Measurements of several atmospheric gases above the South Pole in December 1986 from high‐resolution 3‐ to 4‐μm solar spectra

The technique of spectral least squares fitting has been used to analyze a 0.02 cm −1 resolution 3‐ to 4‐μm solar spectrum recorded from the south pole on December 3, 1986. The analysis has resulted in information on the total column amounts of several atmospheric gases. The retrieved total vertical column amounts (in molecules per square centimeter) are 2.4±0.4×1021 for H216O; 4.5±0.5×1018 for H218O; 3.9±0.4 × 1017 for HDO; 2.1±0.2×1019 for CH4; 5.1±0.5×1021 for CO2; 3.9±0.4×1018 for N2O; and 3.7±0.5×1015 for C2H6. Identification of 12CH3D absorption features and a search for H2CO absorption in the spectral data are also described.