Articles | Volume 18, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4453-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-18-4453-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Joint observations of oxygen atmospheric band emissions using OSIRIS and the MATS satellite
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Jörg Gumbel
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Donal P. Murtagh
Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Linda Megner
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Lukas Krasauskas
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Doug Degenstein
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Ole Martin Christensen
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Nickolay Ivchenko
Division of Space and Plasma Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2324, 2025
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This study uses images taken by the Swedish satellite MATS to conduct a statistical analysis of the molecular oxygen atmospheric band emissions in the aurora. This auroral emission can not be observed from the ground, making it one of the least understood auroral emissions. Our results provide a new dataset with information on the peak altitude, geomagnetic location, and auroral intensity of 378 events detected between February and April 2023.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1470, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1470, 2025
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The Swedish satellite MATS conducts global measurements of atmospheric airglow in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. In this article, we present the first global results from the mission. Observations from February through April 2023 show that the emission strength is largely controlled by atmospheric tides and by perturbations introduced by a propagating planetary wave.
Linda Megner, Jörg Gumbel, Ole Martin Christensen, Björn Linder, Donal Patrick Murtagh, Nickolay Ivchenko, Lukas Krasauskas, Jonas Hedin, Joachim Dillner, Gabriel Giono, Georgi Olentsenko, Louis Kern, and Jacek Stegman
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The MATS satellite mission studies atmospheric gravity waves, crucial for momentum transport between atmospheric layers. Launched in November 2022, MATS uses a limb-viewing telescope to capture high-resolution images of Noctilucent clouds and airglow, visualizing wave patterns in the high atmosphere. This paper accompanies the public release of the level 1b data set, i.e. calibrated limb images. Later products will provide global maps of gravity wave properties, airglow and Noctilucent clouds.
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3829–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3829-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3829-2024, 2024
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The Swedish research satellite MATS (Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy) is designed to study atmospheric waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. These waves perturb the temperature field, and thus, by observing three-dimensional temperature fluctuations, their properties can be quantified. This pre-study uses synthetic MATS data generated from a general circulation model to investigate how well wave properties can be retrieved.
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7071–7103, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7071-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7071-2022, 2022
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Observations of phase speed and direction spectra as well as zonal mean net gravity wave momentum flux are required to understand how gravity waves reach the mesosphere–lower thermosphere and how they there interact with background flow. To this end we propose flying two CubeSats, each deploying a spatial heterodyne spectrometer for limb observation of the airglow. End-to-end simulations demonstrate that individual gravity waves are retrieved faithfully for the expected instrument performance.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2324, 2025
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This study uses images taken by the Swedish satellite MATS to conduct a statistical analysis of the molecular oxygen atmospheric band emissions in the aurora. This auroral emission can not be observed from the ground, making it one of the least understood auroral emissions. Our results provide a new dataset with information on the peak altitude, geomagnetic location, and auroral intensity of 378 events detected between February and April 2023.
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The Swedish satellite MATS conducts global measurements of atmospheric airglow in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. In this article, we present the first global results from the mission. Observations from February through April 2023 show that the emission strength is largely controlled by atmospheric tides and by perturbations introduced by a propagating planetary wave.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-829, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-829, 2025
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The imbalance between the energy the Earth absorbs from the Sun and emits back to space gives rise to climate change, but measuring the small imbalance is challenging. The Earth surface reflects sunlight more in some directions than in others, as with e.g. ocean sunglint. We simulate satellites to investigate how this uneven reflection impacts estimates of the imbalance. We identify orbits that cover all directions well, so that the impact is small.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-67, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-67, 2025
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The Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI) is an optical instrument which measures stratospheric aerosols. These aerosols are of interest to atmospheric science as they have a significant impact on the Earth's climate. ALI has the ability to measure the polarization of atmospheric light over a wide spectral range, which is a novel ability for the measurement ALI uses. We demonstrate and discuss ALI capability, and how the polarized information may improve aerosol information for this type measurement.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-265, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-265, 2025
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The MATS satellite mission studies atmospheric gravity waves, crucial for momentum transport between atmospheric layers. Launched in November 2022, MATS uses a limb-viewing telescope to capture high-resolution images of Noctilucent clouds and airglow, visualizing wave patterns in the high atmosphere. This paper accompanies the public release of the level 1b data set, i.e. calibrated limb images. Later products will provide global maps of gravity wave properties, airglow and Noctilucent clouds.
