Articles | Volume 15, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6949-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-15-6949-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
02 Dec 2022
Research article |
| 02 Dec 2022
| 02 Dec 2022
Assessing the consistency of satellite-derived upper tropospheric humidity measurements
Lei Shi
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
NOAA NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Asheville, NC, USA
Carl J. Schreck III
Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS), North Carolina State University, Asheville, NC, USA
Viju O. John
EUMETSAT and Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
Eui-Seok Chung
Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, South Korea
Theresa Lang
Meteorological Institute, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany
Stefan A. Buehler
Meteorological Institute, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Brian J. Soden
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
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Ákos Horváth, James L. Carr, Olga A. Girina, Dong L. Wu, Alexey A. Bril, Alexey A. Mazurov, Dmitry V. Melnikov, Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, and Stefan A. Buehler
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Ákos Horváth, Olga A. Girina, James L. Carr, Dong L. Wu, Alexey A. Bril, Alexey A. Mazurov, Dmitry V. Melnikov, Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12207–12226, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12207-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12207-2021, 2021
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We demonstrate the side view plume height estimation technique described in Part 1 on seven volcanic eruptions from 2019 and 2020, including the 2019 Raikoke eruption. We explore the strengths and limitations of the new technique in comparison to height estimation from brightness temperatures, stereo observations, and ground-based video footage.
Simon Pfreundschuh, Patrick Eriksson, Stefan A. Buehler, Manfred Brath, David Duncan, Richard Larsson, and Robin Ekelund
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4219–4245, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4219-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4219-2020, 2020
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Manfred Brath, Robin Ekelund, Patrick Eriksson, Oliver Lemke, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2309–2333, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2309-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2309-2020, 2020
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Freek Liefhebber, Sarah Lammens, Paul W. G. Brussee, André Bos, Viju O. John, Frank Rüthrich, Jacobus Onderwaater, Michael G. Grant, and Jörg Schulz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1167–1179, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1167-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1167-2020, 2020
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Patrick Eriksson, Bengt Rydberg, Vinia Mattioli, Anke Thoss, Christophe Accadia, Ulf Klein, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 53–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-53-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-53-2020, 2020
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Jörg Burdanowitz, Stefan A. Buehler, Stephan Bakan, and Christian Klepp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9241–9252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9241-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9241-2019, 2019
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Patrick Eriksson, Robin Ekelund, Jana Mendrok, Manfred Brath, Oliver Lemke, and Stefan A. Buehler
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1301–1326, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1301-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1301-2018, 2018
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Verena Grützun, Stefan A. Buehler, Lukas Kluft, Jana Mendrok, Manfred Brath, and Patrick Eriksson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4217–4237, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4217-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4217-2018, 2018
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The global observation of ice clouds is crucial because they are important factors in the climate system but still are amongst the greatest uncertainties for estimating the Earth's energy budget in a changing climate. However, reliable global long-term measurements are scarce. Using atmospheric model data from the ICON model in combination with the radiative transfer simulator ARTS we explore the potential of passive millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength measurements to fill that gap.
Martin Burgdorf, Imke Hans, Marc Prange, Theresa Lang, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4005–4014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4005-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4005-2018, 2018
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We analysed observations of the Moon with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B on the NOAA-16 satellite in order to search for bias in the sounding channels. Significant bias had been detected in the past on the basis of simultaneous nadir overpasses. With the Moon providing a quite different reference flux than the on-board calibration target and Earth scenes, radio-frequency interference emerged as the best explanation for the anomalies of channel 20 of AMSU-B on NOAA-16.
Stefan A. Buehler, Jana Mendrok, Patrick Eriksson, Agnès Perrin, Richard Larsson, and Oliver Lemke
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 1537–1556, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1537-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1537-2018, 2018
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The Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator (ARTS) is a public domain
software for simulating how radiation in the microwave to infrared
spectral range travels through an atmosphere. The program can simulate
satellite observations, in cloudy and clear atmospheres, and can also
be used to calculate radiative energy fluxes. The main feature of this
release is a planetary toolbox that allows simulations for the
planets Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, in addition to Earth.
Manfred Brath, Stuart Fox, Patrick Eriksson, R. Chawn Harlow, Martin Burgdorf, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 611–632, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-611-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-611-2018, 2018
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A method to estimate the amounts of ice, liquid water, and water vapor from aircraft radiation measurements at wavelengths just over and under 1 mm is presented and its performance is estimated. The method uses an ensemble of artificial neural networks. It strongly benefits from the submillimeter frequencies reducing the error for the estimated amount of ice by a factor of 2 compared to a traditional microwave method. The method was applied to measurement of a precipitating frontal system.
Imke Hans, Martin Burgdorf, Viju O. John, Jonathan Mittaz, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4927–4945, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4927-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4927-2017, 2017
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In our article we present the evolution of the noise of 11 microwave radiometers used for meteorological remote sensing. We used the Allan deviation to compute an estimate of the noise on the calibration measurements. We provide graphics as an overview to enable the users of the data to decide on the usability of the data for their purposes. Moreover, our analysis enters the production of new FCDRs (Fundamental Climate Data Records) within the FIDUCEO project.
Richard Larsson, Mathias Milz, Patrick Eriksson, Jana Mendrok, Yasuko Kasai, Stefan Alexander Buehler, Catherine Diéval, David Brain, and Paul Hartogh
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 6, 27–37, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-27-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-27-2017, 2017
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By computer simulations, we explore and quantify how to use radiation emitted by molecular oxygen in the Martian atmosphere to measure the magnetic field from the crust of the planet. This crustal magnetic field is important to understand the past evolution of Mars. Our method can measure the magnetic field at lower altitudes than has so far been done, which could give important information on the characteristics of the crustal sources if a mission with the required instrument is launched.
