The Carbon Balance Observatory (CARBO) is a compact, high-performance instrument designed to detect CO2, CH4, and Solar Induced Fluorescence (SIF) with a wide field of view from low Earth orbit (LEO). The four CARBO channels are centered at 756 nm , 1629 nm, 2062 nm and 2328 nm, and they all share the same common platform. CARBO exploits immersion grating technology to deliver spectral resolving powers ranging from 10,000 to 20,000, which results in estimated detection precisions of 1.5 ppm and 7 ppb for column-average dry air mole fractions of carbon dioxide (XCO2) and methane (XCH4), respectively. During the instrument optical design, a novel approach has been developed to enable simultaneous measurements of both S and P polarization states over the same field of view and optical bandpass. CARBO's immersion gating technology allows for a smaller and lighter package, which is cost effective for space-based carbon climate remote sensing. This concept opens up the option of a constellation of small satellites carrying multiple CARBO instruments, which can significantly enhance our understanding of global carbon cycle.

The ADS is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX16AC86A