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12925–12941, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12925-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12925-2024, 2024
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Greenhouse gas emissions that warm the troposphere also result in stratospheric cooling. The cooling rate is difficult to quantify above 35 km due to a deficit of long-term observational data with high vertical resolution in this region. We use satellite observations from several instruments, including a new temperature product from OSIRIS, to show that the upper stratosphere, from 35–60 km, cooled by 0.5 to 1 K per decade over 2005–2021 and by 0.6 K per decade over 1979–2021.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Alexei Rozanov, Monika Szelag, John P. Burrows, Christian Retscher, Robert Damadeo, Doug Degenstein, Landon A. Rieger, and Adam Bourassa
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5227–5241, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5227-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5227-2024, 2024
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Climate-related studies need information about the distribution of stratospheric aerosols, which influence the energy balance of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this work, we present a merged dataset of vertically resolved stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficients, which is derived from data of six limb and occultation satellite instruments. The created aerosol climate record covers the period from October 1984 to December 2023. It can be used in various climate-related studies.
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The Swedish research satellite MATS (Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy) is designed to study atmospheric waves in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. These waves perturb the temperature field, and thus, by observing three-dimensional temperature fluctuations, their properties can be quantified. This pre-study uses synthetic MATS data generated from a general circulation model to investigate how well wave properties can be retrieved.
Daniel Zawada, Kimberlee Dubé, Taran Warnock, Adam Bourassa, Susann Tegtmeier, and Douglas Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1995–2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1995-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1995-2024, 2024
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Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 7491–7507, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-7491-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-7491-2023, 2023
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This work highlights upgrades to SASKTRAN, a model that simulates sunlight interacting with the atmosphere to help measure trace gases. The upgrades were verified by detailed comparisons between different numerical methods. A case study was performed using SASKTRAN’s multidimensional capabilities, which found that ignoring horizontal variation in the atmosphere (a common practice in the field) can introduce non-negligible errors where there is snow or high pollution.
John M. C. Plane, Jörg Gumbel, Konstantinos S. Kalogerakis, Daniel R. Marsh, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13255–13282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13255-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13255-2023, 2023
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The mesosphere or lower thermosphere region of the atmosphere borders the edge of space. It is subject to extreme ultraviolet photons and charged particles from the Sun and atmospheric gravity waves from below, which tend to break in this region. The pressure is very low, which facilitates chemistry involving species in excited states, and this is also the region where cosmic dust ablates and injects various metals. The result is a unique and exotic chemistry.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Douglas Degenstein, Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, and William Randel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13283–13300, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13283-2023, 2023
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This paper presents a technique for understanding the causes of long-term changes in stratospheric composition. By using N2O as a proxy for stratospheric circulation in the model used to calculated trends, it is possible to separate the effects of dynamics and chemistry on observed trace gas trends. We find that observed HCl increases are due to changes in the stratospheric circulation, as are O3 decreases above 30 hPa in the Northern Hemisphere.
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.
Sebastian Rhode, Peter Preusse, Manfred Ern, Jörn Ungermann, Lukas Krasauskas, Julio Bacmeister, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7901–7934, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7901-2023, 2023
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Gravity waves (GWs) transport energy vertically and horizontally within the atmosphere and thereby affect wind speeds far from their sources. Here, we present a model that identifies orographic GW sources and predicts the pathways of the excited GWs through the atmosphere for a better understanding of horizontal GW propagation. We use this model to explain physical patterns in satellite observations (e.g., low GW activity above the Himalaya) and predict seasonal patterns of GW propagation.