Laura Riuttanen, Marja Bister, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Viju O. John, Anu-Maija Sundström, Miikka Dal Maso, Jouni Räisänen, Victoria A. Sinclair, Risto Makkonen, Filippo Xausa, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Markku Kulmala
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14331–14342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14331-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14331-2016, 2016
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Here we show observational evidence that aerosols increase upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) via changes in the microphysics of deep convection. Using remote sensing data over the ocean east of China in summer, we show that increased aerosol loads are associated with an UTH increase of 2.2 ± 1.5 in units of relative humidity. We show that humidification of aerosols or other meteorological covariation is very unlikely to be the cause for this result indicating relevance for the global climate.
Martin Burgdorf, Stefan A. Buehler, Theresa Lang, Simon Michel, and Imke Hans
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3467–3475, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3467-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3467-2016, 2016
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The upper-tropospheric humidity is an essential climate variable, which can be measured with microwave sounders in polar orbits. A stable photometric calibration of these instruments is indispensable for detecting long-term trends. We demonstrate that this can be achieved by using the Moon in a fixed phase as a flux standard for dedicated pitch maneuver observations. This method is particularly suited for future sensors with small beamwidths.
Hélène Brogniez, Stephen English, Jean-François Mahfouf, Andreas Behrendt, Wesley Berg, Sid Boukabara, Stefan Alexander Buehler, Philippe Chambon, Antonia Gambacorta, Alan Geer, William Ingram, E. Robert Kursinski, Marco Matricardi, Tatyana A. Odintsova, Vivienne H. Payne, Peter W. Thorne, Mikhail Yu. Tretyakov, and Junhong Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2207–2221, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2207-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2207-2016, 2016
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Because a systematic difference between measurements of water vapor performed by space-borne observing instruments in the microwave spectral domain and their numerical modeling was recently highlighted, this work discusses and gives an overview of the various errors and uncertainties associated with each element in the comparison process. Indeed, the knowledge of absolute errors in any observation of the climate system is key, more specifically because we need to detect small changes.
Richard Larsson, Mathias Milz, Peter Rayer, Roger Saunders, William Bell, Anna Booton, Stefan A. Buehler, Patrick Eriksson, and Viju O. John
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 841–857, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-841-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-841-2016, 2016
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By modeling the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder's mesospheric measurements, inversions methods can be applied to retreive mesospheric temperatures. We compare the fast forward model used by Met Office with reference simulations and find that there is a reasonable agreement between both models and measurements. Thus we recommend that the fast model is used in data assimilation to improve mesospheric temperature retrievals.
P. Eriksson, M. Jamali, J. Mendrok, and S. A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1913–1933, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1913-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1913-2015, 2015
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The optical properties of randomly oriented ice hydrometeors are reviewed from a perspective of microwave mass retrievals. The soft particle approximation is found to be highly problematic, and the alternative approach presented by Geer and Baordo (2014) should instead be used. We present a simplified version of this approach, and point out several critical limitations of existing DDA data.
F. Navas-Guzmán, N. Kämpfer, A. Murk, R. Larsson, S. A. Buehler, and P. Eriksson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1863–1874, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1863-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1863-2015, 2015
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In this work we study the Zeeman effect on stratospheric O2 using ground-based microwave radiometer measurements. The interaction of the Earth magnetic field with the oxygen dipole leads to a splitting of O2 energy states which polarizes the emission spectra. A special campaign was carried out in order to measure for the first time the polarization state of the radiation due to the Zeeman effect in the main isotopologue of oxygen from ground-based microwave measurements.
R. Rüfenacht, A. Murk, N. Kämpfer, P. Eriksson, and S. A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 4491–4505, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4491-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4491-2014, 2014
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Only very few techniques for wind measurements in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere exist. Moreover, none of these instruments is running on a continuous basis. This paper describes the development of ground-based microwave Doppler radiometry. Time series of daily wind profile measurements from four different locations at polar, mid- and tropical latitudes are presented. The agreement with ECMWF model data is good in the stratosphere, but discrepancies were found in the mesosphere.
K. Gierens, K. Eleftheratos, and L. Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7533–7541, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7533-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7533-2014, 2014
L. Shi, C. J. Schreck III, and V. O. John
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6907–6920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6907-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6907-2013, 2013
V. O. John, D. E. Parker, S. A. Buehler, J. Price, and R. W. Saunders
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-13-10547-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-13-10547-2013, 2013
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Long-term evolution of the calibration constant on a mobile water vapour Raman lidar
Advancing CH4 and N2O retrieval strategies for NDACC/IRWG FTIR observations with the support of airborne in situ measurements
Atmospheric horizontal gradients measured with eight co-located GNSS stations and a microwave radiometer
Greenhouse gas measurement campaign of the Earth Summit Mission-2022: ground-based in situ and FTIR observations and contribute to satellite validation in the Qomolangma region
Joint observations of oxygen atmospheric band emissions using OSIRIS and the MATS satellite
Validation of the version 4.5 MAESTRO ozone and NO2 measurements
Performance assessment of the IASI-O3 KOPRA product for observing midlatitude tropospheric ozone evolution for 15 years: validation with ozone sondes and consistency of the three IASI instruments
Benchmarking data-driven inversion methods for the estimation of local CO2 emissions from synthetic satellite images of XCO2 and NO2
Validation of 12 years (2008–2019) of IASI-A CO with IAGOS aircraft observations
Assessment of laboratory O4 absorption cross-sections at 360 nm using atmospheric long-path DOAS observations
Diurnal variations of NO2 tropospheric vertical column density over the Seoul metropolitan area from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS): seasonal differences and the influence of the a priori NO2 profile
Inter-comparison of tropospheric ozone column datasets from combined nadir and limb satellite observations
Validation of ACE-FTS version 5.2 ozone data with ozonesonde measurements
