Abstract

FTIR spectrometers are often employed from the ground to detect the column amount of trace gases. For most applications it is sufficient to derive the total column amount without retrieving any information on the vertical distribution of the trace gases. However, some knowledge on the vertical distribution would be helpful in any case for the interpretation of the received trace gas contents. Of still greater importance is the fact that the uncertainty of the total column amount may be high due to an incorrectly assumed a priori profile. There is a chance to reduce that by taking into account the full information content of spectral line shapes. This is in particular the case for gases which contribute both by tropospheric and stratospheric contents to the total column amount, e.g. HCI or NO₂.

© 1993 Optical Society of America