensing of tropospheric composition – principles, results, and challenges

Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany

^a e-mail: andreas.richter@iup.pysik.uni-bremen.de

Abstract

Over the last years, satellite observations of tropospheric composition have become an important data source for atmospheric chemistry and air pollution applications. Most of these measurements are performed using passive remote sensing in the UV, visible and IR spectral regions. The choice of wavelengths used determines the species that can be retrieved but also the vertical sensitivity and resolution of the measurements. Here, a brief introduction into space-borne remote sensing of the troposphere is given, a few typical examples are discussed and an outlook to future developments is given.