We show that atmospheric concentration variations of major greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CO) may be retrieved from observations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar meteorological satellite series. The method relies on the analysis of the differences between the observations and simulations from a radiative transfer model using collocated radiosonde data and fixed gas concentrations as the prime input. Over the time period considered (July 1987 -- September 1991), the results are in good agreement with present knowledge of the atmospheric cycles (seasonal, annual) of the gases. A reanalysis of the more than 20 years archive of NOAA observations has considerable promise for an improved knowledge of the carbon cycle.