Articles | Volume 13, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3561-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3561-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
In-flight calibration results of the TROPOMI payload on board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite
Antje Ludewig
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
Quintus Kleipool
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
Rolf Bartstra
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
S&T Science and Technology B.V., Delft, the Netherlands
Robin Landzaat
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
TriOpSys B.V., Utrecht, the Netherlands
Jonatan Leloux
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
TriOpSys B.V., Utrecht, the Netherlands
Erwin Loots
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
Peter Meijering
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
TriOpSys B.V., Utrecht, the Netherlands
Emiel van der Plas
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
Nico Rozemeijer
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
TriOpSys B.V., Utrecht, the Netherlands
Frank Vonk
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
TriOpSys B.V., Utrecht, the Netherlands
Pepijn Veefkind
KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
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Quintus Kleipool, Antje Ludewig, Ljubiša Babić, Rolf Bartstra, Remco Braak, Werner Dierssen, Pieter-Jan Dewitte, Pepijn Kenter, Robin Landzaat, Jonatan Leloux, Erwin Loots, Peter Meijering, Emiel van der Plas, Nico Rozemeijer, Dinand Schepers, Daniel Schiavini, Joost Smeets, Giuseppe Vacanti, Frank Vonk, and Pepijn Veefkind
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Mengyao Liu, Ronald van der A, Michiel van Weele, Lotte Bryan, Henk Eskes, Pepijn Veefkind, Yongxue Liu, Xiaojuan Lin, Jos de Laat, and Jieying Ding
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5261–5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, 2024
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A new divergence method was developed and applied to estimate methane emissions from TROPOMI observations over the Middle East, where it is typically challenging for a satellite to measure methane due to its complicated orography and surface albedo. Our results show the potential of TROPOMI to quantify methane emissions from various sources rather than big emitters from space after objectively excluding the artifacts in the retrieval.
Alexander C. Bradley, Barbara Dix, Fergus Mackenzie, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Joost A. de Gouw
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2352, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2352, 2024
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Currently measurement of methane from the TROPOMI satellite is biased with respect to surface reflectance. This study demonstrates a new method of correcting for this bias on a seasonal timescale to allow for differences in surface reflectance in areas of intense agriculture where growing seasons may introduce a reflectance bias. We have successfully implemented this technique in the Denver-Julesburg basin where agriculture and methane extraction infrastructure is often co-located.
Arno Keppens, Serena Di Pede, Daan Hubert, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Pepijn Veefkind, Maarten Sneep, Johan De Haan, Mark ter Linden, Thierry Leblanc, Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, José Granville, Oindrila Nath, Ann Mari Fjæraa, Ian Boyd, Sander Niemeijer, Roeland Van Malderen, Herman G. J. Smit, Valentin Duflot, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Bryan J. Johnson, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, David W. Tarasick, Debra E. Kollonige, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Angelika Dehn, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3969–3993, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3969-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3969-2024, 2024
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The Sentinel-5P satellite operated by the European Space Agency has carried the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) around the Earth since October 2017. This mission also produces atmospheric ozone profile data which are described in detail for May 2018 to April 2023. Independent validation using ground-based reference measurements demonstrates that the operational ozone profile product mostly fully and at least partially complies with all mission requirements.
Adrianus de Laat, Jos van Geffen, Piet Stammes, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4511–4535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, 2024
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Removal of stratospheric nitrogen oxides is crucial for the formation of the ozone hole. TROPOMI satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide reveal the presence of a not dissimilar "nitrogen hole" that largely coincides with the ozone hole. Three very distinct regimes were identified: inside and outside the ozone hole and the transition zone in between. Our results introduce a valuable and innovative application highly relevant for Antarctic ozone hole and ozone layer recovery.
Aart Overeem, Else van den Besselaar, Gerard van der Schrier, Jan Fokke Meirink, Emiel van der Plas, and Hidde Leijnse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1441–1464, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1441-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1441-2023, 2023
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EURADCLIM is a new precipitation dataset covering a large part of Europe. It is based on weather radar data to provide local precipitation information every hour and combined with rain gauge data to obtain good precipitation estimates. EURADCLIM provides a much better reference for validation of weather model output and satellite precipitation datasets. It also allows for climate monitoring and better evaluation of extreme precipitation events and their impact (landslides, flooding).
Konstantinos Michailidis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris Balis, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Martin de Graaf, Lucia Mona, Nikolaos Papagianopoulos, Gesolmina Pappalardo, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Daniele Bortoli, Maria João Costa, Vanda Salgueiro, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, and Holger Baars
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1919–1940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, 2023
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Comparisons with ground-based correlative lidar measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite aerosol products. This paper presents the validation of the TROPOMI aerosol layer height (ALH) product, using archived quality assured ground-based data from lidar stations that belong to the EARLINET network. Comparisons between the TROPOMI ALH and co-located EARLINET measurements show good agreement over the ocean.
John Douros, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, K. Folkert Boersma, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Augustin Colette, and Pepijn Veefkind
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 509–534, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, 2023
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We focus on the challenges associated with comparing atmospheric composition models with satellite products such as tropospheric NO2 columns. The aim is to highlight the methodological difficulties and propose sound ways of doing such comparisons. Building on the comparisons, a new satellite product is proposed and made available, which takes advantage of higher-resolution, regional atmospheric modelling to improve estimates of troposheric NO2 columns over Europe.
Miriam Latsch, Andreas Richter, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Ping Wang, Pepijn Veefkind, Ronny Lutz, Diego Loyola, Athina Argyrouli, Pieter Valks, Thomas Wagner, Holger Sihler, Michel van Roozendael, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Richard Siddans, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, 2022
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The article investigates different S5P TROPOMI cloud retrieval algorithms for tropospheric trace gas retrievals. The cloud products show differences primarily over snow and ice and for scenes under sun glint. Some issues regarding across-track dependence are found for the cloud fractions as well as for the cloud heights.
Johan F. de Haan, Ping Wang, Maarten Sneep, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Piet Stammes
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7031–7050, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7031-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7031-2022, 2022
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We present an overview of the DISAMAR radiative transfer code, highlighting the novel semi-analytical derivatives for the doubling–adding formulae and the new DISMAS technique for weak absorbers. DISAMAR includes forward simulations and retrievals for satellite spectral measurements from 270 to 2400 nm to determine instrument specifications for passive remote sensing. It has been used in various Sentinel-4/5P/5 projects and in the TROPOMI aerosol layer height and ozone profile products.
John T. Sullivan, Arnoud Apituley, Nora Mettig, Karin Kreher, K. Emma Knowland, Marc Allaart, Ankie Piters, Michel Van Roozendael, Pepijn Veefkind, Jerry R. Ziemke, Natalya Kramarova, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, Laurence Twigg, Grant Sumnicht, and Thomas J. McGee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11137–11153, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11137-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11137-2022, 2022
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A TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) validation campaign (TROLIX-19) was held in the Netherlands in September 2019. The research presented here focuses on using ozone lidars from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to better evaluate the characterization of ozone throughout TROLIX-19 as compared to balloon-borne, space-borne and ground-based passive measurements, as well as a global coupled chemistry meteorology model.
Pieternel F. Levelt, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Ilse Aben, Maite Bauwens, Tobias Borsdorff, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk J. Eskes, Christophe Lerot, Diego G. Loyola, Fabian Romahn, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Nicolas Theys, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Tijl Verhoelst
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10319–10351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, 2022
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Using the COVID-19 lockdown periods as an example, we show how Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI trace gas data (NO2, SO2, CO, HCHO and CHOCHO) can be used to understand impacts on air quality for regions and cities around the globe. We also provide information for both experienced and inexperienced users about how we created the data using state-of-the-art algorithms, where to get the data, methods taking meteorological and seasonal variability into consideration, and insights for future studies.
Quintus Kleipool, Nico Rozemeijer, Mirna van Hoek, Jonatan Leloux, Erwin Loots, Antje Ludewig, Emiel van der Plas, Daley Adrichem, Raoul Harel, Simon Spronk, Mark ter Linden, Glen Jaross, David Haffner, Pepijn Veefkind, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3527–3553, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3527-2022, 2022
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A new collection-4 dataset for the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) mission has been established to supersede the current collection-3 level-1b (L1b) data, produced with a newly developed L01b data processor based on the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) L01b processor. The collection-4 L1b data have a similar output format to the TROPOMI L1b data for easy connection of the data series. Many insights from the TROPOMI algorithms, as well as from OMI collection-3 usage, were included.
