Articles | Volume 18, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6835-2025
© 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-18-6835-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 20 Nov 2025
| 20 Nov 2025
Assessment of ACE-MAESTRO v3.13 multi-wavelength stratospheric aerosol extinction measurements
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Matthew Toohey
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Adam Bourassa
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
C. Thomas McElroy
Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Christopher Sioris
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kaley A. Walker
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Related authors
Thomas Jacques Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Sujan Khanal, Man Mei Chim, Magali Verkerk, Ben Johnson, Anja Schmidt, Mahesh Kovilakam, Michael Sigl, Zebedee Nicholls, Larry Thomason, Vaishali Naik, Landon Rieger, Dominik Stiller, Elisa Ziegler, and Isabel Smith
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Climate forcings, such as solar radiation or anthropogenic greenhouse gases, are required to run global climate model simulations. Stratospheric aerosols, which mostly originate from large volcanic eruptions, are a key natural forcing. In this paper, we document the stratospheric aerosol forcing dataset that will feed the next generation (CMIP7) of climate models. Our dataset is very different from its predecessor (CMIP6), which might affect simulations of the 1850–2021 climate.
Matthew Toohey, Yue Jia, Sujan Khanal, and Susann Tegtmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3821–3839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The climate impact of volcanic eruptions depends in part on how long aerosols spend in the stratosphere. We develop a conceptual model for stratospheric aerosol lifetime in terms of production and decay timescales, as well as a lag between injection and decay. We find residence time depends strongly on injection height in the lower stratosphere. We show that the lifetime of stratospheric aerosol from the 1991 Pinatubo eruption is around 22 months, significantly longer than is commonly reported.
Kimberlee Dubé, Adam Bourassa, Susann Tegtmeier, Daniel Zawada, and Douglas Degenstein
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5470, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5470, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
The stratopause, the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere, is projected to cool and drop in response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. We use observations from two satellite instruments to assess the annual and inter-annual variability and to quantify trends in the stratopause temperature and height. We find that the stratopause cooled by ~0.5–1 K per decade and that the tropical stratopause moved lower by 300–475 m per decade during 2005–2021.
Daniel Letros, Liam Graham, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, Paul Loewen, Landon Rieger, and Nick Lloyd
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 6185–6210, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6185-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
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 of measurement.
Zhihong Zhuo, Xinyue Wang, Yunqian Zhu, Wandi Yu, Ewa M. Bednarz, Eric Fleming, Peter R. Colarco, Shingo Watanabe, David Plummer, Georgiy Stenchikov, William Randel, Adam Bourassa, Valentina Aquila, Takashi Sekiya, Mark R. Schoeberl, Simone Tilmes, Jun Zhang, Paul J. Kushner, and Francesco S. R. Pausata
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 13161–13176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13161-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13161-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The 2022 Hunga eruption caused unprecedented stratospheric water injection, triggering unique atmospheric impacts. This study combines observations and model simulations, projecting a stratospheric water vapor anomaly lasting 4–7 years, with significant temperature variations and ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere lasting 7–10 years. These findings offer critical insights into the role of stratospheric water vapor in shaping climate and atmospheric chemistry.
Magali Verkerk, Thomas J. Aubry, Chris Smith, Peter O. Hopcroft, Michael Sigl, Jessica E. Tierney, Kevin Anchukaitis, Matthew Osman, Anja Schmidt, and Matthew Toohey
Clim. Past, 21, 1755–1778, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1755-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1755-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Large volcanic eruptions can trigger global cooling, affecting human societies. Using ice-core records and simple climate model to simulate volcanic effect over the last 8500 years, we show that volcanic eruptions cool the climate by 0.12 °C on average. By comparing model results with temperature recorded by tree rings over the last 1000 years, we demonstrate that our models can predict the large-scale cooling caused by volcanic eruptions and can be used in cases of large eruptions in the future.
Thomas Jacques Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Sujan Khanal, Man Mei Chim, Magali Verkerk, Ben Johnson, Anja Schmidt, Mahesh Kovilakam, Michael Sigl, Zebedee Nicholls, Larry Thomason, Vaishali Naik, Landon Rieger, Dominik Stiller, Elisa Ziegler, and Isabel Smith
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4990, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Climate forcings, such as solar radiation or anthropogenic greenhouse gases, are required to run global climate model simulations. Stratospheric aerosols, which mostly originate from large volcanic eruptions, are a key natural forcing. In this paper, we document the stratospheric aerosol forcing dataset that will feed the next generation (CMIP7) of climate models. Our dataset is very different from its predecessor (CMIP6), which might affect simulations of the 1850–2021 climate.
