Atmospheric molecules

The history and development of the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database is described. HITRAN was created as a compilation of spectroscopic parameters that could serve to provide the basic information to computer programs modeling atmospheric attenuation due to molecular gaseous absorption in the infrared. The first edition of the HITRAN database evolved from monographs on prominent bands of water vapor and carbon dioxide published by the National Bureau of Standards published in the 1960s. This first edition contained a limited set of parameters for bands of the seven most active infrared absorbers in the terrestrial atmosphere. HITRAN has since expanded to cover a broad spectral range from the millimeter through ultraviolet regions, to include absorption cross sections in addition to the discrete line transitions, to include information on about 60 different molecular species, to include more parameters for sophisticated remote-sensing retrieval programs, and has employed newer distribution methods.