Nora Mettig, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, John P. Burrows, Pepijn Veefkind, Anne M. Thompson, Ryan M. Stauffer, Thierry Leblanc, Gerard Ancellet, Michael J. Newchurch, Shi Kuang, Rigel Kivi, Matthew B. Tully, Roeland Van Malderen, Ankie Piters, Bogumil Kois, René Stübi, and Pavla Skrivankova
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2955–2978, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2955-2022, 2022
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Vertical ozone profiles from combined spectral measurements in the UV and IR spectral ranges were retrieved by using data from TROPOMI/S5P and CrIS/Suomi-NPP. The vertical resolution and accuracy of the ozone profiles are improved by combining both wavelength ranges compared to retrievals limited to UV or IR spectral data only. The advancement of our TOPAS algorithm for combined measurements is required because in the UV-only retrieval the vertical resolution in the troposphere is very limited.
Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Tijl Verhoelst, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Antje Ludewig, K. Folkert Boersma, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2037–2060, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, 2022
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the main data products measured by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite. This study describes improvements in the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval leading to version v2.2, operational since 1 July 2021. It compares results with previous versions v1.2–v1.4 and with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and ground-based measurements.
Daan Hubert, Klaus-Peter Heue, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Tijl Verhoelst, Marc Allaart, Steven Compernolle, Patrick D. Cullis, Angelika Dehn, Christian Félix, Bryan J. Johnson, Arno Keppens, Debra E. Kollonige, Christophe Lerot, Diego Loyola, Matakite Maata, Sukarni Mitro, Maznorizan Mohamad, Ankie Piters, Fabian Romahn, Henry B. Selkirk, Francisco R. da Silva, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Holger Vömel, Jacquelyn C. Witte, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7405–7433, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7405-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7405-2021, 2021
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We assess the first 2 years of TROPOMI tropical tropospheric ozone column data. Comparisons to reference measurements by ozonesonde and satellite sensors show that TROPOMI bias (−0.1 to +2.3 DU) and precision (1.5 to 2.5 DU) meet mission requirements. Potential causes of bias and its spatio-temporal structure are discussed, as well as ways to identify sampling errors. Our analysis of known geophysical patterns demonstrates the improved performance of TROPOMI with respect to its predecessors.
Nora Mettig, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, Carlo Arosio, John P. Burrows, Pepijn Veefkind, Anne M. Thompson, Richard Querel, Thierry Leblanc, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Rigel Kivi, and Matthew B. Tully
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6057–6082, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6057-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6057-2021, 2021
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TROPOMI is a nadir-viewing satellite that has observed global atmospheric trace gases at unprecedented spatial resolution since 2017. The retrieval of ozone profiles with high accuracy has been demonstrated using the TOPAS (Tikhonov regularised Ozone Profile retrievAl with SCIATRAN) algorithm and applying appropriate spectral corrections to TROPOMI UV data. Ozone profiles from TROPOMI were compared to ozonesonde and lidar profiles, showing an agreement to within 5 % in the stratosphere.
Frederik Tack, Alexis Merlaud, Marian-Daniel Iordache, Gaia Pinardi, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Henk Eskes, Bart Bomans, Pepijn Veefkind, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 615–646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-615-2021, 2021
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We assess the TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 product (OFFL v1.03.01; 3.5 km × 7 km at nadir observations) based on coinciding airborne APEX reference observations (~75 m × 120 m), acquired over polluted regions in Belgium. The TROPOMI NO2 product meets the mission requirements in terms of precision and accuracy. However, we show that TROPOMI is biased low over polluted areas, mainly due to the limited spatial resolution of a priori input for the AMF computation.
Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Henk J. Eskes, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Ann Mari Fjæraa, José Granville, Sander Niemeijer, Alexander Cede, Martin Tiefengraber, François Hendrick, Andrea Pazmiño, Alkiviadis Bais, Ariane Bazureau, K. Folkert Boersma, Kristof Bognar, Angelika Dehn, Sebastian Donner, Aleksandr Elokhov, Manuel Gebetsberger, Florence Goutail, Michel Grutter de la Mora, Aleksandr Gruzdev, Myrto Gratsea, Georg H. Hansen, Hitoshi Irie, Nis Jepsen, Yugo Kanaya, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Rigel Kivi, Karin Kreher, Pieternel F. Levelt, Cheng Liu, Moritz Müller, Monica Navarro Comas, Ankie J. M. Piters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Thierry Portafaix, Cristina Prados-Roman, Olga Puentedura, Richard Querel, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, John Rimmer, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Lidia Saavedra de Miguel, Valery P. Sinyakov, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Thomas Wagner, Folkard Wittrock, Margarita Yela González, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 481–510, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, 2021
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This paper reports on the ground-based validation of the NO2 data produced operationally by the TROPOMI instrument on board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite. Tropospheric, stratospheric, and total NO2 columns are compared to measurements collected from MAX-DOAS, ZSL-DOAS, and PGN/Pandora instruments respectively. The products are found to satisfy mission requirements in general, though negative mean differences are found at sites with high pollution levels. Potential causes are discussed.
Ivar R. van der Velde, Guido R. van der Werf, Sander Houweling, Henk J. Eskes, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Tobias Borsdorff, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 597–616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-597-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-597-2021, 2021
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This paper compares the relative atmospheric enhancements of CO and NO2 measured by the space-based instrument TROPOMI over different fire-prone ecosystems around the world. We find distinct spatial and temporal patterns in the ΔNO2 / ΔCO ratio that correspond to regional differences in combustion efficiency. This joint analysis provides a better understanding of regional-scale combustion characteristics and can help the fire modeling community to improve existing global emission inventories.
Maurits L. Kooreman, Piet Stammes, Victor Trees, Maarten Sneep, L. Gijsbert Tilstra, Martin de Graaf, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Ping Wang, Olaf N. E. Tuinder, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6407–6426, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6407-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6407-2020, 2020
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We investigated the influence of clouds on the Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI), an indicator of the presence of small particles in the atmosphere. Clouds produce artifacts in AAI calculations on the individual measurement (7 km) scale, which was not seen with previous instruments, as well as on large (1000+ km) scales. To reduce these artefacts, we used three different AAI calculation techniques of varying complexity. We find that the AAI artifacts are reduced when using more complex techniques.
Laura M. Judd, Jassim A. Al-Saadi, James J. Szykman, Lukas C. Valin, Scott J. Janz, Matthew G. Kowalewski, Henk J. Eskes, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Alexander Cede, Moritz Mueller, Manuel Gebetsberger, Robert Swap, R. Bradley Pierce, Caroline R. Nowlan, Gonzalo González Abad, Amin Nehrir, and David Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6113–6140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6113-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6113-2020, 2020
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This paper evaluates Sentinel-5P TROPOMI v1.2 NO2 tropospheric columns over New York City using data from airborne mapping spectrometers and a network of ground-based spectrometers (Pandora) collected in 2018. These evaluations consider impacts due to cloud parameters, a priori profile assumptions, and spatial and temporal variability. Overall, TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 columns appear to have a low bias in this region.
Swadhin Nanda, Martin de Graaf, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Jiyunting Sun, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3043–3059, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3043-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3043-2020, 2020
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This paper presents a first validation of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) aerosol layer height (ALH) product, which is an estimate of the height of an aerosol layer using a spectrometer on board ESA's Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite mission. Comparison between the TROPOMI ALH product and co-located aerosol extinction heights from the CALIOP instrument on board NASA's CALIPSO mission show good agreement for selected cases over the ocean and large differences over land.
Debora Griffin, Christopher Sioris, Jack Chen, Nolan Dickson, Andrew Kovachik, Martin de Graaf, Swadhin Nanda, Pepijn Veefkind, Enrico Dammers, Chris A. McLinden, Paul Makar, and Ayodeji Akingunola
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1427–1445, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1427-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1427-2020, 2020
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This study looks into validating the aerosol layer height product from the recently launched TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) for forest fire plume through comparisons with two other satellite products, and interpreting differences due to the individual measurement techniques. These satellite observations are compared to predicted plume heights from Environment and Climate Change's air quality forecast model.
Jos van Geffen, K. Folkert Boersma, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Marina Zara, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1315–1335, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1315-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1315-2020, 2020
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The Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) provides atmospheric trace gase and cloud and aerosol property measurements at unprecedented spatial resolution. This study focusses on the TROPOMI NO2 slant column density (SCD) retrieval: the retrieval method used, the stability of and uncertainties in the SCDs, and a comparison with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 SCDs. TROPOMI shows a superior performance compared to OMI/QA4ECV and operates as anticipated from instrument specifications.
