This paper describes the contents of the 2016 edition of the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic compilation. The new edition replaces the previous HITRAN edition of 2012 and its updates during the intervening years. The HITRAN molecular absorption compilation is composed of five major components: the traditional line-by-line spectroscopic parameters required for high-resolution radiative-transfer codes, infrared absorption cross-sections for molecules not yet amenable to representation in a line-by-line form, collision-induced absorption data, aerosol indices of refraction, and general tables such as partition sums that apply globally to the data. The new HITRAN is greatly extended in terms of accuracy, spectral coverage, additional absorption phenomena, added line-shape formalisms, and validity. Moreover, molecules, isotopologues, and perturbing gases have been added that address the issues of atmospheres beyond the Earth. Of considerable note, experimental IR cross-sections for almost 300 additional molecules important in different areas of atmospheric science have been added to the database. The compilation can be accessed through www.hitran.org. Most of the HITRAN data have now been cast into an underlying relational database structure that offers many advantages over the long-standing sequential text-based structure. The new structure empowers the user in many ways. It enables the incorporation of an extended set of fundamental parameters per transition, sophisticated line-shape formalisms, easy user-defined output formats, and very convenient searching, filtering, and plotting of data. A powerful application programming interface making use of structured query language (SQL) features for higher-level applications of HITRAN is also provided.

/pdf/the-hitran-2008-molecular-spectroscopic-database-1ud8clpej3.pdf

The HITRAN 2008 molecular spectroscopic database

The JRA-55 Reanalysis: General Specifications and Basic Characteristics

Description of the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model (CAM 3.0)

We examine the sensitivity of a climate model to a wide range of radiative forcings, including changes of solar irradiance, atmospheric CO2, O3, CFCs, clouds, aerosols, surface albedo, and a “ghost” forcing introduced at arbitrary heights, latitudes, longitudes, seasons, and times of day. We show that, in general, the climate response, specifically the global mean temperature change, is sensitive to the altitude, latitude, and nature of the forcing; that is, the response to a given forcing can vary by 50% or more depending upon characteristics of the forcing other than its magnitude measured in watts per square meter. The consistency of the response among different forcings is higher, within 20% or better, for most of the globally distributed forcings suspected of influencing global mean temperature in the past century, but exceptions occur for certain changes of ozone or absorbing aerosols, for which the climate response is less well behaved. In all cases the physical basis for the variations of the response can be understood. The principal mechanisms involve alterations of lapse rate and decrease (increase) of large-scale cloud cover in layers that are preferentially heated (cooled). Although the magnitude of these effects must be model-dependent, the existence and sense of the mechanisms appear to be reasonable. Overall, we reaffirm the value of the radiative forcing concept for predicting climate response and for comparative studies of different forcings; indeed, the present results can help improve the accuracy of such analyses and define error estimates. Our results also emphasize the need for measurements having the specificity and precision needed to define poorly known forcings such as absorbing aerosols and ozone change. Available data on aerosol single scatter albedo imply that anthropogenic aerosols cause less cooling than has commonly been assumed. However, negative forcing due to the net ozone change since 1979 appears to have counterbalanced 30–50% of the positive forcing due to the increase of well-mixed greenhouse gases in the same period. As the net ozone change includes halogen-driven ozone depletion with negative radiative forcing and a tropospheric ozone increase with positive radiative forcing, it is possible that the halogen-driven ozone depletion has counterbalanced more than half of the radiative forcing due to well-mixed greenhouse gases since 1979.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/96JD03436

Radiative forcing and climate response

Since its first publication in 1973, the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database has been recognized as the international standard for providing the necessary fundamental spectroscopic parameters for diverse atmospheric and laboratory transmission and radiance calculations. There have been periodic editions of HITRAN over the past decades as the database has been expanded and improved with respect to the molecular species and spectral range covered, the number of parameters included, and the accuracy of this information. The 1996 edition not only includes the customary line-by-line transition parameters familiar to HITRAN users, but also cross-section data, aerosol indices of refraction, software to filter and manipulate the data, and documentation. This paper describes the data and features that have been added or replaced since the previous edition of HITRAN. We also cite instances of critical data that are forthcoming.