Intercomparison of long-term ground-based measurements of total, tropospheric, and stratospheric ozone at Lauder, New Zealand
First evaluation of the GEMS glyoxal products against TROPOMI and ground-based measurements
Validation of GEMS tropospheric NO2 columns and their diurnal variation with ground-based DOAS measurements
Validation and assessment of satellite-based columnar CO2 and CH4 mixing-ratios from GOSAT and OCO-2 satellites over India
Using open-path dual-comb spectroscopy to monitor methane emissions from simulated grazing cattle
Greenhouse gas column observations from a portable spectrometer in Uganda
Independent validation of IASI/MetOp-A LMD and RAL CH4 products using CAMS model, in situ profiles, and ground-based FTIR measurements
Joint spectral retrievals of ozone with Suomi NPP CrIS augmented by S5P/TROPOMI
An evaluation of atmospheric absorption models at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths using airborne observations
Applicability of the inverse dispersion method to measure emissions from animal housings
5 years of Sentinel-5P TROPOMI operational ozone profiling and geophysical validation using ozonesonde and lidar ground-based networks
Using a portable FTIR spectrometer to evaluate the consistency of Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measurements on a global scale: the Collaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON) travel standard
Comparison of the H2O, HDO and δD stratospheric climatologies between the MIPAS-ESA V8, MIPAS-IMK V5 and ACE-FTS V4.1/4.2 satellite datasets
TROPESS-CrIS CO single-pixel vertical profiles: intercomparisons with MOPITT and model simulations for 2020 western US wildfires
Seasonal Variation of Total Column Formaldehyde, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Ozone Over Various Pandora Spectrometer Sites with a Comparison of OMI and Diurnally Varying DSCOVR-EPIC Satellite Data
TOLNet validation of satellite ozone profiles in the troposphere: impact of retrieval wavelengths
An uncertainty methodology for solar occultation flux measurements: ammonia emissions from livestock production
Validation of Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
First validation of high-resolution satellite-derived methane emissions from an active gas leak in the UK
Ship- and aircraft-based XCH4 over oceans as a new tool for satellite validation
Single-blind test of nine methane-sensing satellite systems from three continents
Water vapor measurements inside clouds and storms using a differential absorption radar
Evaluation of the first year of Pandora NO2 measurements over Beijing and application to satellite validation
Validation of MUSES NH3 observations from AIRS and CrIS against aircraft measurements from DISCOVER-AQ and a surface network in the Magic Valley
Performance and sensitivity of column-wise and pixel-wise methane retrievals for imaging spectrometers
Methane point source quantification using MethaneAIR: a new airborne imaging spectrometer
Evaluation of total ozone measurements from Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS)
To new heights by flying low: comparison of aircraft vertical NO2 profiles to model simulations and implications for TROPOMI NO2 retrievals
Local comparisons of tropospheric ozone: vertical soundings at two neighbouring stations in southern Bavaria
Ground-based Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations of NO2 and H2CO at Kinshasa and comparisons with TROPOMI observations
Total column ozone trends from the NASA Merged Ozone time series 1979 to 2021 showing latitude-dependent ozone recovery dates (1994 to 1998)
The SPARC water vapour assessment II: biases and drifts of water vapour satellite data records with respect to frost point hygrometer records
Vicarious calibration of the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) short-wave infrared (SWIR) module over the Railroad Valley Playa
First-time comparison between NO2 vertical columns from Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and Pandora measurements
A blended TROPOMI+GOSAT satellite data product for atmospheric methane using machine learning to correct retrieval biases
Evaluating the consistency between OCO-2 and OCO-3 XCO2 estimates derived from the NASA ACOS version 10 retrieval algorithm
OLCI-A/B tandem phase: evaluation of FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX)-like radiances and estimation of systematic differences between OLCI-A and OLCI-FLEX
Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, and Frédéric Laly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2681–2699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2681-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2681-2025, 2025
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The use of active remote sensing instruments to sample the atmospheric environment requires accurate calibration that is stable over time so that measurements are reproducible. This is the case for measurements of atmospheric water vapour using Raman lidar, which are of growing interest in the context of climate risks such as extreme precipitation. This study addresses this issue. It is based on six campaigns spread over a period of 7 years between 2016 and 2022.
Ivan Ortega, James W. Hannigan, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn McKain, and Dan Smale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2353–2371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2353-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2353-2025, 2025
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This study evaluates retrieval strategies for CH4 and N2O using high-resolution FTIR observations from Boulder, Colorado. By comparing results with independent AirCore and aircraft in situ measurements, the analysis validates retrieval accuracy and quantifies uncertainties. The findings highlight the benefits of updated spectroscopy and improved a priori profiles and highlight consistent agreement with in situ data.
Tong Ning and Gunnar Elgered
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2069–2082, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2069-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2069-2025, 2025
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We analyzed signal delays in the atmosphere, using eight co-located global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations, and compared linear horizontal gradients with microwave radiometer data. A weak constraint applied when estimating gradients in the GNSS data processing, enhancing short-lived gradient tracking but increasing noise, which can be mitigated by averaging gradients from the eight stations. This approach may enhance GNSS-based atmospheric monitoring for use in weather nowcasting.
Minqiang Zhou, Yilong Wang, Minzheng Duan, Xiangjun Tian, Jinzhi Ding, Jianrong Bi, Yaoming Ma, Weiqiang Ma, and Zhenhua Xi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1293, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1293, 2025
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The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a key system that impacts the global carbon balance. This study presents the greenhouse gas (GHG) mole fraction measurement campaign in May 2022 at Mt. Qomolangma station, including ground-based remote sensing and in situ measurements. The GHG measurements are carried out in this region for the first time and used for satellite validation.
Björn Linder, Jörg Gumbel, Donal P. Murtagh, Linda Megner, Lukas Krasauskas, Doug Degenstein, Ole Martin Christensen, and Nickolay Ivchenko
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-493, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-493, 2025
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In this study, the primary instrument carried by the satellite MATS is compared to the OSIRIS instrument onboard the Odin satellite. A total of 36 close approaches between December 2022 and February 2023 were identified and analysed. The comparison reveals that the two instruments have good structural agreement and that MATS detects a signal that is ~20 % stronger than what is measured by OSIRIS.