Jiyunting Sun, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Peter van Velthoven, L. Gijsbert Tilstra, Julien Chimot, Swadhin Nanda, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-39, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-39, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
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ALH is one of the major concerns in quantifying aerosol absorption from the ultra-violet aerosol index (UVAI). The UVAI has a global daily record since 1978, whereas a corresponding ALH data set is limited. In this paper, we attempt to construct a global long-term ALH data set derived from the MERRA-2 aerosol fields that can be favorable in interpreting aerosol absorption from UVAI. We also give comments on several satellite ALH products in terms of the UVAI altitude dependence.
Samuel Quesada-Ruiz, Jean-Luc Attié, William A. Lahoz, Rachid Abida, Philippe Ricaud, Laaziz El Amraoui, Régina Zbinden, Andrea Piacentini, Mathieu Joly, Henk Eskes, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, Albert Christiaan Plechelmus Oude Nijhuis, Johanna Tamminen, Renske Timmermans, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 131–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-131-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-131-2020, 2020
Swadhin Nanda, Martin de Graaf, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Mark ter Linden, Maarten Sneep, Johan de Haan, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6619–6634, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6619-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6619-2019, 2019
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This paper discusses a neural network forward model used by the operational aerosol layer height (ALH) retrieval algorithm for the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board the European Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite mission. This model replaces online radiative transfer calculations within the oxygen A-band, improving the speed of the algorithm by 3 orders of magnitude. With this advancement in the algorithm's speed, TROPOMI is set to deliver the ALH product operationally.
Jiyunting Sun, Pepijn Veefkind, Swadhin Nanda, Peter van Velthoven, and Pieternel Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6319–6340, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6319-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6319-2019, 2019
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Single scattering albedo (SSA) is critical for reducing uncertainties in radiative forcing assessment. This paper presents two methods to retrieve SSA from satellite observations of the near-UV absorbing aerosol index (UVAI). The first is physically based radiative transfer simulations; the second is a statistically based machine learning algorithm. The result of the latter is encouraging. Both methods show that the ALH is necessary to quantitatively interpret aerosol absorption from UVAI.
Renske Timmermans, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Rachid Abida, Jean-Luc Attié, Laaziz El Amraoui, Henk Eskes, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, William Lahoz, Albert Oude Nijhuis, Samuel Quesada-Ruiz, Philippe Ricaud, Pepijn Veefkind, and Martijn Schaap
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12811–12833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12811-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12811-2019, 2019
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We present an evaluation of the added value of the Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5P missions for air quality analyses of NO2. For this, synthetic observations for both missions are generated and combined with a chemistry transport model. While hourly Sentinel-4 NO2 observations over Europe benefit modelled NO2 analyses throughout the entire day, daily Sentinel-5P NO2 observations with global coverage show an impact up to 3–6 h after overpass. This supports the need for a combination of missions.
Julien Chimot, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Johan F. de Haan, Piet Stammes, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 491–516, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-491-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-491-2019, 2019
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The reference OMI tropospheric NO2 product was reprocessed by new aerosol correction parameters retrieved from the 477 nm O2–O2 band over eastern China and South America for 2 years. These new parameters are from different and separate algorithms, allowing improved use of the 477 nm O2–O2 band. All the tested approaches improve the aerosol correction in the OMI tropospheric NO2 product. We demonstrate the possibility of applying an explicit aerosol correction based on the 477 nm O2–O2 band.
Quintus Kleipool, Antje Ludewig, Ljubiša Babić, Rolf Bartstra, Remco Braak, Werner Dierssen, Pieter-Jan Dewitte, Pepijn Kenter, Robin Landzaat, Jonatan Leloux, Erwin Loots, Peter Meijering, Emiel van der Plas, Nico Rozemeijer, Dinand Schepers, Daniel Schiavini, Joost Smeets, Giuseppe Vacanti, Frank Vonk, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6439–6479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6439-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6439-2018, 2018
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This paper reports on the pre-launch calibration of the TROPOMI instrument on board ESA's Sentinel 5P satellite. This calibration is needed to convert the raw instrument digital data to physical quantities like Earth radiance and Sun irradiance. From these quantities atmospheric properties can be derived. The paper shows that the chosen approach to calibration and analysis was successful and that
the achieved accuracy makes high-quality observations of the Earth's atmosphere feasible.
Jiyunting Sun, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Peter van Velthoven, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5261–5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5261-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5261-2018, 2018
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Near-UV AAI is a qualitative parameter detecting the elevated absorbing aerosol layer. A long-term AAI record of satellite observations has the potential to quantify aerosol absorption on a global scale. Our study presents the possibility of retrieving single-scattering albedo with OMI-measured AAI. The comparison with AERONET is satisfactory and further research will be on how the aerosol wavelength-dependent refractive index and aerosol profile affect the quantification of aerosol absorption.
Swadhin Nanda, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Martin de Graaf, Maarten Sneep, Piet Stammes, Johan F. de Haan, Abram F. J. Sanders, Arnoud Apituley, Olaf Tuinder, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3263–3280, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3263-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3263-2018, 2018
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An approach to estimate the height of aerosol plumes over land from satellite measurements of the oxygen A band is proposed. The method, termed dynamic scaling, forces the retrieval to use spectral points that contain more height information. The method is tested in a synthetic environment as well as with GOME-2A and GOME-2B measurements of wildfire plumes over Europe, with very encouraging results. This method can be easily applied to other aerosol height algorithms using least squares.
Arve Kylling, Sophie Vandenbussche, Virginie Capelle, Juan Cuesta, Lars Klüser, Luca Lelli, Thomas Popp, Kerstin Stebel, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2911–2936, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2911-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2911-2018, 2018
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The aerosol layer height is one of four aerosol parameters which is needed to enhance our understanding of aerosols' role in the climate system. Both active and passive measurement methods may be used to estimate the aerosol layer height. Aerosol height estimates made from passive infrared and solar satellite sensors measurements are compared with satellite-borne lidar estimates. There is considerable variation between the retrieved dust heights and how they compare with the lidar.
Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Thomas Danckaert, Christophe Lerot, Steven Compernolle, Michel Van Roozendael, Andreas Richter, Andreas Hilboll, Enno Peters, Mattia Pedergnana, Diego Loyola, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, Klaas Folkert Boersma, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2395–2426, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, 2018
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This paper introduces the formaldehyde (HCHO) tropospheric vertical column retrieval algorithm implemented in the TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor operational processor, and comprehensively describes its various retrieval steps. Furthermore, algorithmic improvements developed in the framework of the EU FP7-project QA4ECV are described for future updates of the processor. Detailed error estimates are discussed in the light of Copernicus user requirements and needs for validation are highlighted.
Pieternel F. Levelt, Joanna Joiner, Johanna Tamminen, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Pawan K. Bhartia, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Bryan N. Duncan, David G. Streets, Henk Eskes, Ronald van der A, Chris McLinden, Vitali Fioletov, Simon Carn, Jos de Laat, Matthew DeLand, Sergey Marchenko, Richard McPeters, Jerald Ziemke, Dejian Fu, Xiong Liu, Kenneth Pickering, Arnoud Apituley, Gonzalo González Abad, Antti Arola, Folkert Boersma, Christopher Chan Miller, Kelly Chance, Martin de Graaf, Janne Hakkarainen, Seppo Hassinen, Iolanda Ialongo, Quintus Kleipool, Nickolay Krotkov, Can Li, Lok Lamsal, Paul Newman, Caroline Nowlan, Raid Suleiman, Lieuwe Gijsbert Tilstra, Omar Torres, Huiqun Wang, and Krzysztof Wargan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5699–5745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5699-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5699-2018, 2018
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The aim of this paper is to highlight the many successes of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) spanning more than 13 years. Data from OMI have been used in a wide range of applications. Due to its unprecedented spatial resolution, in combination with daily global coverage, OMI plays a unique role in measuring trace gases important for the ozone layer, air quality, and climate change. OMI data continue to be used for new research and applications.
Julien Chimot, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Tim Vlemmix, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2257–2277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2257-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2257-2018, 2018
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Aerosol layer height (ALH) was retrieved from the OMI 477 nm O2–O2 band and its spatial pattern evaluated over selected cloud-free scenes. We used a neural network approach previously trained and developed. Comparison with CALIOP aerosol level 2 products over urban and industrial pollution in east China shows consistent spatial patterns. In addition, we show the possibility to determine the height of thick aerosol layers released by intensive biomass burning events in South America and Russia.
