15min:

D. CHRIS BENNER, V MALATHY DEVI, Department of Physics, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795; MARY ANN H. SMITH, Science Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center, MS 401A, Hampton, VA 23681-2199; LINDA R. BROWN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109-8099.

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer on the Earth Observing System Aura satellite measures methane in the Earth's atmosphere. Some of the methane channels are located in the Q branch of the ₄ band of methane at 1300 cm^-1. Using laboratory spectra obtained with the National Solar Observatory's Fourier transform spectrometer at the McMath-Pierce solar telescope, this Q branch was examined for line mixing and speed dependent line shapes for both self-broadening and air-broadening. The analysis also determined line widths, pressure-induced shifts and line mixing as functions of temperature. Comparisons are made to demonstrate the importance of considering line shape effects in satellite measurements of the Earth's atmosphere.