Paul S. Jeffery, James R. Drummond, C. Thomas McElroy, Kaley A. Walker, and Jiansheng Zou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 569–602, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-569-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-569-2025, 2025
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The MAESTRO instrument has been monitoring ozone and NO2 since February 2004. A new version of these data products has recently been released; however, these new products must be validated against other datasets to ensure their validity. This study presents such an assessment, using measurements from 11 satellite instruments to characterize the new MAESTRO products. In the stratosphere, good agreement is found for ozone and acceptable agreement is found for NO2 with these other datasets.
Gaëlle Dufour, Maxim Eremenko, Juan Cuesta, Gérard Ancellet, Michael Gill, Eliane Maillard Barras, and Roeland Van Malderen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4096, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4096, 2025
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The IASI-O3 KOPRA v3.0 product shows strong consistency (<1 %) for the three IASI instruments. The validation against homogenized ozone sondes reveals an overall good agreement with slight biases (3–6 %) in tropospheric ozone and a possible temporal drift but difficult to assess due to the limited number of sites. No specific trends are estimated for the tropospheric ozone column for 2008–2022, but persistent negative trends are observed in the lower troposphere.
Diego Santaren, Janne Hakkarainen, Gerrit Kuhlmann, Erik Koene, Frédéric Chevallier, Iolanda Ialongo, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Janne Nurmela, Johanna Tamminen, Laia Amorós, Dominik Brunner, and Grégoire Broquet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 211–239, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-211-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-211-2025, 2025
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This study evaluates data-driven inversion methods for estimating CO2 emissions from local sources, such as power plants and cities, using meteorological data and XCO2 and NO2 satellite images rather than atmospheric transport modeling. We assess and compare the performance of five different methods using simulations of 1 year of satellite images, taken from the upcoming Copernicus CO2 Monitoring Mission, covering 15 power plants and the city of Berlin, Germany.
Brice Barret, Pierre Loicq, Eric Le Flochmoën, Yasmine Bennouna, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Daniel Hurtmans, and Bastien Sauvage
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 129–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-129-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-129-2025, 2025
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Profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) retrieved from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) with the SOftware for a Fast Retrieval of IASI Data (SOFRID) and Fast Optimal Retrievals on Layers for IASI (FORLI) are validated with 8500 observations at 33 airports from the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS) for 2008–2019. IASI retrievals underestimate CO, with stronger bias in the middle to upper troposphere for SOFRID and in the lower troposphere for FORLI.
Bianca Lauster, Udo Frieß, Jan-Marcus Nasse, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3881, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3881, 2025
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Remote sensing measurements of scattered sunlight use the atmospheric absorption of O4 (oxygen dimer) to derive cloud and aerosol properties. However, inconsistencies between measurements and radiative transfer simulations were found recently and, so far, there is no consensus on how to deal with these appropriately. In this study, long-term long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations are analysed and very good agreement with laboratory measurements was found.
Seunghwan Seo, Si-Wan Kim, Kyoung-Min Kim, Andreas Richter, Kezia Lange, John P. Burrows, Junsung Park, Hyunkee Hong, Hanlim Lee, Ukkyo Jeong, Jung-Hun Woo, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 115–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-115-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-115-2025, 2025
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Over the Seoul metropolitan area, tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer show distinct seasonal features. Also, varying a priori data have substantial impacts on the observed NO2 columns. The a priori data from different chemical transport models resulted in differences of up to −18.3 %. Notably, diurnal patterns of observed NO2 columns are similar for all datasets, although their a priori data exhibit contrasting diurnal patterns.
Carlo Arosio, Viktoria Sofieva, Andrea Orfanoz-Cheuquelaf, Alexei Rozanov, Klaus-Peter Heue, Edward Malina, Ryan M. Stauffer, David Tarasick, Roeland Van Malderen, Jerry R. Ziemke, and Mark Weber
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3737, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3737, 2024
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Tropospheric ozone affects air quality and climate, being a pollutant and a greenhouse gas. We analysed satellite data of tropospheric ozone that combine two types of observations: one providing stratospheric ozone and another measuring total ozone. We compare common climatological features and study the influence of the tropopause (troposphere to stratosphere boundary) on the results. We also examine trends over the last 20 years and compare satellite data with ozonesondes to identify drifts.
Jiansheng Zou, Kaley A. Walker, Patrick E. Sheese, Chris D. Boone, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, and David W. Tarasick
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6983–7005, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6983-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6983-2024, 2024
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Ozone measurements from the ACE-FTS satellite instrument have been compared to worldwide balloon-borne ozonesonde profiles using pairs of closely spaced profiles and monthly averaged profiles. ACE-FTS typically measures more ozone in the stratosphere by up to 10 %. The long-term stability of the ACE-FTS ozone data is good, exhibiting small (but non-significant) drifts of less than 3 % per decade in the stratosphere. Lower in the profiles, the calculated drifts are larger (up to 10 % per decade).
Robin Björklund, Corinne Vigouroux, Peter Effertz, Omaira E. García, Alex Geddes, James Hannigan, Koji Miyagawa, Michael Kotkamp, Bavo Langerock, Gerald Nedoluha, Ivan Ortega, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Deniz Poyraz, Richard Querel, John Robinson, Hisako Shiona, Dan Smale, Penny Smale, Roeland Van Malderen, and Martine De Mazière
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6819–6849, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6819-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6819-2024, 2024
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Different ground-based ozone measurements from the last 2 decades at Lauder are compared to each other. We want to know why different trends have been observed in the stratosphere. Also, the quality and relevance of tropospheric datasets need to be evaluated. While remaining drifts are still present, our study explains roughly half of the differences in observed trends in previous studies and shows the necessity for continuous review and improvement of the measurements.
