Ebook: Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere for Environmental Security: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere for Environmental Security Rabat, Morocco 16–19 November 2005

Recent ecological disasters make human beings aware of changes in the Earth’s climate. At the present time anthropogenic activities lead to the emission of greenhouse gases, pollutants, aerosols and ozone depleting substances and the scientific community in general feels responsible for understanding how changes in atmospheric chemistry can affect the Earth’s climate.

The first part of these proceedings describes the current capabilities of various satellite experiments which are performing measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere, as for example some of the results obtained recently by three experiments onboard the Environment Satellite (ENVISAT), namely, the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME), the SCanning Imaging Absorption for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) and the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). For the analysis of spectra recorded by these instruments it is necessary to make good use of efficient radiative transfer codes. These computer codes need as input, a dataset of high quality spectroscopic parameters which can be generated only through a careful analysis of high quality laboratory measurements. In addition some of the future satellite missions which are under preparation at the European Space Agency (ESA) are briefly described.

Recent ecological disasters have awakened the world to changes in the Earth’s climate. The scientific community is already working to understand how anthropogenic activities such as the emission of greenhouse gases, pollutants, aerosols and ozone-depleting substances change the atmospheric chemistry and affect the Earth’s climate.

This volume continues presentation of the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) held at Rabat, Morocco on the 17-19th of November 2005 entitled Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere for Environmental Security.

Coverage includes a review of satellite experiments which are performing measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere, with an evaluation of resulting radiative transfer codes. Also included is a brief outline of future satellite missions under preparation at the European Space Agency (ESA). Other topics include characterisation of pollution in urban areas and the growing lack of water in many countries of the Mediterranean area, an account of a Cairo, Egypt experiment on the extreme variability of properties of aerosols in arid and semi arid areas, and a comparison of ground based and satellite data w