Ethan Runge, Jeff Langille, Daniel Zawada, Adam Bourassa, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3123–3139, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3123-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3123-2023, 2023
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The Limb Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer Experiment (LIFE) instrument takes vertical images of limb radiance across a wide mid-infrared spectral band from a stratospheric balloon. Measurements are used to infer vertical-trace-gas-profile retrievals of H2O, O3, HNO3, CH4, and N2O. Nearly time-/space-coincident observations from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instruments are compared to the LIFE results.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Monika Szelag, Johanna Tamminen, Carlo Arosio, Alexei Rozanov, Mark Weber, Doug Degenstein, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Kaley A. Walker, Patrick Sheese, Daan Hubert, Michel van Roozendael, Christian Retscher, Robert Damadeo, and Jerry D. Lumpe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1881–1899, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1881-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1881-2023, 2023
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The paper presents the updated SAGE-CCI-OMPS+ climate data record of monthly zonal mean ozone profiles. This dataset covers the stratosphere and combines measurements by nine limb and occultation satellite instruments (SAGE II, OSIRIS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY, GOMOS, ACE-FTS, OMPS-LP, POAM III, and SAGE III/ISS). The update includes new versions of MIPAS, ACE-FTS, and OSIRIS datasets and introduces data from additional sensors (POAM III and SAGE III/ISS) and retrieval processors (OMPS-LP).
Qiuyu Chen, Konstantin Ntokas, Björn Linder, Lukas Krasauskas, Manfred Ern, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Erich Becker, Martin Kaufmann, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7071–7103, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7071-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7071-2022, 2022
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Observations of phase speed and direction spectra as well as zonal mean net gravity wave momentum flux are required to understand how gravity waves reach the mesosphere–lower thermosphere and how they there interact with background flow. To this end we propose flying two CubeSats, each deploying a spatial heterodyne spectrometer for limb observation of the airglow. End-to-end simulations demonstrate that individual gravity waves are retrieved faithfully for the expected instrument performance.
Paul S. Jeffery, Kaley A. Walker, Chris E. Sioris, Chris D. Boone, Doug Degenstein, Gloria L. Manney, C. Thomas McElroy, Luis Millán, David A. Plummer, Niall J. Ryan, Patrick E. Sheese, and Jiansheng Zou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14709–14734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14709-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14709-2022, 2022
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The upper troposphere–lower stratosphere is one of the most variable regions in the atmosphere. To improve our understanding of water vapour and ozone concentrations in this region, climatologies have been developed from 14 years of measurements from three Canadian satellite instruments. Horizontal and vertical coordinates have been chosen to minimize the effects of variability. To aid in analysis, model simulations have been used to characterize differences between instrument climatologies.
Kimberlee Dubé, Daniel Zawada, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, William Randel, David Flittner, Patrick Sheese, and Kaley Walker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6163–6180, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6163-2022, 2022
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Satellite observations are important for monitoring changes in atmospheric composition. Here we describe an improved version of the NO2 retrieval for the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System. The resulting NO2 profiles are compared to those from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment – Fourier Transform Spectrometer and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station. All datasets agree within 20 % throughout the stratosphere.
Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Niramson Azouz, Viktoria F. Sofieva, Daan Hubert, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Peter Effertz, Gérard Ancellet, Doug A. Degenstein, Daniel Zawada, Lucien Froidevaux, Stacey Frith, Jeannette Wild, Sean Davis, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Thierry Leblanc, Richard Querel, Kleareti Tourpali, Robert Damadeo, Eliane Maillard Barras, René Stübi, Corinne Vigouroux, Carlo Arosio, Gerald Nedoluha, Ian Boyd, Roeland Van Malderen, Emmanuel Mahieu, Dan Smale, and Ralf Sussmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11657–11673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11657-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11657-2022, 2022
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An updated evaluation up to 2020 of stratospheric ozone profile long-term trends at extrapolar latitudes based on satellite and ground-based records is presented. Ozone increase in the upper stratosphere is confirmed, with significant trends at most latitudes. In this altitude region, a very good agreement is found with trends derived from chemistry–climate model simulations. Observed and modelled trends diverge in the lower stratosphere, but the differences are non-significant.