Eunjo S. Ha, Rokjin J. Park, Hyeong-Ahn Kwon, Gitaek T. Lee, Sieun D. Lee, Seunga Shin, Dong-Won Lee, Hyunkee Hong, Christophe Lerot, Isabelle De Smedt, Thomas Danckaert, Francois Hendrick, and Hitoshi Irie
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6369–6384, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6369-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6369-2024, 2024
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In this study, we evaluated the GEMS glyoxal products by comparing them with TROPOMI and MAX-DOAS measurements. GEMS and TROPOMI VCDs present similar spatial distributions. Monthly variations in GEMS VCDs and TROPOMI and MAX-DOAS VCDs differ in northeastern Asia, which we attributed to a polluted reference spectrum and high NO2 concentrations. GEMS glyoxal products with unparalleled temporal resolution would enrich our understanding of VOC emissions and diurnal variation.
Kezia Lange, Andreas Richter, Tim Bösch, Bianca Zilker, Miriam Latsch, Lisa K. Behrens, Chisom M. Okafor, Hartmut Bösch, John P. Burrows, Alexis Merlaud, Gaia Pinardi, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Michel Van Roozendael, Steffen Ziegler, Simona Ripperger-Lukosiunaite, Leon Kuhn, Bianca Lauster, Thomas Wagner, Hyunkee Hong, Donghee Kim, Lim-Seok Chang, Kangho Bae, Chang-Keun Song, Jong-Uk Park, and Hanlim Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6315–6344, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6315-2024, 2024
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Instruments for air quality observations on geostationary satellites provide multiple observations per day and allow for the analysis of the diurnal variation of important air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over large areas. The South Korean instrument GEMS, launched in February 2020, is the first instrument in geostationary orbit and covers a large part of Asia. Our investigations show the observed diurnal evolution of NO2 at different measurement sites.
Harish Shivraj Gadhavi, Akanksha Arora, Chaithanya Jain, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Frank Hase, Matthias Frey, Srikanthan Ramachandran, and Achuthan Jayaraman
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-167, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-167, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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We used a ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer to measure columnar greenhouse gas mixing ratios and validate methane observations from the GOSAT satellite and carbon dioxide observations from GOSAT and OCO-2 over India. Both satellites provide high precision and accuracy, making them suitable for emission flux estimates. Simulations using a Lagrangian dispersion model showed that background mixing ratio variations play a larger role than local source changes.
Chinthaka Weerasekara, Lindsay C. Morris, Nathan A. Malarich, Fabrizio R. Giorgetta, Daniel I. Herman, Kevin C. Cossel, Nathan R. Newbury, Clenton E. Owensby, Stephen M. Welch, Cosmin Blaga, Brett D. DePaola, Ian Coddington, Brian R. Washburn, and Eduardo A. Santos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6107–6117, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6107-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6107-2024, 2024
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Most methane emissions during the life cycle of beef cattle occur during the grazing phase. Measuring methane in grazing systems is difficult due to the high mobility and low density of animals. This work investigates if dual-comb spectroscopy can measure methane emissions from small cattle herds. An enhancement of 10 nmol mol-1 methane above the atmospheric background was measured, equivalent to 20 head located 60 m away. The calculated methane flux was within 5 % of the actual release rate.
Neil Humpage, Hartmut Boesch, William Okello, Jia Chen, Florian Dietrich, Mark F. Lunt, Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, and Frank Hase
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5679–5707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5679-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5679-2024, 2024
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We used a Bruker EM27/SUN spectrometer within an automated weatherproof enclosure to measure greenhouse gas column concentrations over a 3-month period in Jinja, Uganda. The portability of the EM27/SUN allows us to evaluate satellite and model data in locations not covered by traditional validation networks. This is of particular value in tropical Africa, where extensive terrestrial ecosystems are a significant store of carbon and play a key role in the atmospheric budgets of CO2 and CH4.
Bart Dils, Minqiang Zhou, Claude Camy-Peyret, Martine De Mazière, Yannick Kangah, Bavo Langerock, Pascal Prunet, Carmine Serio, Richard Siddans, and Brian Kerridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5491–5524, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5491-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5491-2024, 2024
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The paper discusses two very distinct methane products from the IASI instrument aboard the MetOp-A satellite. One (referred to as LMD NLISv8.3) uses a machine-learning approach, while the other (RALv2.0) uses a more conventional optimal estimation approach. We used a variety of model and independent reference measurement data to assess both products' overall quality, their differences, and specific aspects of each product that would benefit from further analysis by the product development teams.
Edward Malina, Kevin W. Bowman, Valentin Kantchev, Le Kuai, Thomas P. Kurosu, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Vijay Natraj, Gregory B. Osterman, Fabiano Oyafuso, and Matthew D. Thill
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5341–5371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5341-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5341-2024, 2024
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Characterizing the distribution of ozone in the atmosphere is a challenging problem, with current Earth observation satellites using either thermal infrared (TIR) or ultraviolet (UV) instruments, sensitive to different portions of the atmosphere, making it difficult to gain a full picture. In this work, we combine measurements from the TIR and UV instruments Suomi NPP CrIS and Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI to improve sensitivity through the whole atmosphere and improve knowledge of ozone distribution.
Stuart Fox, Vinia Mattioli, Emma Turner, Alan Vance, Domenico Cimini, and Donatello Gallucci
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4957–4978, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4957-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4957-2024, 2024
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Airborne observations are used to evaluate two models for absorption and emission by atmospheric gases, including water vapour and oxygen, at microwave and sub-millimetre wavelengths. These models are needed for the Ice Cloud Imager (ICI) on the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites, which measures at frequencies up to 664 GHz. Both models can provide a good match to measurements from airborne radiometers and are sufficiently accurate for use with ICI.
Marcel Bühler, Christoph Häni, Albrecht Neftel, Patrice Bühler, Christof Ammann, and Thomas Kupper
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4649–4658, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4649-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4649-2024, 2024
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Methane was released from an artificial source inside a barn to test the applicability of the inverse dispersion method (IDM). Multiple open-path concentration devices and ultrasonic anemometers were used at the site. It is concluded that, for the present study case, the effect of a building and a tree in the main wind axis led to a systematic underestimation of the IDM-derived emission rate probably due to deviations in the wind field and turbulent dispersion from the ideal assumptions.