Jiansheng Zou, C. Thomas McElroy, James R. Drummond, Kaley A. Walker, and Paul S. Jeffery
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4636, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4636, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Two decades of operations and performance for the MAESTRO instrument are reviewed. Topics addressed include: a) occultation measurement schemes, b) MAESTRO’s field of view (FOV) on the Sun, c) FOV changes on the solar disk during occultations and their impact on calculated transmittances, d) the relation between the MAESTRO and ACE-FTS FOVs, e) verification of wavelength assignment, and how it has been affected by thermal environment changes, and f) the determination of MAESTRO tangent heights.
Meghan Brehon, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Sean M. Davis, Udo Grabowski, Tobias Kerzenmacher, and Gabriele Stiller
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4457, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4457, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We used satellite-based water vapour data to estimate vertical transport rates in the tropical stratosphere for 1995 to 2020. These estimates were compared with other upwelling datasets and used to analyze stratospheric variability. Our results find good agreement between the datasets and reveal that variability in upwelling is mainly driven by known climate patterns like the QBO and ENSO with a clear signal in the upwelling time series coinciding with the QBO disruptions of 2015/16 and 2019/20.
Roberto Bilbao, Thomas J. Aubry, Matthew Toohey, Pablo Ortega, Vladimir Lapin, and Etienne Tourigny
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 6239–6254, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-6239-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-6239-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Large volcanic eruptions are unpredictable and can have significant climatic impacts. If one occurs, operational decadal forecasts will become invalid and must be rerun including the volcanic forcing. By analyzing the climate response in EC-Earth3 retrospective predictions, we show that idealised forcings produced with two simple models could be used in operational decadal forecasts to account for the radiative impacts of the next major volcanic eruption.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Alexandra Laeng, Thomas von Clarmann, Gabriele Stiller, Michael Kiefer, Johanna Tamminen, Alexey Rozanov, Carlo Arosio, Nathaniel Livesey, Robert Damadeo, Patrick Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Doug Degenstein, Daniel Zawada, Natalya A. Kramarova, and Arno Keppens
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2830, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2830, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
For satellite measurements of atmospheric composition, the random uncertainty estimates provided by retrieval algorithms might be imperfect due to various approximations used in the retrievals or presence of unknown error sources. This paper presents an overview of the methods used for validation of random uncertainty estimates. All methods discussed in this study are categorized, and assumptions and limitations of each method are discussed.
Clair Duchamp, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, Pasquale Sellitto, Adam E. Bourassa, Alexei Rozanov, Ghassan Taha, and Daniel J. Zawada
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3355, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3355, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed the stratospheric aerosol plume from the 2022 Hunga eruption using satellite lidar data. We implemented a method to retrieve some aerosol properties, as standard products failed in this case. We found very high optical depth values in the days following the eruption, which decreased rapidly but remained elevated for months. Our results are broadly validated, though some satellite products underestimate the values due, in part, to the unusual aerosol size distribution in the plume.
Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, and David A. Plummer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5199–5213, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5199-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5199-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Observations from Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment–Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) are used to examine global stratospheric water vapour trends for 2004–2021. The satellite measurements are used to quantify trend contributions arising from changes in tropical tropopause temperatures, general circulation patterns, and methane concentrations. While most of the observed trends can be explained by these changes, there remains an unaccounted-for and increasing source of water vapour in the lower mid-stratosphere at mid-latitudes, which is discussed.
Ewa M. Bednarz, Amy H. Butler, Xinyue Wang, Zhihong Zhuo, Wandi Yu, Georgiy Stenchikov, Matthew Toohey, and Yunqian Zhu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1970, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1970, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Injection of sulfur and water vapour by the Hunga volcanic eruption significantly altered chemical composition and radiative budget of the stratosphere. Yet, whether the eruption could also affect surface climate, especially via indirect pathways, remains poorly understood. Here we investigate these effects using large ensembles of simulations with the CESM2(WACCM6) Earth system model.
Debora Griffin, Colin Hempel, Chris McLinden, Shailesh Kumar Kharol, Colin Lee, Andre Fogal, Christopher Sioris, Mark Shephard, and Yuan You
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1681, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Surface NO2 concentrations are obtained across North America using satellite data and machine learning, and compared to traditional approaches to determine surface NO2 from satellite observations.