Bingkun Yu, Xianghui Xue, Christopher J. Scott, Mingjiao Jia, Wuhu Feng, John M. C. Plane, Daniel R. Marsh, Jonas Hedin, Jörg Gumbel, and Xiankang Dou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11485–11504, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11485-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11485-2022, 2022
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We present a study on the climatology of the metal sodium layer in the upper atmosphere from the ground-based measurements obtained from a lidar network, the Odin satellite measurements, and a global model of meteoric sodium in the atmosphere. Comprehensively, comparisons show good agreement and some discrepancies between ground-based observations, satellite measurements, and global model simulations.
Kristof Bognar, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Chris Roth, Taran Warnock, Daniel Zawada, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9553–9569, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9553-2022, 2022
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We quantify recent changes in stratospheric ozone (outside the polar regions) using a combination of three satellite datasets. We find that upper stratospheric ozone have increased significantly since 2000, although the recovery shows an unexpected pause in the Northern Hemisphere. Combined with the likely decrease in ozone in the lower stratosphere, this presents an interesting challenge for predicting the future of the ozone layer.
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.
Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, Adam E. Bourassa, Doug A. Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, C. Thomas McElroy, Donal Murtagh, James M. Russell III, and Jiansheng Zou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1233–1249, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1233-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1233-2022, 2022
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This study analyzes the quality of two versions (v3.6 and v4.1) of ozone concentration measurements from the ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer), by comparing with data from five satellite instruments between 2004 and 2020. It was found that although the v3.6 data exhibit a better agreement than v4.1 with respect to the other instruments, v4.1 exhibits much better stability over time than v3.6. The stability of v4.1 makes it suitable for ozone trend studies.
Debora Griffin, Chris A. McLinden, Enrico Dammers, Cristen Adams, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Carsten Warneke, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Kyle J. Zarzana, Jake P. Rowe, Rainer Volkamer, Christoph Knote, Natalie Kille, Theodore K. Koenig, Christopher F. Lee, Drew Rollins, Pamela S. Rickly, Jack Chen, Lukas Fehr, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, Katherine Hayden, Cristian Mihele, Sumi N. Wren, John Liggio, Ayodeji Akingunola, and Paul Makar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7929–7957, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7929-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7929-2021, 2021
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Satellite-derived NOx emissions from biomass burning are estimated with TROPOMI observations. Two common emission estimation methods are applied, and sensitivity tests with model output were performed to determine the accuracy of these methods. The effect of smoke aerosols on TROPOMI NO2 columns is estimated and compared to aircraft observations from four different aircraft campaigns measuring biomass burning plumes in 2018 and 2019 in North America.
Daniel K. Whiter, Hanna Sundberg, Betty S. Lanchester, Joshua Dreyer, Noora Partamies, Nickolay Ivchenko, Marco Zaccaria Di Fraia, Rosie Oliver, Amanda Serpell-Stevens, Tiffany Shaw-Diaz, and Thomas Braunersreuther
Ann. Geophys., 39, 975–989, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-975-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-975-2021, 2021
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This paper presents an analysis of high-resolution optical and radar observations of a phenomenon called fragmented aurora-like emissions (FAEs) observed close to aurora in the high Arctic. The observations suggest that FAEs are not caused by high-energy electrons or protons entering the atmosphere along Earth's magnetic field and are, therefore, not aurora. The speeds of the FAEs and their internal dynamics were measured and used to evaluate theories for how the FAEs are produced.
Anqi Li, Chris Z. Roth, Adam E. Bourassa, Douglas A. Degenstein, Kristell Pérot, Ole Martin Christensen, and Donal P. Murtagh
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5115–5126, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5115-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5115-2021, 2021
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The nightglow emission originating from the vibrationally excited hydroxyl layer (about 85 km altitude) has been measured by the infrared imager (IRI) on the Odin satellite for more than 15 years. In this study, we document the retrieval steps, the resulting volume emission rates and the layer characteristics. Finally, we use the monthly zonal averages to demonstrate the fidelity of the data set. This unique, long-term data set will be valuable for studying various topics near the mesopause.
