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The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Ryouichi Imasu, Associate Professor, Division of Climate System Research, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo

Study of the use of an infrared telescope for astronomical observation as a means to measure global warming substances

Research grant

Project Description

Examination of a technique that uses an infrared telescope for astronomical observation as a means to measure the concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and other substances in the atmosphere that are causes of global warming. The objective is to confirm this method so that ground-based observatories of global warming substances can be set up in South America and other as-yet uncovered regions. In addition, the project also seeks to establish techniques that can be applied to the analysis of astronomical observation data from observatories around the world, in order to prepare the basis for the setting up of an observational network for the Earth's atmosphere that uses telescopes.

Fields
Climate changeEnergy problem
Grant year
FY2010 Research Grants
Grant term
2 years
April 2011 - March 2013
Grant amount
4,436,300 yen
Activity region
Mt. Chajnantor, Atacama Desert, Chile, South America
MiniTAO telescope of the University of Tokyo in Chile, South America, used for observation

Overview of the Organization

Ryouichi Imasu, Associate Professor
Representative
Ryouichi Imasu, Associate Professor
Profile
Specialist field
Atmospheric physics
Affiliated academic societies
The Meteorological Society of Japan, American Geophysical Union, The Remote Sensing Society of Japan
Background
Researcher, National Research Institute for Pollution and Resources, MITI, 1989; Chief Researcher, National Institute for Resources and Environment, 1994; Assistant Professor, Center for Climate System Research, University of Tokyo, 2000; Associate Professor, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo, 2010; Position: professor (physics) (Nagoya University, 1993)
Collaborators
Takashi Miyata, Associate Professor, Institute of Astronomy, the University of Tokyo
Reearch record
  • (1) Saitoh, N., R. Imasu, Y. Ota, and Y. Niwa, CO2 retrieval algorithm for the thermal infrared spectra of the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite:Potential of retrieving CO2 vertical profile from high-resolution FTS sensor, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2008JD011500, 2009
  • (2) Imasu, R., Meridional Distribution Feature of Minor Constituents as Observed by IMG Sensor aboard ADEOS Satellite. Adv. Space Res., 25, 959-962, 2000.
  • (3) Imasu, R., A. Suga, and T. Matsuno, Radiative effects and harocarbon global warming potentials of replacement compounds for chlorofluorocarbons, J. Meteo. Soc. Japan, 73, 1123-1136, 1995.