Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Infrared remote sensing has long been used to learn about the composition and structure of planetary atmospheres. The basic principle of atmospheric remote sensing is to determine a property of the atmosphere by detecting spectrally related features in a radiation field that has passed through the atmosphere. Spectra of the outer planets and their moons have been recorded by various instruments at ground-based telescopes, on aircraft and on spacecraft. Laboratory studies are often required to properly interpret mission data, particularly for planetary and lunar atmospheres that have compositions and temperature and pressure regimes quite different from those in the terrestrial atmosphere. As the spectral resolution of planetary observations has improved, the spectroscopic parameters used to interpret these observations have also been required to improve. Usually this necessitates the recording and analysis of high-quality laboratory spectra. Furthermore, these laboratory spectra should be obtained for gas temperature and pressure conditions as close as possible to those expected on the planet or satellite of interest. The long-term goal of my research program is to develop spectroscopic techniques to increase our understanding of Earth and planetary atmospheres. Our research has direct application to the analysis of high resolution atmospheric spectra acquired by remote sensing instruments. This work will also improve our understanding of past and future observations of planets and be useful for designing instrumentation for future space missions. The current proposal will address the following specific objectives: (1) experimental studies of line shapes and molecular collisional dynamics in molecules of environmental interest, (2) theoretical modelling of line mixing effects and broadening parameters, (3) development of novel spectroscopic tools that combine investigations of molecular structure and molecular interactions with line shape studies.