The primary greenhouse gases which affect global climate are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. All of these species have strong absorption bands in the wavelength range from 2680nm to 3250nm. Measurement of these species on a more widespread basis will be important in both the scientific community for the study of their effect on climate, and from the political perspective for monitoring of compliance with, for example, cap and trade policies. Ubiquilight sources under development can enable widespread, ubiquitous monitoring of these gasses with high precision and low cost.

A discussion of the spectroscopy of Atmospheric greenhouse gases is being held on the Neear  and Mid-Infrared blog. You can join the discussion here.