Swadhin Nanda, Martin de Graaf, Maarten Sneep, Johan F. de Haan, Piet Stammes, Abram F. J. Sanders, Olaf Tuinder, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 161–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-161-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-161-2018, 2018
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Estimating aerosol layer height in the atmosphere from satellite data in the oxygen A band (758–770 nm) over land is challenging over land, since the surface is generally very bright in this wavelength region. This paper discusses an interplay between the surface and the atmosphere in their contributions to the top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectrum and the consequent biases obtained while estimating aerosol layer height, using synthetic data and real data from the GOME-2 satellite instrument.
Tim Vlemmix, Xinrui (Jerry) Ge, Bryan T. G. de Goeij, Len F. van der Wal, Gerard C. J. Otter, Piet Stammes, Ping Wang, Alexis Merlaud, Dirk Schüttemeyer, Andreas C. Meier, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2017-257, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2017-257, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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We present a first analysis of UV/VIS spectral measurements obtained with the Spectrolite Breadboard Instrument (developed by TNO, The Netherlands) during the AROMAPEX campaign held in Berlin in April 2016 (campaign supported by ESA and EUFAR). This new sensor was used to measure air pollution in the form of tropospheric NO2 columns. The study focuses specifically on the retrieval of surface reflectances, an important intermediate step towards the final product.
V. M. Erik Schenkeveld, Glen Jaross, Sergey Marchenko, David Haffner, Quintus L. Kleipool, Nico C. Rozemeijer, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1957–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1957-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1957-2017, 2017
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The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) has been flying on NASA’s EOS Aura satellite since July 15, 2004. It has measured the concentration of trace gasses in the atmosphere, like ozone, NO2 and SO2. This article describes the trend in performance and calibration parameters of OMI during 12 years of flight. The degradation of the CCD detectors, solar diffusers, spectral calibration and row anomaly are shown. The instrument shows overall degradation that is better than expected.
Julien Chimot, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Tim Vlemmix, Johan F. de Haan, Vassilis Amiridis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Eleni Marinou, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 783–809, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-783-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-783-2017, 2017
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We have developed artificial neural network algorithms to retrieve aerosol layer height from satellite OMI observations of the 477 nm O2–O2 spectral band. Based on 3-year (2005–2007) cloud-free scenes over north-east Asia, the results show uncertainties of 260–800 m when aerosol optical thickness is larger than 1. These algorithms also enable aerosol optical thickness retrievals by exploring the OMI continuum reflectance. These results may be used for future trace gas retrievals from TROPOMI.
Rachid Abida, Jean-Luc Attié, Laaziz El Amraoui, Philippe Ricaud, William Lahoz, Henk Eskes, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, Albert Oude Nijhuis, Johanna Tamminen, Renske Timmermans, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1081–1103, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1081-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1081-2017, 2017
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A detailed Observing System Simulation Experiment is performed to quantify the impact of future satellite instrument S-5P carbon monoxide (CO) on tropospheric analyses and forecasts. We focus on Europe for the period of northern summer 2003, when there was a severe heat wave episode. S-5P is able to capture the CO from forest fires that occurred in Portugal. Furthermore, our results provide evidence of S-5P CO benefits for monitoring processes contributing to atmospheric pollution.
J. Pepijn Veefkind, Johan F. de Haan, Maarten Sneep, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 6035–6049, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-6035-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-6035-2016, 2016
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The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board the NASA EOS Aura satellite monitors the concentrations of trace gases. The accuracy of such observations relies partly on information on clouds. The OMI OMCLDO2 product derives the cloud fraction and pressure from the observed radiance in the visible. This paper reports on an improved version of this product. Compared to the previous version, the changes in cloud fraction are very small, but the changes in the cloud pressure can be significant.
J. H. G. M. van Geffen, K. F. Boersma, M. Van Roozendael, F. Hendrick, E. Mahieu, I. De Smedt, M. Sneep, and J. P. Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1685–1699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1685-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1685-2015, 2015
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The paper describes improvements to the algorithm for the retrieval of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration from measurements of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), launched on board NASA's EOS-Aura satellite in 2004. With these improvements - updates of the wavelength calibration and the reference spectra - the OMI results are consistent with independent NO2 measurements and the overall quality of the spectral fit is improved considerably.
M. Belmonte Rivas, P. Veefkind, F. Boersma, P. Levelt, H. Eskes, and J. Gille
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2203–2225, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2203-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2203-2014, 2014
A. Määttä, M. Laine, J. Tamminen, and J. P. Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1185–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1185-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1185-2014, 2014
C. A. McLinden, V. Fioletov, K. F. Boersma, S. K. Kharol, N. Krotkov, L. Lamsal, P. A. Makar, R. V. Martin, J. P. Veefkind, and K. Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3637–3656, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3637-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3637-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
The Pyrenean Platform for Observation of the Atmosphere: site, long-term dataset, and science
A novel, balloon-borne UV–Vis spectrometer for direct sun measurements of stratospheric bromine
Design Study for an Airborne N2O Lidar
Stability requirements of satellites to detect long-term stratospheric ozone trends based upon Monte Carlo simulations
Martian column CO2 and pressure measurement with spaceborne differential absorption lidar at 1.96 µm
Offshore methane detection and quantification from space using sun glint measurements with the GHGSat constellation
Novel use of an adapted ultraviolet double monochromator for measurements of global and direct irradiance, ozone, and aerosol
Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) polarization characteristics and correction algorithm
An open-path observatory for greenhouse gases based on near-infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy
Ground-to-UAV, laser-based emissions quantification of methane and acetylene at long standoff distances
A portable reflected-sunlight spectrometer for CO2 and CH4
Open-path measurement of stable water isotopologues using mid-infrared dual-comb spectroscopy
Total column ozone retrieval from a novel array spectroradiometer
Applying machine learning to improve the near-real-time products of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder
The site-specific primary calibration conditions for the Brewer spectrophotometer
Precipitable water vapor retrievals using a ground-based infrared sky camera in subtropical South America
Theoretical assessment of the ability of the MicroCarb satellite city-scan observing mode to estimate urban CO2 emissions
UAV-based sampling systems to analyse greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds encompassing compound-specific stable isotope analysis
Performance and polarization response of slit homogenizers for the GeoCarb mission
Exploring bias in the OCO-3 snapshot area mapping mode via geometry, surface, and aerosol effects
Updated spectral radiance calibration on TIR bands for TANSO-FTS-2 onboard GOSAT-2
Evaluation of the High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) methane retrievals during the summer 2019 ACT-America campaign
Polarization performance simulation for the GeoXO atmospheric composition instrument: NO2 retrieval impacts
The impact of aerosol fluorescence on long-term water vapor monitoring by Raman lidar and evaluation of a potential correction method
Integrated airborne investigation of the air composition over the Russian sector of the Arctic
Measurement of the vertical atmospheric density profile from the X-ray Earth occultation of the Crab Nebula with Insight-HXMT
Quantification and mitigation of the instrument effects and uncertainties of the airborne limb imaging FTIR GLORIA
Improved calibration procedures for the EM27/SUN spectrometers of the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON)
Ground-based Ku-band microwave observations of ozone in the polar middle atmosphere
Traceable total ozone column retrievals from direct solar spectral irradiance measurements in the ultraviolet
Far-ultraviolet airglow remote sensing measurements on Feng Yun 3-D meteorological satellite
The NO2 camera based on gas correlation spectroscopy
Total water vapour columns derived from Sentinel 5P using the AMC-DOAS method
Mobile and high-spectral-resolution Fabry–Pérot interferometer spectrographs for atmospheric remote sensing
Diurnal variability of stratospheric column NO2 measured using direct solar and lunar spectra over Table Mountain, California (34.38° N)
The “ideal” spectrograph for atmospheric observations
Differential absorption lidar for water vapor isotopologues in the 1.98 µm spectral region: sensitivity analysis with respect to regional atmospheric variability
Atmospheric carbon dioxide measurement from aircraft and comparison with OCO-2 and CarbonTracker model data
Long-term column-averaged greenhouse gas observations using a COCCON spectrometer at the high-surface-albedo site in Gobabeb, Namibia
A fully automated Dobson sun spectrophotometer for total column ozone and Umkehr measurements
Slit homogenizer introduced performance gain analysis based on the Sentinel-5/UVNS spectrometer
On the capability of the future ALTIUS ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared limb sounder to constrain modelled stratospheric ozone
MicroPulse DIAL (MPD) – a diode-laser-based lidar architecture for quantitative atmospheric profiling
A multi-purpose, multi-rotor drone system for long-range and high-altitude volcanic gas plume measurements
Tropospheric NO2 measurements using a three-wavelength optical parametric oscillator differential absorption lidar
Spectral calibration of the MethaneAIR instrument
The design and development of a tuneable and portable radiation source for in situ spectrometer characterisation
Performance of an open-path near-infrared measurement system for measurements of CO2 and CH4 during extended field trials
Determination of the emission rates of CO2 point sources with airborne lidar
The GHGSat-D imaging spectrometer
Marie Lothon, François Gheusi, Fabienne Lohou, Véronique Pont, Serge Soula, Corinne Jambert, Solène Derrien, Yannick Bezombes, Emmanuel Leclerc, Gilles Athier, Antoine Vial, Alban Philibert, Bernard Campistron, Frédérique Saïd, Jeroen Sonke, Julien Amestoy, Erwan Bargain, Pierre Bosser, Damien Boulanger, Guillaume Bret, Renaud Bodichon, Laurent Cabanas, Guylaine Canut, Jean-Bernard Estrampes, Eric Gardrat, Zaida Gomez Kuri, Jérémy Gueffier, Fabienne Guesdon, Morgan Lopez, Olivier Masson, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Yves Meyerfeld, Nicolas Pascal, Eric Pique, Michel Ramonet, Felix Starck, and Romain Vidal
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6265–6300, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6265-2024, 2024
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The Pyrenean Platform for Observation of the Atmosphere (P2OA) is a coupled plain–mountain instrumented platform in southwestern France for the monitoring of climate variables and the study of meteorological processes in a mountainous region. A comprehensive description of this platform is presented for the first time: its instrumentation, the associated dataset, and a meteorological characterization the site. The potential of the P2OA is illustrated through several examples of process studies.