Florine Enengl, Noora Partamies, Nickolay Ivchenko, and Lisa Baddeley
Ann. Geophys., 39, 795–809, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-795-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-795-2021, 2021
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Energetic particle precipitation has the potential to change the neutral atmospheric temperature at the bottom of the ionosphere. We have searched for events and investigated a possible correlation between lower-ionosphere electron density enhancements and simultaneous neutral temperature changes. Six of the 10 analysed events are associated with a temperature decrease of 10–20K. The events change the chemical composition in the mesosphere, and the temperatures are probed at lower altitudes.
Francesco Grieco, Kristell Pérot, Donal Murtagh, Patrick Eriksson, Bengt Rydberg, Michael Kiefer, Maya Garcia-Comas, Alyn Lambert, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5823–5857, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5823-2021, 2021
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We present improved Odin/SMR mesospheric H2O concentration and temperature data sets, reprocessed assuming a bigger sideband leakage of the instrument. The validation study shows how the improved SMR data sets agree better with other instruments' observations than the old SMR version did. Given their unique time extension and geographical coverage, and H2O being a good tracer of mesospheric circulation, the new data sets are valuable for the study of dynamical processes and multi-year trends.
Lukas Krasauskas, Jörn Ungermann, Peter Preusse, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Andreas Zahn, Helmut Ziereis, Christian Rolf, Felix Plöger, Paul Konopka, Bärbel Vogel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10249–10272, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, 2021
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A Rossby wave (RW) breaking event was observed over the North Atlantic during the WISE measurement campaign in October 2017. Infrared limb sounding measurements of trace gases in the lower stratosphere, including high-resolution 3-D tomographic reconstruction, revealed complex spatial structures in stratospheric tracers near the polar jet related to previous RW breaking events. Backward-trajectory analysis and tracer correlations were used to study mixing and stratosphere–troposphere exchange.
Daniel Zawada, Ghislain Franssens, Robert Loughman, Antti Mikkonen, Alexei Rozanov, Claudia Emde, Adam Bourassa, Seth Dueck, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Didier Ramon, Vladimir Rozanov, Emmanuel Dekemper, Erkki Kyrölä, John P. Burrows, Didier Fussen, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3953–3972, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3953-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3953-2021, 2021
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Satellite measurements of atmospheric composition often rely on computer tools known as radiative transfer models to model the propagation of sunlight within the atmosphere. Here we have performed a detailed inter-comparison of seven different radiative transfer models in a variety of conditions. We have found that the models agree remarkably well, at a level better than previously reported. This result provides confidence in our understanding of atmospheric radiative transfer.
Michaela I. Hegglin, Susann Tegtmeier, John Anderson, Adam E. Bourassa, Samuel Brohede, Doug Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, Bernd Funke, John Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Erkki T. Kyrölä, Jerry Lumpe, Donal Murtagh, Jessica L. Neu, Kristell Pérot, Ellis E. Remsberg, Alexei Rozanov, Matthew Toohey, Joachim Urban, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, Hsiang-Jui Wang, Carlo Arosio, Robert Damadeo, Ryan A. Fuller, Gretchen Lingenfelser, Christopher McLinden, Diane Pendlebury, Chris Roth, Niall J. Ryan, Christopher Sioris, Lesley Smith, and Katja Weigel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1855–1903, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, 2021
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An overview of the SPARC Data Initiative is presented, to date the most comprehensive assessment of stratospheric composition measurements spanning 1979–2018. Measurements of 26 chemical constituents obtained from an international suite of space-based limb sounders were compiled into vertically resolved, zonal monthly mean time series. The quality and consistency of these gridded datasets are then evaluated using a climatological validation approach and a range of diagnostics.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Monika Szeląg, Johanna Tamminen, Erkki Kyrölä, Doug Degenstein, Chris Roth, Daniel Zawada, Alexei Rozanov, Carlo Arosio, John P. Burrows, Mark Weber, Alexandra Laeng, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Lucien Froidevaux, Nathaniel Livesey, Michel van Roozendael, and Christian Retscher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6707–6720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6707-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6707-2021, 2021
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The MErged GRIdded Dataset of Ozone Profiles is a long-term (2001–2018) stratospheric ozone profile climate data record with resolved longitudinal structure that combines the data from six limb satellite instruments. The dataset can be used for various analyses, some of which are discussed in the paper. In particular, regionally and vertically resolved ozone trends are evaluated, including trends in the polar regions.
