Sixteen-year trends in atmospheric trace gases from orbit

Abstract The composition of the Earth's atmosphere is changing. The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite measures infrared transmission spectra of the atmosphere using the Sun as a light source. ACE provides a global view of atmospheric composition from altitude composition profiles for 44 molecules starting in February 2004. Altitude-latitude abundance distributions and composition trends for more than 16 years are presented and briefly discussed. The ACE trends provide a quantitative state-of-the-atmosphere report.