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.
Benedikt Herkommer, Carlos Alberti, Paolo Castracane, Jia Chen, Angelika Dehn, Florian Dietrich, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Matthias Max Frey, Jochen Groß, Lawson Gillespie, Frank Hase, Isamu Morino, Nasrin Mostafavi Pak, Brittany Walker, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3467–3494, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3467-2024, 2024
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The Total Carbon Column Observing Network is a network of ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers used mainly for satellite validation. To ensure the highest-quality validation data, the network needs to be highly consistent. This is a major challenge, which so far is solved by site comparisons with airborne in situ measurements. In this work, we describe the use of a portable FTIR spectrometer as a travel standard for evaluating the consistency of TCCON sites.
Karen De Los Ríos, Paulina Ordoñez, Gabriele P. Stiller, Piera Raspollini, Marco Gai, Kaley A. Walker, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, and Luis Acosta
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3401–3418, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3401-2024, 2024
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This study examines newer versions of H2O and HDO retrievals from Envisat/MIPAS and SCISAT/ACE-FTS. Results reveal a better agreement in stratospheric H2O profiles than in HDO profiles. The H2O tape recorder signal is consistent across databases, but δD tape recorder composites show differences that impact the interpretation of water vapour transport. These findings enhance the need for intercomparisons to refine our insights.
Ming Luo, Helen M. Worden, Robert D. Field, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Gregory S. Elsaesser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2611–2624, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2611-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2611-2024, 2024
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The TROPESS CrIS single-pixel CO profile retrievals are compared to the MOPITT CO products in steps of adjusting them to the common a priori assumptions. The two data sets are found to agree within 5 %. We also demonstrated and analyzed the proper steps in evaluating GISS ModelE CO simulations using satellite CO retrieval products for the western US wildfire events in September 2020.
Jay Herman and Jianping Mao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1216, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1216, 2024
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This paper examines the seasonal variation of column Formaldehyde HCHO, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, and Ozone O3. Ground-based Pandora spectrometer observations show that HCHO has a strong seasonal behavior that is not seen by the satellite Ozone Monitoring Instrument OMI and that the amount of NO2 pollution is underestimated by the OMI satellite observations. Pandora O3 measurements have been successfully compared with hourly satellite measurements from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera EPIC.
Matthew S. Johnson, Alexei Rozanov, Mark Weber, Nora Mettig, John Sullivan, Michael J. Newchurch, Shi Kuang, Thierry Leblanc, Fernando Chouza, Timothy A. Berkoff, Guillaume Gronoff, Kevin B. Strawbridge, Raul J. Alvarez, Andrew O. Langford, Christoph J. Senff, Guillaume Kirgis, Brandi McCarty, and Larry Twigg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2559–2582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2559-2024, 2024
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Monitoring tropospheric ozone (O3), a harmful pollutant negatively impacting human health, is primarily done using ground-based measurements and ozonesondes. However, these observation types lack the coverage to fully understand tropospheric O3. Satellites can retrieve tropospheric ozone with near-daily global coverage; however, they are known to have biases and errors. This study uses ground-based lidars to validate multiple satellites' ability to observe tropospheric O3.
Johan Mellqvist, Nathalia T. Vechi, Charlotte Scheutz, Marc Durif, Francois Gautier, John Johansson, Jerker Samuelsson, Brian Offerle, and Samuel Brohede
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2465–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2465-2024, 2024
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The solar occultation flux method retrieves ammonia gas columns from the solar spectrum. Emissions are obtained by multiplying the integrated plume concentration by the wind speed profile. The methodology for uncertainty estimation was established considering an error budget with systematic and random components, resulting in an expanded uncertainty in the range of 20 % to 30 %. The method was validated in a controlled release, and its application was demonstrated in different farms.
Felicia Kolonjari, Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, David A. Plummer, Andreas Engel, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Tanja Schuck, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Geoffrey C. Toon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2429–2449, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, 2024
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The Canadian Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) satellite instrument is currently providing the only vertically resolved chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) measurements from space. This study assesses the most current ACE-FTS HCFC-22 data product in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, as well as modelled HCFC-22 from a 39-year run of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM39) in the same region.
Emily Dowd, Alistair J. Manning, Bryn Orth-Lashley, Marianne Girard, James France, Rebecca E. Fisher, Dave Lowry, Mathias Lanoisellé, Joseph R. Pitt, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Glen Thistlethwaite, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Emanuel Gloor, and Chris Wilson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1599–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, 2024
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We provide the first validation of the satellite-derived emission estimates using surface-based mobile greenhouse gas surveys of an active gas leak detected near Cheltenham, UK. GHGSat’s emission estimates broadly agree with the surface-based mobile survey and steps were taken to fix the leak, highlighting the importance of satellite data in identifying emissions and helping to reduce our human impact on climate change.
Astrid Müller, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Takafumi Sugita, Prabir K. Patra, Shin-ichiro Nakaoka, Toshinobu Machida, Isamu Morino, André Butz, and Kei Shiomi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1297–1316, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024, 2024
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Satellite CH4 observations with high accuracy are needed to understand changes in atmospheric CH4 concentrations. But over oceans, reference data are limited. We combine various ship and aircraft observations with the help of atmospheric chemistry models to derive observation-based column-averaged mixing ratios of CH4 (obs. XCH4). We discuss three different approaches and demonstrate the applicability of the new reference dataset for carbon cycle studies and satellite evaluation.
Evan D. Sherwin, Sahar H. El Abbadi, Philippine M. Burdeau, Zhan Zhang, Zhenlin Chen, Jeffrey S. Rutherford, Yuanlei Chen, and Adam R. Brandt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 765–782, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-765-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-765-2024, 2024
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Countries and companies increasingly rely on a growing fleet of satellites to find large emissions of climate-warming methane, particularly from oil and natural gas systems across the globe. We independently assessed the performance of nine such systems by releasing controlled, undisclosed amounts of methane as satellites passed overhead. The tested systems produced reliable detection and quantification results, including the smallest-ever emission detected from space in such a test.