Minna Palmroth, Maxime Grandin, Theodoros Sarris, Eelco Doornbos, Stelios Tourgaidis, Anita Aikio, Stephan Buchert, Mark A. Clilverd, Iannis Dandouras, Roderick Heelis, Alex Hoffmann, Nickolay Ivchenko, Guram Kervalishvili, David J. Knudsen, Anna Kotova, Han-Li Liu, David M. Malaspina, Günther March, Aurélie Marchaudon, Octav Marghitu, Tomoko Matsuo, Wojciech J. Miloch, Therese Moretto-Jørgensen, Dimitris Mpaloukidis, Nils Olsen, Konstantinos Papadakis, Robert Pfaff, Panagiotis Pirnaris, Christian Siemes, Claudia Stolle, Jonas Suni, Jose van den IJssel, Pekka T. Verronen, Pieter Visser, and Masatoshi Yamauchi
Ann. Geophys., 39, 189–237, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-189-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-189-2021, 2021
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This is a review paper that summarises the current understanding of the lower thermosphere–ionosphere (LTI) in terms of measurements and modelling. The LTI is the transition region between space and the atmosphere and as such of tremendous importance to both the domains of space and atmosphere. The paper also serves as the background for European Space Agency Earth Explorer 10 candidate mission Daedalus.
Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, Doug A. Degenstein, Felicia Kolonjari, David Plummer, Douglas E. Kinnison, Patrick Jöckel, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1425–1438, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1425-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1425-2021, 2021
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Output from climate chemistry models (CMAM, EMAC, and WACCM) is used to estimate the expected geophysical variability of ozone concentrations between coincident satellite instrument measurement times and geolocations. We use the Canadian ACE-FTS and OSIRIS instruments as a case study. Ensemble mean estimates are used to optimize coincidence criteria between the two instruments, allowing for the use of more coincident profiles while providing an estimate of the geophysical variation.
Kimberlee Dubé, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Douglas Degenstein, Robert Damadeo, David Flittner, and William Randel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 557–566, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-557-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-557-2021, 2021
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SAGE III/ISS measures profiles of NO2; however the algorithm to convert raw measurements to NO2 concentration neglects variations caused by changes in chemistry over the course of a day. We devised a procedure to account for these diurnal variations and assess their impact on NO2 measurements from SAGE III/ISS. We find that the new NO2 concentration is more than 10 % lower than NO2 from the standard algorithm below 30 km, showing that this effect is important to consider at lower altitudes.
Anqi Li, Chris Z. Roth, Kristell Pérot, Ole Martin Christensen, Adam Bourassa, Doug A. Degenstein, and Donal P. Murtagh
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6215–6236, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6215-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6215-2020, 2020
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The OSIRIS IR imager, one of the instruments on the Odin satellite, routinely measures the oxygen airglow at 1.27 μm. In this study, we primarily focus on the steps done for retrieving the calibrated IRA band limb radiance, the volume emission rate of O2(a1∆g) and finally the ozone number density. Specifically, we use a novel approach to address the issue of the measurements that were made close to the local sunrise, where the O2(a1∆g) diverges from the equilibrium state.
Francesco Grieco, Kristell Pérot, Donal Murtagh, Patrick Eriksson, Peter Forkman, Bengt Rydberg, Bernd Funke, Kaley A. Walker, and Hugh C. Pumphrey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5013–5031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5013-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5013-2020, 2020
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We present a unique – by time extension and geographical coverage – dataset of satellite observations of carbon monoxide (CO) in the mesosphere which will allow us to study dynamical processes, since CO is a very good tracer of circulation in the mesosphere. Previously, the dataset was unusable due to instrumental artefacts that affected the measurements. We identify the cause of the artefacts, eliminate them and prove the quality of the results by comparing with other instrument measurements.
Cited articles
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Short summary
In this study, the primary instrument carried by the satellite MATS is compared to the OSIRIS instrument on board 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.
In this study, the primary instrument carried by the satellite MATS is compared to the OSIRIS...