Karolin Voss, Philip Holzbeck, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Ralph Kleinschek, Gerald Wetzel, Blanca Fuentes Andrade, Michael Höpfner, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4507–4528, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, 2024
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A novel balloon-borne instrument for direct sun and solar occultation measurements of several UV–Vis absorbing gases (e.g. O3, NO2, BrO, IO, and HONO) is described. Its major design features and performance during two stratospheric deployments are discussed. From the measured overhead BrO concentration and a suitable photochemical correction, total stratospheric bromine is inferred to (17.5 ± 2.2) ppt in air masses which entered the stratosphere around early 2017 ± 1 year.
Christoph Kiemle, Andreas Fix, Christian Fruck, Gerhard Ehret, and Martin Wirth
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2084, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2084, 2024
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Nitrous oxide is the third most important greenhouse gas modified by human activities after carbon dioxide and methane. This study examines the feasibility of airborne differential absorption lidar to quantify emissions from agriculture, fossil fuel combustion, industry and biomass burning. Simulations show that a technically realizable and affordable mid-infrared lidar system will be able to measure the nitrous oxide column concentration beneath the aircraft with sufficient precision.
Mark Weber
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3597–3604, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3597-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3597-2024, 2024
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We investigate how stable the performance of a satellite instrument has to be to be useful for assessing long-term trends in stratospheric ozone. The stability of an instrument is specified in percent per decade and is also called instrument drift. Instrument drifts add to uncertainties of long-term trends. From simulated time series of ozone based on the Monte Carlo approach, we determine stability requirements that are needed to achieve the desired long-term trend uncertainty.
Zhaoyan Liu, Bing Lin, Joel F. Campbell, Jirong Yu, Jihong Geng, and Shibin Jiang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2977–2990, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2977-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2977-2024, 2024
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We introduce a concept utilizing a differential absorption barometric lidar operating within the 1.96 µm CO2 absorption band. Our focus is on a compact lidar configuration, featuring reduced telescope size and lower laser pulse energies towards minimizing costs for potential forthcoming Mars missions. The core measurement objectives encompass the determination of column CO2 absorption optical depth and abundance, surface air pressure, and vertical distributions of dust and cloud layers.
Jean-Philippe W. MacLean, Marianne Girard, Dylan Jervis, David Marshall, Jason McKeever, Antoine Ramier, Mathias Strupler, Ewan Tarrant, and David Young
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 863–874, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-863-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-863-2024, 2024
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We demonstrate the capabilities of the GHGSat satellite constellation to detect and quantify offshore methane emissions using a sun glint observation mode. Using this technique, we observe offshore methane emissions from space ranging from 180 kg h−1 to 84 000 kg h−1. We further assess the instrument performance in offshore environments, both empirically and using analytical modelling, and find that the detection limit varies with latitude and season.
Alexander Geddes, Ben Liley, Richard McKenzie, Michael Kotkamp, and Richard Querel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 827–838, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-827-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-827-2024, 2024
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In this paper we describe a unique spectrometer that has been developed and tested over 10 years at Lauder, New Zealand. The spectrometer in question, UV2, makes alternating measurements of global UV and direct sun UV irradiance. After an assessment of the instrument performance, we compare the ozone and aerosol optical depth derived from UV2 to other independent measurements, finding excellent agreement suggesting that UV2 could supersede these measurements, particularly for ozone.
Haklim Choi, Xiong Liu, Ukkyo Jeong, Heesung Chong, Jhoon Kim, Myung Hwan Ahn, Dai Ho Ko, Dong-Won Lee, Kyung-Jung Moon, and Kwang-Mog Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 145–164, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-145-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-145-2024, 2024
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GEMS is the first geostationary satellite to measure the UV--Vis region, and this paper reports the polarization characteristics of GEMS and an algorithm. We develop a polarization correction algorithm optimized for GEMS based on a look-up-table approach that simultaneously considers the polarization of incoming light and polarization sensitivity characteristics of the instrument. Pre-launch polarization error was adjusted close to zero across the spectral range after polarization correction.
Tobias D. Schmitt, Jonas Kuhn, Ralph Kleinschek, Benedikt A. Löw, Stefan Schmitt, William Cranton, Martina Schmidt, Sanam N. Vardag, Frank Hase, David W. T. Griffith, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 6097–6110, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6097-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6097-2023, 2023
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Our new observatory measures greenhouse gas concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) along a 1.55 km long light path over the city of Heidelberg, Germany. We compared our measurements with measurements that were taken at a single point at one end of our path. The two mostly agreed but show a significant difference for CO2 with certain wind directions. This is important when using greenhouse gas concentration measurements to observe greenhouse gas emissions of cities.
Kevin C. Cossel, Eleanor M. Waxman, Eli Hoenig, Daniel Hesselius, Christopher Chaote, Ian Coddington, and Nathan R. Newbury
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5697–5707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5697-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5697-2023, 2023
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Measurements of the emission rate of a gas or gases from point and area sources are important in a range of monitoring applications. We demonstrate a method for rapid quantification of the emission rate of multiple gases using a spatially scannable open-path sensor. The open-path spectrometer measures the total column density of gases between the spectrometer and a retroreflector mounted on an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV). By scanning the UAV altitude, we can determine the total gas emissions.
Benedikt A. Löw, Ralph Kleinschek, Vincent Enders, Stanley P. Sander, Thomas J. Pongetti, Tobias D. Schmitt, Frank Hase, Julian Kostinek, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5125–5144, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5125-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5125-2023, 2023
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We developed a portable spectrometer (EM27/SCA) that remotely measures greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere above a target region. The measurements can deliver insights into local emission patterns. To evaluate its performance, we set up the EM27/SCA above the Los Angeles Basin side by side with a similar non-portable instrument (CLARS-FTS). The precision is promising and the measurements are consistent with CLARS-FTS. In the future, we need to account for light scattering.
Daniel I. Herman, Griffin Mead, Fabrizio R. Giorgetta, Esther Baumann, Nathan A. Malarich, Brian R. Washburn, Nathan R. Newbury, Ian Coddington, and Kevin C. Cossel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4053–4066, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4053-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4053-2023, 2023
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Measurements of the isotope ratio of water vapor provide information about the sources and history of water vapor at a given location, which can be used to understand the impacts of climate change on global water use. Here, we demonstrate a new method for measuring isotope ratios over long open-air paths, which can reduce sampling bias and provide more spatial averaging than standard point sensor methods. We show that this new technique has high sensitivity and accuracy.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Herbert Schill, and Eliane Maillard Barras
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2889–2902, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, 2023
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This paper introduces a new method to retrieve total column ozone with spectral ground-based measurements from a novel array spectroradiometer. Total column ozone estimates using the small, cost-effective, and robust instrument and the new retrieval method are compared with other co-located total column ozone instruments. The comparison shows that the new system performs similarly to other well-established instruments, which require substantially more maintenance than the system introduced here.