Luis F. Millán, Matthew D. Lebsock, Ken B. Cooper, Jose V. Siles, Robert Dengler, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Amin Nehrir, Rory A. Barton-Grimley, James E. Collins, Claire E. Robinson, Kenneth L. Thornhill, and Holger Vömel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 539–559, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-539-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-539-2024, 2024
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In this study, we describe and validate a new technique in which three radar tones are used to estimate the water vapor inside clouds and precipitation. This instrument flew on board NASA's P-3 aircraft during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) campaign and the Synergies Of Active optical and Active microwave Remote Sensing Experiment (SOA2RSE) campaign.
Ouyang Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Yangyan Lin, Cheng Fan, Ying Zhang, Kaitao Li, Peng Zhang, Yuanyuan Wei, Tianzeng Chen, Jiantao Dong, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 377–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a trace gas which is important for atmospheric chemistry and may affect human health. To understand processes leading to harmful concentrations, it is important to monitor NO2 concentrations near the surface and higher up. To this end, a Pandora instrument has been installed in Beijing. An overview of the first year of data shows the large variability on diurnal to seasonal timescales and how this is affected by wind speed and direction and chemistry.
Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Xuehui Guo, Rui Wang, April B. Leytem, Chase Calkins, Elizabeth Berry, Kang Sun, Markus Müller, Armin Wisthaler, Vivienne H. Payne, Mark W. Shephard, Mark A. Zondlo, and Valentin Kantchev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 15–36, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024, 2024
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Ammonia is a significant precursor of PM2.5 particles and thus contributes to poor air quality in many regions. Furthermore, ammonia concentrations are rising due to the increase of large-scale, intensive agricultural activities. Here we evaluate satellite measurements of ammonia against aircraft and surface network data, and show that there are differences in magnitude, but the satellite data are spatially and temporally well correlated with the in situ data.
Alana K. Ayasse, Daniel Cusworth, Kelly O'Neill, Justin Fisk, Andrew K. Thorpe, and Riley Duren
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 6065–6074, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6065-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6065-2023, 2023
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Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and a significant portion of methane comes from large individual plumes. Recently, airplane-mounted infrared technologies have proven very good at detecting and quantifying these plumes. In order to extract the methane signal from the infrared image, there are two widely used approaches. In this study, we assess the performance of both approaches using controlled-release experiments. We also examine the minimum detection limit of the infrared technology.
Apisada Chulakadabba, Maryann Sargent, Thomas Lauvaux, Joshua S. Benmergui, Jonathan E. Franklin, Christopher Chan Miller, Jonas S. Wilzewski, Sébastien Roche, Eamon Conway, Amir H. Souri, Kang Sun, Bingkun Luo, Jacob Hawthrone, Jenna Samra, Bruce C. Daube, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Yang Li, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Jeff S. Rutherford, Evan D. Sherwin, Adam Brandt, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5771–5785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5771-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5771-2023, 2023
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We show that MethaneAIR, a precursor to the MethaneSAT satellite, demonstrates accurate point source quantification during controlled release experiments and regional observations in 2021 and 2022. Results from our two independent quantification methods suggest the accuracy of our sensor and algorithms is better than 25 % for sources emitting 200 kg h−1 or more. Insights from these measurements help establish the capabilities of MethaneSAT and MethaneAIR.
Kanghyun Baek, Jae Hwan Kim, Juseon Bak, David P. Haffner, Mina Kang, and Hyunkee Hong
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5461–5478, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5461-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5461-2023, 2023
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The GEMS mission was the first mission of the geostationary satellite constellation for hourly atmospheric composition monitoring. The GEMS ozone measurements were cross-compared to those of Pandora, OMPS, and TROPOMI satellite sensors and excellent agreement was found. GEMS has proven to be a powerful new instrument for monitoring and assessing the diurnal variation in atmospheric ozone. This experience can be used to advance research with future geostationary environmental satellite missions.
Tobias Christoph Valentin Werner Riess, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Ward Van Roy, Jos de Laat, Enrico Dammers, and Jasper van Vliet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5287–5304, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5287-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5287-2023, 2023
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Satellite retrievals of trace gases require prior knowledge of the vertical distribution of the pollutant, which is usually obtained from models. Using aircraft-measured vertical NO2 profiles over the North Sea in summer 2021, we evaluate the Transport Model 5 profiles used in the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval. We conclude that driven by the low horizontal resolution and the overestimated vertical mixing, resulting NO2 columns are 20 % too low. This has important implications for emission estimates.
Thomas Trickl, Martin Adelwart, Dina Khordakova, Ludwig Ries, Christian Rolf, Michael Sprenger, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Hannes Vogelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5145–5165, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, 2023
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Tropospheric ozone have been measured for more than a century. Highly quantitative ozone measurements have been made at monitoring stations. However, deficits have been reported for vertical sounding systems. Here, we report a thorough intercomparison effort between a differential-absorption lidar system and two types of balloon-borne ozone sondes, also using ozone sensors at nearby mountain sites as references. The sondes agree very well with the lidar after offset corrections.
Rodriguez Yombo Phaka, Alexis Merlaud, Gaia Pinardi, Martina M. Friedrich, Michel Van Roozendael, Jean-François Müller, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Isabelle De Smedt, François Hendrick, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Richard Bopili Mbotia Lepiba, Edmond Phuku Phuati, Buenimio Lomami Djibi, Lars Jacobs, Caroline Fayt, Jean-Pierre Mbungu Tsumbu, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5029–5050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5029-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5029-2023, 2023
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We present air quality measurements in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, performed with a newly developed instrument which was installed on a roof of the University of Kinshasa in November 2019. The instrument records spectra of the scattered sunlight, from which we derive the abundances of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, two important pollutants. We compare our ground-based measurements with those of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).
