Contributions of Fourier Transform Spectroscopy to Molecular Databases

Abstract

The two molecular spectroscopic databases most widely used in terrestrial atmospheric studies, HITRAN (1) and GEISA (2), have recently released updates which contain extensive revisions of the parameters for many key species. Many of the measurements which contributed to these updates were performed using high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometers. In this paper the updates and revisions to the databases will be summarized, and examples of spectroscopic measurements incorporated in the database updates will be presented. Recent efforts to critically evaluate the spectroscopic databases to meet atmospheric remote sensing requirements will also be reviewed.