Frank Werner, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Luis F. Millán, William G. Read, Michael J. Schwartz, Paul A. Wagner, William H. Daffer, Alyn Lambert, Sasha N. Tolstoff, and Michelle L. Santee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2733–2751, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2733-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2733-2023, 2023
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The algorithm that produces the near-real-time data products of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder has been updated. The new algorithm is based on machine learning techniques and yields data products with much improved accuracy. It is shown that the new algorithm outperforms the previous versions, even when it is trained on only a few years of satellite observations. This confirms the potential of applying machine learning to the near-real-time efforts of other current and future mission concepts.
Xiaoyi Zhao, Vitali Fioletov, Alberto Redondas, Julian Gröbner, Luca Egli, Franz Zeilinger, Javier López-Solano, Alberto Berjón Arroyo, James Kerr, Eliane Maillard Barras, Herman Smit, Michael Brohart, Reno Sit, Akira Ogyu, Ihab Abboud, and Sum Chi Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2273–2295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, 2023
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The Brewer ozone spectrophotometer is one of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)'s standard ozone monitoring instruments since the 1980s. This work is aimed at obtaining answers to (1) why Brewer primary calibration work can only be performed at certain sites (e.g., Izaña and MLO) and (2) what is needed to assure the equivalence of calibration quality from different sites.
Elion Daniel Hack, Theotonio Pauliquevis, Henrique Melo Jorge Barbosa, Marcia Akemi Yamasoe, Dimitri Klebe, and Alexandre Lima Correia
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1263–1278, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1263-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1263-2023, 2023
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Water vapor is a key factor when seeking to understand fast-changing processes when clouds and storms form and develop. We show here how images from a calibrated infrared camera can be used to derive how much water vapor there is in the atmosphere at a given time. Comparing our results to an established technique, for a case of stable atmospheric conditions, we found an agreement within 2.8 %. Water vapor sky maps can be retrieved every few minutes, day or night, under partly cloudy skies.
Kai Wu, Paul I. Palmer, Dien Wu, Denis Jouglet, Liang Feng, and Tom Oda
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 581–602, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-581-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-581-2023, 2023
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We evaluate the theoretical ability of the upcoming MicroCarb satellite to estimate urban CO2 emissions over Paris and London. We explore the relative performance of alternative two-sweep and three-sweep city observing modes and take into account the impacts of cloud cover and urban biological CO2 fluxes. Our results find both the two-sweep and three-sweep observing modes are able to reduce prior flux errors by 20 %–40 % depending on the prevailing wind direction and cloud coverage.
Simon Leitner, Wendelin Feichtinger, Stefan Mayer, Florian Mayer, Dustin Krompetz, Rebecca Hood-Nowotny, and Andrea Watzinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 513–527, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-513-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-513-2023, 2023
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An increased social environmental awareness requires the monitoring of greenhouse gases (GHGs). We report on the development of two sampling devices (which can be mounted to a drone) and the subsequent measurement setup to analyse these gases. The functionality of the presented system was tested in the field, and the results emphasised the functionality of the sampling and measurement setup, demonstrating that it is a viable tool for monitoring GHGs and identifying their emission sources.
Sean Crowell, Tobias Haist, Michael Tscherpel, Jérôme Caron, Eric Burgh, and Berrien Moore III
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 195–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-195-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-195-2023, 2023
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Variations in brightness in radiance measurements cause errors that can be mitigated with hardware that scrambles the pattern of the incoming light. GeoCarb took this route to minimize this source of errors, but lab testing determined that the solution chosen was too sensitive to the the polarization of the incoming light. Modeling found that this was a predictable result of using gold coatings in the design, which is typical of spaceflight optical instruments.
Emily Bell, Christopher W. O'Dell, Thomas E. Taylor, Aronne Merrelli, Robert R. Nelson, Matthäus Kiel, Annmarie Eldering, Robert Rosenberg, and Brendan Fisher
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 109–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-109-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-109-2023, 2023
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A small percentage of data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) instrument has been shown to have a geometry-related bias in the earliest public data release. This work shows that the bias is due to a complex interplay of aerosols and viewing geometry and is largely mitigated in the latest data version through improved bias correction and quality filtering.
Hiroshi Suto, Fumie Kataoka, Robert O. Knuteson, Kei Shiomi, Nobuhiro Kikuchi, and Akihiko Kuze
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5399–5413, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5399-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5399-2022, 2022
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TANSO-FTS-2 onboard GOSAT-2 has operated nominally since February 2019, and the atmospheric radiance spectra it has acquired have been released to the public. This paper describes an updated model for spectral radiance calibration of TIR and its validation. The multi-satellite sensor and multi-angle comparison results suggest that the spectral radiance for TANSO-FTS-2 TIR, version v210210, is superior to that of the previous version in its consistency of multi-satellite sensor data.
Rory A. Barton-Grimley, Amin R. Nehrir, Susan A. Kooi, James E. Collins, David B. Harper, Anthony Notari, Joseph Lee, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, and Kenneth J. Davis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4623–4650, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4623-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4623-2022, 2022
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HALO is a multi-functional lidar that measures CH4 columns and profiles of H2O mixing ratio and aerosol/cloud optical properties. HALO supports carbon cycle, weather dynamics, and radiation science suborbital research and is a technology testbed for future space-based differential absorption lidar missions. In 2019 HALO collected CH4 columns and aerosol/cloud profiles during the ACT-America campaign. Here we assess HALO's CH4 accuracy and precision compared to co-located in situ observations.
Aaron Pearlman, Monica Cook, Boryana Efremova, Francis Padula, Lok Lamsal, Joel McCorkel, and Joanna Joiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4489–4501, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4489-2022, 2022
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NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) constellation is planned to consist of an atmospheric composition instrument (ACX) to support air quality forecasting and monitoring. As design trade-offs are being studied, we investigated one parameter, the polarization sensitivity, which has yet to be fully documented for NO2 retrievals. Our simulation study explores these impacts to inform the ACX’s development and better understand polarization’s role in trace gas retrievals.
Fernando Chouza, Thierry Leblanc, Mark Brewer, Patrick Wang, Giovanni Martucci, Alexander Haefele, Hélène Vérèmes, Valentin Duflot, Guillaume Payen, and Philippe Keckhut
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4241–4256, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4241-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4241-2022, 2022
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The comparison of water vapor lidar measurements with co-located radiosondes and aerosol backscatter profiles indicates that laser-induced aerosol fluorescence in smoke layers injected into the stratosphere can introduce very large and chronic wet biases above 15 km, thus impacting the ability of these systems to accurately estimate long-term water vapor trends. The proposed correction method presented in this work is able to reduce this fluorescence-induced bias from 75 % to under 5 %.
Boris D. Belan, Gerard Ancellet, Irina S. Andreeva, Pavel N. Antokhin, Viktoria G. Arshinova, Mikhail Y. Arshinov, Yurii S. Balin, Vladimir E. Barsuk, Sergei B. Belan, Dmitry G. Chernov, Denis K. Davydov, Alexander V. Fofonov, Georgii A. Ivlev, Sergei N. Kotel'nikov, Alexander S. Kozlov, Artem V. Kozlov, Katharine Law, Andrey V. Mikhal'chishin, Igor A. Moseikin, Sergei V. Nasonov, Philippe Nédélec, Olesya V. Okhlopkova, Sergei E. Ol'kin, Mikhail V. Panchenko, Jean-Daniel Paris, Iogannes E. Penner, Igor V. Ptashnik, Tatyana M. Rasskazchikova, Irina K. Reznikova, Oleg A. Romanovskii, Alexander S. Safatov, Denis E. Savkin, Denis V. Simonenkov, Tatyana K. Sklyadneva, Gennadii N. Tolmachev, Semyon V. Yakovlev, and Polina N. Zenkova
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3941–3967, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3941-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3941-2022, 2022
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The change of the global climate is most pronounced in the Arctic, where the air temperature increases faster than the global average. This is associated with an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is important to study how the air composition in the Arctic changes in the changing climate. Thus this integrated experiment was carried out to measure the composition of the troposphere in the Russian sector of the Arctic from on board the aircraft laboratory.