Jay Herman, Jerald Ziemke, and Richard McPeters
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4693–4707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4693-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4693-2023, 2023
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Fourier series multivariate linear regression trends (% per decade) in ozone were estimated from the Merged Ozone Data Set (MOD) from 1979 to 2021 in two different regimes, from 1979 to TA (the date when ozone stopped decreasing) and TA to 2021. The derived TA is a latitude-dependent date, ranging from 1994 to 1998. TA(θ) is a marker for photochemistry dynamics models attempting to represent ozone change over the past 42 years.
Michael Kiefer, Dale F. Hurst, Gabriele P. Stiller, Stefan Lossow, Holger Vömel, John Anderson, Faiza Azam, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Laurent Blanot, Klaus Bramstedt, John P. Burrows, Robert Damadeo, Bianca Maria Dinelli, Patrick Eriksson, Maya García-Comas, John C. Gille, Mark Hervig, Yasuko Kasai, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Donal Murtagh, Gerald E. Nedoluha, Stefan Noël, Piera Raspollini, William G. Read, Karen H. Rosenlof, Alexei Rozanov, Christopher E. Sioris, Takafumi Sugita, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, and Katja Weigel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4589–4642, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4589-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4589-2023, 2023
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We quantify biases and drifts (and their uncertainties) between the stratospheric water vapor measurement records of 15 satellite-based instruments (SATs, with 31 different retrievals) and balloon-borne frost point hygrometers (FPs) launched at 27 globally distributed stations. These comparisons of measurements during the period 2000–2016 are made using robust, consistent statistical methods. With some exceptions, the biases and drifts determined for most SAT–FP pairs are < 10 % and < 1 % yr−1.
Tim A. van Kempen, Tim J. Rotmans, Richard M. van Hees, Carol Bruegge, Dejian Fu, Ruud Hoogeveen, Thomas J. Pongetti, Robert Rosenberg, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4507–4527, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4507-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4507-2023, 2023
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Validation of satellite measurements is essential for providing reliable and consistent products. In this paper, a validation method for TROPOMI-SWIR (Tropospheric Measurement Instrument in the short-wavelength infrared) is explored. TROPOMI-SWIR has been shown to be exceptionally stable, a necessity to explore the methodology. Railroad Valley, Nevada, is a prime location to perform the necessary measurements to validate the satellite measurements of TROPOMI-SWIR.
Serin Kim, Daewon Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Lim-Seok Chang, Hanlim Lee, Deok-Rae Kim, Donghee Kim, Jeong-Ah Yu, Dongwon Lee, Ukkyo Jeong, Chang-Kuen Song, Sang-Woo Kim, Sang Seo Park, Jhoon Kim, Thomas F. Hanisco, Junsung Park, Wonei Choi, and Kwangyul Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3959–3972, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, 2023
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A first evaluation of the Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) NO2 was carried out via comparison with the NO2 data obtained from the ground-based Pandora direct-sun measurements at four sites in Seosan, Republic of Korea. Comparisons between GEMS NO2 and Pandora NO2 were performed according to GEMS cloud fraction. GEMS NO2 showed good agreement with that of Pandora NO2 under less cloudy conditions.
Nicholas Balasus, Daniel J. Jacob, Alba Lorente, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Zichong Chen, Makoto M. Kelp, Hannah Nesser, and Daniel J. Varon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3787–3807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023, 2023
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We use machine learning to remove biases in TROPOMI satellite observations of atmospheric methane, with GOSAT observations serving as a reference. We find that the TROPOMI biases relative to GOSAT are related to the presence of aerosols and clouds, the surface brightness, and the specific detector that makes the observation aboard TROPOMI. The resulting blended TROPOMI+GOSAT product is more reliable for quantifying methane emissions.
Thomas E. Taylor, Christopher W. O'Dell, David Baker, Carol Bruegge, Albert Chang, Lars Chapsky, Abhishek Chatterjee, Cecilia Cheng, Frédéric Chevallier, David Crisp, Lan Dang, Brian Drouin, Annmarie Eldering, Liang Feng, Brendan Fisher, Dejian Fu, Michael Gunson, Vance Haemmerle, Graziela R. Keller, Matthäus Kiel, Le Kuai, Thomas Kurosu, Alyn Lambert, Joshua Laughner, Richard Lee, Junjie Liu, Lucas Mandrake, Yuliya Marchetti, Gregory McGarragh, Aronne Merrelli, Robert R. Nelson, Greg Osterman, Fabiano Oyafuso, Paul I. Palmer, Vivienne H. Payne, Robert Rosenberg, Peter Somkuti, Gary Spiers, Cathy To, Brad Weir, Paul O. Wennberg, Shanshan Yu, and Jia Zong
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3173–3209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3173-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3173-2023, 2023
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NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 and 3 (OCO-2 and OCO-3, respectively) provide complementary spatiotemporal coverage from a sun-synchronous and precession orbit, respectively. Estimates of total column carbon dioxide (XCO2) derived from the two sensors using the same retrieval algorithm show broad consistency over a 2.5-year overlapping time record. This suggests that data from the two satellites may be used together for scientific analysis.
Lena Katharina Jänicke, Rene Preusker, Marco Celesti, Marin Tudoroiu, Jürgen Fischer, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and Matthias Drusch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3101–3121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3101-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3101-2023, 2023
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To compare two top-of-atmosphere radiances measured by instruments with different spectral characteristics, a transfer function has been developed. It is applied to a tandem data set of Sentinel-3A and B, for which OLCI-B mimicked the ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer FLEX. We found that OLCI-A measured radiances about 2 % brighter than OLCI-FLEX. Only at larger wavelengths were OLCI-A measurements about 5 % darker. The method is thus successful, being sensitive to calibration and processing issues.
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Short summary
Four upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) datasets derived from satellite microwave and infrared sounders are evaluated to assess their consistency as part of the activities for the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) water vapor assessment project. The study shows that the four datasets are consistent in the interannual temporal and spatial variability of the tropics. However, differences are found in the magnitudes of the anomalies and in the changing rates during the common period.
Four upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) datasets derived from satellite microwave and infrared...