https://hitran.org/media/refs/HITRAN-1996.pdf

The hitran molecular spectroscopic database and hawks (hitran atmospheric workstation): 1996 edition

Belmiloud, et al have recently suggested that the HITRAN line intensities in the 1130 nm water vapor band are much too weak. Giver, et at corrected unit conversion errors to make the HITRAN intensities compatible with the original measurements of Mandin, et al, but Belmiloud, et al believe that many of those line intensity measurements were too weak, and they propose the total intensity of the 1130 nm water vapor band is 38% stronger than the sum of the HITRAN line intensities in this region. We have made independent assessments of this proposal using 2 spectra obtained with the Ames 25 meter base path White cell. The first was made using the moderate resolution (8 nm) solar spectral flux radiometer (SSFR) flight instrument with a White cell absorbing path of 506 meters and 10 torr water vapor pressure. Modeling this spectrum using the HITRAN linelist gives a reasonable match, and the model is not compatible when the HITRAN line intensities are increased by 38%. The second spectrum was obtained with a White cell path of 1106 meters and 12 torr water vapor pressure, using a Bomem FTIR with near Doppler width resolution. This spectrum is useful for measuring intensities of isolated weak lines to compare with the measurements of Mandin, et al. Unfortunately, as Belmiloud et al point out, at these conditions the strong lines are much too saturated for good intensity measurements. Our measurements of the weak lines are in reasonable agreement with those of Mandin, et al. Neither of our spectra supports the proposal of Belmiloud et al for a general 38% increase of the absorption intensity in the 1130 nm water vapor band.

Uncertainties of the Intensity of the 1130 nm Band of Water Vapor

/pdf/water-vapor-line-intensity-corrections-and-rovibrational-2ly3k4oyj6.pdf

Water Vapor Line Intensity Corrections and Rovibrational Assignment Updates of the Shortwave HITRAN and GEISA Databases

High-resolution measurements of the half-widths of several hydrogen-broadened lines in the ν2s-fundamental and ν2a-fundamental bands of 14NH3 and 15NH3 at temperatures relevant to the Jovian atmosphere are presented as an illustration of studies in our laboratory of the spectroscopic features observed in the atmospheres of the outer planets. The variation of the linewidths upon temperature and rotational quantum numbers is deduced.

Laboratory studies of infrared features observed in the atmospheres of the outer planets

Highly accurate absorption cross-sections, k (cm1atm1), have been measured in the 7.8 ,m band of CFC- 14 (CF4) at temperatures between 180 and 296 K using a high-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer. The measured absorption cross-sections are free from instrumental distortion, since the spectra were recorded at spectral resolution that was sufficiently high at broadening pressures corresponding to tropospheric and stratospheric layers. Our data were obtained at pressures and temperatures which characterize commonly adapted model atmospheres and represent tangent heights in solar occultation type remote sensing observations of the atmosphere, have also been extended to conditions to be encountered in the atmosphere at Arctic and Antarctic latitudes. The combined absolute intensity of the bands contributing to the absorption around 7.8 m is 1.926 0.012 x 1016 cm molecule .© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Infrared absorption cross section data needed for the satellite remote sensing of CFC-14

Measurements of spectral transmittance have been performed in the nu4-fundamental band of (C-13)H4 at low temperatures of planetary atmospheric interest with spectral resolution of 0.06 per cm. Comparison of observed and computed spectral transmittance on a line-by-line basis has yielded line strengths. Best agreement between measured and computed spectra was obtained when the absolute intensity of the band was taken as 123 per (sq cm atm) at 296 K.

Prasad Varanasi

Papers

Uncertainties of the Intensity of the 1130 nm Band of Water Vapor

Water Vapor Line Intensity Corrections and Rovibrational Assignment Updates of the Shortwave HITRAN and GEISA Databases

Laboratory studies of infrared features observed in the atmospheres of the outer planets

Infrared absorption cross section data needed for the satellite remote sensing of CFC-14

Intensity measurements in the nu4-fundamental of (C-13)H4 at planetary atmospheric temperatures