Daochun Yu, Haitao Li, Baoquan Li, Mingyu Ge, Youli Tuo, Xiaobo Li, Wangchen Xue, Yaning Liu, Aoying Wang, Yajun Zhu, and Bingxian Luo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3141–3159, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3141-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3141-2022, 2022
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In this work, the measurement of vertical atmospheric density profiles using X-ray Earth occultation is investigated. The Earth’s density profile for the lower thermosphere is obtained with Insight-HXMT. It is shown that the Insight-HXMT X-ray satellite of China can be used as an X-ray atmospheric diagnostics instrument for the upper atmosphere. The Insight-HXMT satellite can, with other X-ray astronomical satellites in orbit, form a network for X-ray Earth occultation sounding in the future.
Jörn Ungermann, Anne Kleinert, Guido Maucher, Irene Bartolomé, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Sören Johansson, Lukas Krasauskas, and Tom Neubert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2503–2530, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2503-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2503-2022, 2022
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GLORIA is a 2-D infrared imaging spectrometer operated on two high-flying research aircraft. This paper details our instrument calibration and characterization efforts, which in particular leverage in-flight data almost exclusively and often exploit the novel 2-D nature of the measurements. We show that the instrument surpasses the original instrument specifications and conclude by analyzing how the derived errors affect temperature and ozone retrievals, two of our main derived quantities.
Carlos Alberti, Frank Hase, Matthias Frey, Darko Dubravica, Thomas Blumenstock, Angelika Dehn, Paolo Castracane, Gregor Surawicz, Roland Harig, Bianca C. Baier, Caroline Bès, Jianrong Bi, Hartmut Boesch, André Butz, Zhaonan Cai, Jia Chen, Sean M. Crowell, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Dragos Ene, Jonathan E. Franklin, Omaira García, David Griffith, Bruno Grouiez, Michel Grutter, Abdelhamid Hamdouni, Sander Houweling, Neil Humpage, Nicole Jacobs, Sujong Jeong, Lilian Joly, Nicholas B. Jones, Denis Jouglet, Rigel Kivi, Ralph Kleinschek, Morgan Lopez, Diogo J. Medeiros, Isamu Morino, Nasrin Mostafavipak, Astrid Müller, Hirofumi Ohyama, Paul I. Palmer, Mahesh Pathakoti, David F. Pollard, Uwe Raffalski, Michel Ramonet, Robbie Ramsay, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Kei Shiomi, William Simpson, Wolfgang Stremme, Youwen Sun, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Yao Té, Gizaw Mengistu Tsidu, Voltaire A. Velazco, Felix Vogel, Masataka Watanabe, Chong Wei, Debra Wunch, Marcia Yamasoe, Lu Zhang, and Johannes Orphal
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2433–2463, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2433-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2433-2022, 2022
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Space-borne greenhouse gas missions require ground-based validation networks capable of providing fiducial reference measurements. Here, considerable refinements of the calibration procedures for the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON) are presented. Laboratory and solar side-by-side procedures for the characterization of the spectrometers have been refined and extended. Revised calibration factors for XCO2, XCO and XCH4 are provided, incorporating 47 new spectrometers.
David A. Newnham, Mark A. Clilverd, William D. J. Clark, Michael Kosch, Pekka T. Verronen, and Alan E. E. Rogers
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2361–2376, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2361-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2361-2022, 2022
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Ozone (O3) is an important trace gas in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), affecting heating rates and chemistry. O3 profiles measured by the Ny-Ålesund Ozone in the Mesosphere Instrument agree with Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) for winter night-time, but autumn twilight SABER abundances are up to 50 % higher. O3 abundances in the MLT from two different SABER channels also show significant differences for both autumn twilight and summer daytime.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Gregor Hülsen, Herbert Schill, and René Stübi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1917–1930, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, 2022
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This study presents traceable total column ozone retrievals from direct solar spectral irradiance measurements. The retrieved ozone does not require any field calibration with a reference instrument as it is required for other operational network instruments such as Brewer or Dobson. Total column ozone can be retrieved with a traceable overall standard uncertainty of less than 0.8 % indicating a benchmark uncertainty for total column ozone measurements.
Yungang Wang, Liping Fu, Fang Jiang, Xiuqing Hu, Chengbao Liu, Xiaoxin Zhang, Jiawei Li, Zhipeng Ren, Fei He, Lingfeng Sun, Ling Sun, Zhongdong Yang, Peng Zhang, Jingsong Wang, and Tian Mao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1577–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1577-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1577-2022, 2022
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Far-ultraviolet (FUV) airglow radiation is particularly well suited for space-based remote sensing. The Ionospheric Photometer (IPM) instrument carried aboard the Feng Yun 3-D satellite measures the spectral radiance of the Earth FUV airglow. IPM is a tiny, highly sensitive, and robust remote sensing instrument. Initial results demonstrate that the performance of IPM meets the designed requirement and therefore can be used to study the thermosphere and ionosphere in the future.
Leon Kuhn, Jonas Kuhn, Thomas Wagner, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1395–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1395-2022, 2022
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We present a novel instrument for imaging measurements of NO2 with high spatiotemporal resolution based on gas correlation spectroscopy, called the GCS NO2 camera. The instrument works by placing two gas cells (cuvettes) in front of two photosensor arrays, one filled with air and one filled with a high concentration of NO2, acting as a non-dispersive spectral filter. NO2 images are then generated on the basis of the signal ratio of the two channels in the spectral region of 430–445 nm.
Tobias Küchler, Stefan Noël, Heinrich Bovensmann, John Philip Burrows, Thomas Wagner, Christian Borger, Tobias Borsdorff, and Andreas Schneider
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 297–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-297-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-297-2022, 2022
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We applied the air-mass-corrected differential optical absorption spectroscopy (AMC-DOAS) method to derive total column water vapour (TCWV) from Sentinel-5P measurements and compared it to independent data sets. The correlation coefficients of typically more than 0.9 and the small deviations up to 2.5 kg m−2 reveal good agreement between our data product and other TCWV data sets. In particular for the different Sentinel-5P water vapour products, the deviations are around 1 kg m−2.
Jonas Kuhn, Nicole Bobrowski, Thomas Wagner, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7873–7892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7873-2021, 2021
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We propose spectrograph implementations using Fabry–Pérot interferometers for atmospheric trace gas remote sensing. Compared with widely used grating spectrographs, we find substantial light throughput and mobility advantages for high resolving powers. Besides lowering detection limits and increasing the spatial and temporal resolution of many atmospheric trace gas measurements, this approach might enable remote sensing of further important gases such as tropospheric OH radicals.
King-Fai Li, Ryan Khoury, Thomas J. Pongetti, Stanley P. Sander, Franklin P. Mills, and Yuk L. Yung
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7495–7510, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7495-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7495-2021, 2021
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays a dominant role in the stratospheric ozone-destroying catalytic cycle. We have retrieved the diurnal cycle of NO2 over Table Mountain in Southern California, USA, during a week in October 2018. Under clean conditions, we are able to predict the diurnal cycle using standard photochemistry. On a day with significant pollution, we see the effect of NO2 sources in the nearby Los Angeles Basin.
Ulrich Platt, Thomas Wagner, Jonas Kuhn, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6867–6883, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6867-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6867-2021, 2021
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Absorption spectroscopy of scattered sunlight is extremely useful for the analysis of atmospheric trace gas distributions. A central parameter for the achievable sensitivity of spectroscopic instruments is the light throughput, which can be enhanced in a number of ways. We present new ideas and considerations of how instruments could be optimized. Particular emphasis is on arrays of massively parallel instruments. Such arrays can reduce the size and weight of instruments by orders of magnitude.
Jonas Hamperl, Clément Capitaine, Jean-Baptiste Dherbecourt, Myriam Raybaut, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Bruno Grouiez, Laurence Régalia, Rosa Santagata, Corinne Evesque, Jean-Michel Melkonian, Antoine Godard, Andrew Seidl, Harald Sodemann, and Cyrille Flamant
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6675–6693, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6675-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6675-2021, 2021
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Laser active remote sensing of tropospheric water vapor is a promising technology for enhancing our understanding of processes governing the global hydrological cycle. We investigate the potential of a ground-based lidar to monitor the main water vapor isotopes at high spatio-temporal resolutions in the lower troposphere. Using a realistic end-to-end simulator, we show that high-precision measurements can be achieved within a range of 1.5 km, in mid-latitude or tropical environments.
