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Validation of Long-Term Methane (CH 4) Satellite Measurements from the AIRS Spectrometer and Correction of Their Temporal Drift.

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Title: Validation of Long-Term Methane (CH 4) Satellite Measurements from the AIRS Spectrometer and Correction of Their Temporal Drift.
Authors: Rakitin, Vadim1 (AUTHOR), Fedorova, Eugeniya1,2 (AUTHOR), Skorokhod, Andrey1,2,3 (AUTHOR) andrey.skorokhod@univie.ac.at, Kirillova, Nataliya1 (AUTHOR), Chernokulsky, Alexander1,2,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Remote Sensing. Apr2026, Vol. 18 Issue 8, p1162. 27p.
Subjects: Atmospheric methane, Spectrometers, Climate change forecasts, Model validation, Atmospheric composition, Trend analysis
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? The existence of a statistically significant and unidirectional drift in the difference between the AIRS CH4 satellite instrument readings and the ground-based data was identified and confirmed. Although the precise cause of this drift is currently uncertain, a number of hypotheses have been proposed. The study presents a novel, data-driven correction method for AIRS CH4 total content that has been shown to improve agreement with ground-based observations and convergence of trend estimates. What are the implications of the main findings? The proposed method enables statistical correction, aimed at increasing the consistency between satellite and ground-based measurements, as well as improving the corresponding climate and air-quality projections. The method can be applied to correct other long-term satellite observations, such as those relating to atmospheric composition, underlying surface parameters, climatic and meteorological parameters, and radiation characteristics, provided that the necessary high-precision ground-based measurement series and datasets are available. The study aims to develop a methodology for identifying and correcting drift in the quality of orbital data to improve the accuracy of long-term trend estimates and enhance the representativeness of orbital monitoring. We establish the presence of unidirectional, statistically significant drift in the difference between satellite instrument readings and ground-based observations. We compare the last two versions of methane (CH4) measurements from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS)—specifically, Level 3 versions 6 and 7 ("IR-AIRS Only")—with data from 18 ground-based stations of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) and 11 stations of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) for the 2003–2022 period. We determine that adjusting ground-based measurement data to sea level using the barometric formula, which is a necessary step for proper validation, results in significant errors, especially at high altitudes. It is proposed that such an adjustment should be based on pressure measured directly at a station. Implementing this over the examined period, we determine that the residual drift of the satellite spectrometer (Satellite Spectrometer Drift or SSD) is negative and equal to 1.64 × 1014 molecules/cm2 per day or 7.62 × 10−6 ppm per day for AIRS v6 and 7.20 × 10−6 ppm per day for AIRS v7. The correction implementation significantly improves the correspondence between AIRS v6 and v7 methane data and NDACC data, resulting in close estimates of methane trends from satellite and ground-based measurements. The robustness of the proposed correction has been demonstrated by the improvement in the consistency of station-by-station trend estimates obtained for corrected AIRS data and independent TCCON ground-based observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Validation of Long-Term Methane (CH 4) Satellite Measurements from the AIRS Spectrometer and Correction of Their Temporal Drift.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rakitin%2C+Vadim%22">Rakitin, Vadim</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fedorova%2C+Eugeniya%22">Fedorova, Eugeniya</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Skorokhod%2C+Andrey%22">Skorokhod, Andrey</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> andrey.skorokhod@univie.ac.at</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kirillova%2C+Nataliya%22">Kirillova, Nataliya</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chernokulsky%2C+Alexander%22">Chernokulsky, Alexander</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 18 Issue 8, p1162. 27p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Atmospheric+methane%22">Atmospheric methane</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spectrometers%22">Spectrometers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change+forecasts%22">Climate change forecasts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Model+validation%22">Model validation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Atmospheric+composition%22">Atmospheric composition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trend+analysis%22">Trend analysis</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? The existence of a statistically significant and unidirectional drift in the difference between the AIRS CH4 satellite instrument readings and the ground-based data was identified and confirmed. Although the precise cause of this drift is currently uncertain, a number of hypotheses have been proposed. The study presents a novel, data-driven correction method for AIRS CH4 total content that has been shown to improve agreement with ground-based observations and convergence of trend estimates. What are the implications of the main findings? The proposed method enables statistical correction, aimed at increasing the consistency between satellite and ground-based measurements, as well as improving the corresponding climate and air-quality projections. The method can be applied to correct other long-term satellite observations, such as those relating to atmospheric composition, underlying surface parameters, climatic and meteorological parameters, and radiation characteristics, provided that the necessary high-precision ground-based measurement series and datasets are available. The study aims to develop a methodology for identifying and correcting drift in the quality of orbital data to improve the accuracy of long-term trend estimates and enhance the representativeness of orbital monitoring. We establish the presence of unidirectional, statistically significant drift in the difference between satellite instrument readings and ground-based observations. We compare the last two versions of methane (CH4) measurements from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS)—specifically, Level 3 versions 6 and 7 ("IR-AIRS Only")—with data from 18 ground-based stations of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) and 11 stations of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) for the 2003–2022 period. We determine that adjusting ground-based measurement data to sea level using the barometric formula, which is a necessary step for proper validation, results in significant errors, especially at high altitudes. It is proposed that such an adjustment should be based on pressure measured directly at a station. Implementing this over the examined period, we determine that the residual drift of the satellite spectrometer (Satellite Spectrometer Drift or SSD) is negative and equal to 1.64 × 1014 molecules/cm2 per day or 7.62 × 10−6 ppm per day for AIRS v6 and 7.20 × 10−6 ppm per day for AIRS v7. The correction implementation significantly improves the correspondence between AIRS v6 and v7 methane data and NDACC data, resulting in close estimates of methane trends from satellite and ground-based measurements. The robustness of the proposed correction has been demonstrated by the improvement in the consistency of station-by-station trend estimates obtained for corrected AIRS data and independent TCCON ground-based observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.3390/rs18081162
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 27
        StartPage: 1162
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Atmospheric methane
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Spectrometers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Climate change forecasts
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      – SubjectFull: Model validation
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      – SubjectFull: Atmospheric composition
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      – SubjectFull: Trend analysis
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Validation of Long-Term Methane (CH 4) Satellite Measurements from the AIRS Spectrometer and Correction of Their Temporal Drift.
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              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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