Elements of spectroscopy, optics, signal processing and inverse problems (linear algebra) are useful but not indispensable.

The Earth's geophysical system and the radiative transfer ; remote sensing from space ; data processing in space applications ; climatic  variables and climatologies.

To understand the general context of the geophysical frame and of the methods used in the assessment of ground and atmospheric climatic changes, with a focus on spatial techniques and applications. One aims to understand what is accessible to remote sounding from past and present experiences and to show the fundamentals of data processing.

Lecture

1. Summary about the geophysical system and radiative transfer
   1. vertical structure of the atmosphere
   2. general atmospheric circulation, composition and chemistry
   3. solar irradiance and Earth's radiative budget
   4. light-matter interaction and multiple scattering: albedo, aerosols and clouds
2. Observation methods
   1. observation geometry from space; emission and absorption, nadir and limb

i.     low altitude  and sun-synchroneous orbits

ii.     geographical coverage and spatial  resolution

1. spectrometers and imagers from UV up to millimetric waves

i.     UV-Vis-near infrared

 ii.     infrared

 iii.     micro-waves

1. satellite altimetry

   i.     ocean

   ii.     ice

  iii.     climate

1. 30 years of space remote sensing: successes and future

    i.     SAGE-ORA

   ii.     ENVISAT-GOMOS

  iii.     CRYOSAT

   Iv.     forthcoming missions et programs

1. ground-based networks and space measurement validation
2. Remote sensing data processing
   1. application domain: ranges and space-time resolution
   2. atmospheric corrections

i.     refraction and atmospheric turbulence

ii.     aerosols and spectral interferences

iii.     differential spectroscopy

1. inverse methods in geophysics

 i.     forward model

 ii.     gain matrix, averaging kernel and linear problems

iii.     regularization techniques

 iv.     error budget

1. Climatic variables: measurements and climatologies
   1. state of the art for the essential climatic variables

i.     ESA essential climatic variables: present status

ii.     temporal global characterization: cycles and trends

iii.     climatic variable matrix and detectability

             b.  open questions in remote sensing

Aeronomy Of The Middle Atmosphere: Chemistry And Physics Of The Stratosphere And Mesosphere by G. Brasseur and S. Solomon

Inverse methods for atmospheric sounding by Clive Rodgers

Several general textbooks (see http://www.uclouvain.be/322260.html)