Qin Wang, Farhan Mustafa, Lingbing Bu, Shouzheng Zhu, Jiqiao Liu, and Weibiao Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6601–6617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6601-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6601-2021, 2021
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In this work, an airborne experiment was carried out to validate a newly developed CO2 monitoring IPDA lidar against the in situ measurements obtained from a commercial CO2 monitoring instrument installed on an aircraft. The XCO2 values calculated with the IPDA lidar measurements were compared with the dry-air CO2 mole fraction measurements obtained from the in situ instruments, and the results showed a good agreement between the two datasets.
Matthias M. Frey, Frank Hase, Thomas Blumenstock, Darko Dubravica, Jochen Groß, Frank Göttsche, Martin Handjaba, Petrus Amadhila, Roland Mushi, Isamu Morino, Kei Shiomi, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Martine de Mazière, and David F. Pollard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5887–5911, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5887-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5887-2021, 2021
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In this study, we present measurements of carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide from a recently established site in Gobabeb, Namibia. Gobabeb is the first site observing these gases on the African mainland and improves the global coverage of measurement sites. Gobabeb is a hyperarid desert site, offering unique characteristics. Measurements started 2015 as part of the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network. We compare our results with other datasets and find a good agreement.
René Stübi, Herbert Schill, Jörg Klausen, Eliane Maillard Barras, and Alexander Haefele
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5757–5769, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5757-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5757-2021, 2021
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In the first half of the 20th century, Prof. Dobson developed an instrument to measure the ozone column. Around 50 of these Dobson instruments, manufactured in the second half of the 20th century, are still used today to monitor the state of the ozone layer. Started in 1926, the Arosa series was, until recently, based on manually operated Dobsons. To ensure its future operation, a fully automated version of the Dobson has been developed. This well-working automated system is described here.
Timon Hummel, Christian Meister, Corneli Keim, Jasper Krauser, and Mark Wenig
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5459–5472, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5459-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5459-2021, 2021
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The impact of heterogeneous scene radiance affects the quality of trace gas retrieval products of Earth observation imaging spectrometers. This effect can be mitigated by introducing on-board hardware solutions called slit homogenizers, which scramble the light entering the instrument and thereby make it insensitive to Earth scene contrast. Here we present a comprehensive modeling of the slit homogenizer present in the Sentinel-5/UVNS instrument and quantify the spectral performance.
Quentin Errera, Emmanuel Dekemper, Noel Baker, Jonas Debosscher, Philippe Demoulin, Nina Mateshvili, Didier Pieroux, Filip Vanhellemont, and Didier Fussen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4737–4753, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4737-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4737-2021, 2021
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ALTIUS is a micro-satellite which will measure the distribution of the ozone layer. Micro-satellites are intended to be cost-effective, but does this make the ALTIUS measurements any less valuable? To answer this, we simulated ALTIUS data and measured how it could constrain a model of the ozone layer; we then compared these results with those obtained from the state-of-the-art NASA Aura MLS satellite ozone measurements. The outcome shows us that the ALTIUS
budgetinstrument is indeed valuable.
Scott M. Spuler, Matthew Hayman, Robert A. Stillwell, Joshua Carnes, Todd Bernatsky, and Kevin S. Repasky
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4593–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4593-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4593-2021, 2021
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Continuous water vapor and temperature profiles are critically needed for improved understanding of the lower atmosphere and potential advances in weather forecasting skill. To address this observation need, an active remote sensing technology based on a diode-laser-based lidar architecture is being developed. We discuss the details of the lidar architecture and analyze how it addresses a national-scale profiling network's need to provide continuous thermodynamic observations.
Bo Galle, Santiago Arellano, Nicole Bobrowski, Vladimir Conde, Tobias P. Fischer, Gustav Gerdes, Alexandra Gutmann, Thorsten Hoffmann, Ima Itikarai, Tomas Krejci, Emma J. Liu, Kila Mulina, Scott Nowicki, Tom Richardson, Julian Rüdiger, Kieran Wood, and Jiazhi Xu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4255–4277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4255-2021, 2021
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Measurements of volcanic gases are important for geophysical research, risk assessment and environmental impact studies. Some gases, like SO2 and BrO, may be studied from the ground at a safe distance using remote sensing techniques. Many other gases require in situ access to the gas plume. Here, a drone may be an attractive alternative. This paper describes a drone specially adapted for volcanic gas studies and demonstrates its use in a field campaign at Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea.
Jia Su, M. Patrick McCormick, Matthew S. Johnson, John T. Sullivan, Michael J. Newchurch, Timothy A. Berkoff, Shi Kuang, and Guillaume P. Gronoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4069–4082, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4069-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4069-2021, 2021
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A new technique using a three-wavelength differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique based on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) laser is proposed to obtain more accurate measurements of NO2. The retrieval uncertainties in aerosol extinction using the three-wavelength DIAL technique are reduced to less than 2 % of those when using the two-wavelength DIAL technique. Hampton University (HU) lidar NO2 profiles are compared with simulated data from the WRF-Chem model, and they agree well.
Carly Staebell, Kang Sun, Jenna Samra, Jonathan Franklin, Christopher Chan Miller, Xiong Liu, Eamon Conway, Kelly Chance, Scott Milligan, and Steven Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3737–3753, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3737-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3737-2021, 2021
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Given the high global warming potential of CH4, the identification and subsequent reduction of anthropogenic CH4 emissions presents a significant opportunity for climate change mitigation. Satellites are an integral piece of this puzzle, providing data to quantify emissions at a variety of spatial scales. This work presents the spectral calibration of MethaneAIR, the airborne instrument used as a test bed for the forthcoming MethaneSAT satellite.
Marek Šmíd, Geiland Porrovecchio, Jiří Tesař, Tim Burnitt, Luca Egli, Julian Grőbner, Petr Linduška, and Martin Staněk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3573–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, 2021
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We designed and developed a tuneable and portable radiation source (TuPS) to provide a reference wavelength scale, with a bandwidth of emitted radiation of 0.13 nm and uncertainty in wavelength of 0.02 nm. TuPS was successfully used for the in-field characterization of 14 Dobson spectrophotometers in campaigns in Europe. The line spread functions of Dobsons measured by TuPS in conjunction with the cross-sections from IUP improves the consistency between the Dobson and Brewer from 3 % to 1 %.
Nicholas M. Deutscher, Travis A. Naylor, Christopher G. R. Caldow, Hamish L. McDougall, Alex G. Carter, and David W. T. Griffith
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3119–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3119-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3119-2021, 2021
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This work describes the performance of an open-path measurement system for greenhouse gases in an extended field trial. The instrument obtained measurement repeatability of 0.1 % or better for CO2 and CH4 measurements over a 1.55 km one-way pathway. Comparison to co-located in situ measurements allows characterisation of biases relative to global reference scales. The research was done to show the applicability of the technique and its ability to detect atmospheric-relevant sources and sinks.
Sebastian Wolff, Gerhard Ehret, Christoph Kiemle, Axel Amediek, Mathieu Quatrevalet, Martin Wirth, and Andreas Fix
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2717–2736, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2717-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2717-2021, 2021
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We report on CO2 emissions of a coal-fired power plant derived from flight measurements performed with the IPDA lidar CHARM-F during the CoMet campaign in spring 2018. Despite the results being in broad agreement with reported emissions, we observe strong variations between successive flyovers. Using a high-resolution large eddy simulation, we identify strong atmospheric turbulence as the cause for the variations and recommend more favorable measurement conditions for future campaign planning.
Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Berke O. A. Durak, James J. Sloan, David Gains, Daniel J. Varon, Antoine Ramier, Mathias Strupler, and Ewan Tarrant
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2127–2140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, 2021
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We describe how the GHGSat-D demonstration satellite is designed and operated in order to measure greenhouse gas emissions from different types of industrial facilities. The distinguishing features of GHGSat-D, or
Claire, are its compact size (< 15 kg) and high spatial resolution (< 50 m). We give a mathematical model of the instrument and describe the techniques used to infer a methane concentration from a measurement of the sunlight that has reflected off the Earth's surface.
Cited articles
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Short summary
After the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite launch on 13 October 2017, its single payload, the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), was tested and calibrated extensively. Changes due to ageing of the instrument and new insights have led to updates to the L1b processor and its calibration key data, leading to improvements of the data quality. Regularly scheduled calibration measurements are used in the nominal operations phase (since 30 April 2018) to correct instrument degradation.
After the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite launch on 13 October 2017, its single payload, the...