Laura N. Saunders, Kaley A. Walker, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Florian Haenel, Hella Garny, Harald Bönisch, Chris D. Boone, Ariana E. Castillo, Andreas Engel, Johannes C. Laube, Marianna Linz, Felix Ploeger, David A. Plummer, Eric A. Ray, and Patrick E. Sheese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4185–4209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a 17-year stratospheric age-of-air dataset derived from ACE-FTS satellite measurements of sulfur hexafluoride. This is the longest continuous, global, and vertically resolved age of air time series available to date. In this paper, we show that this dataset agrees well with age-of-air datasets based on measurements from other instruments. We also present trends in the midlatitude lower stratosphere that indicate changes in the global circulation that are predicted by climate models.
Matthew Toohey, Yue Jia, Sujan Khanal, and Susann Tegtmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3821–3839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The climate impact of volcanic eruptions depends in part on how long aerosols spend in the stratosphere. We develop a conceptual model for stratospheric aerosol lifetime in terms of production and decay timescales, as well as a lag between injection and decay. We find residence time depends strongly on injection height in the lower stratosphere. We show that the lifetime of stratospheric aerosol from the 1991 Pinatubo eruption is around 22 months, significantly longer than is commonly reported.
Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Francesco D'Amato, Teresa Campos, Marc von Hobe, Shawn B. Honomichl, Peter Hoor, Laura L. Pan, Michelle L. Santee, Silvia Viciani, Kaley A. Walker, and Michaela I. Hegglin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1155, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1155, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present an improved version of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS-3.0), which better represents transport from the lower atmosphere to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. By refining grid resolution and improving convection representation, the model more accurately simulates carbon monoxide transport. Comparisons with satellite and in situ observations highlight its ability to capture seasonal variations and improve our understanding of atmospheric transport.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Felix Ploeger, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1433–1447, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1433-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1433-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The transport rate of air in the stratosphere has changed in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. This transport rate can be approximated using measurements of long-lived trace gases. We use observations and model results to derive anomalies and trends in the mean rate of stratospheric air transport. We find that air in the Northern Hemisphere aged by up to 0.3 years per decade relative to air in the Southern Hemisphere over 2004–2017.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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).
Alexei Rozanov, Christine Pohl, Carlo Arosio, Adam Bourassa, Klaus Bramstedt, Elizaveta Malinina, Landon Rieger, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6677–6695, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6677-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a new algorithm to retrieve vertical distributions of aerosol extinction coefficients in the stratosphere. The algorithm is applied to measurements of scattered solar light from the spaceborne OMPS-LP (Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler) instrument. The retrieval results are compared to data from other spaceborne instruments and used to investigate the evolution of the aerosol plume following the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano in January 2022.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Douglas Degenstein, William Randel, Sean Davis, Michael Schwartz, Nathaniel Livesey, and Anne Smith
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Christine Pohl, Felix Wrana, Alexei Rozanov, Terry Deshler, Elizaveta Malinina, Christian von Savigny, Landon A. Rieger, Adam E. Bourassa, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4153–4181, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4153-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4153-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics is important for understanding chemical and climate aerosol feedbacks. Two particle size distribution parameters, the aerosol extinction coefficient and the effective radius, are obtained from SCIAMACHY limb observations. The aerosol characteristics show good agreement with independent data sets from balloon-borne and satellite observations. This data set expands the limited knowledge of stratospheric aerosol characteristics.
Luis F. Millán, Peter Hoor, Michaela I. Hegglin, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Paul Jeffery, Daniel Kunkel, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Hao Ye, Thierry Leblanc, and Kaley Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7927–7959, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7927-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7927-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In the Observed Composition Trends And Variability in the UTLS (OCTAV-UTLS) Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) activity, we have mapped multiplatform ozone datasets into coordinate systems to systematically evaluate the influence of these coordinates on binned climatological variability. This effort unifies the work of studies that focused on individual coordinate system variability. Our goal was to create the most comprehensive assessment of this topic.
Moritz Günther, Hauke Schmidt, Claudia Timmreck, and Matthew Toohey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7203–7225, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7203-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7203-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Stratospheric aerosol has been shown to cause pronounced cooling in the tropical Indian and western Pacific oceans. Using a climate model, we show that this arises from enhanced meridional energy export via the stratosphere. The aerosol causes stratospheric heating and thus an acceleration of the Brewer–Dobson circulation that accomplishes this transport. Our findings highlight the importance of circulation adjustments and surface perspectives on forcing for understanding temperature responses.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Zhihong Zhuo, Herman F. Fuglestvedt, Matthew Toohey, and Kirstin Krüger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6233–6249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6233-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6233-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work simulated volcanic eruptions with varied eruption source parameters under different initial conditions with a fully coupled Earth system model. We show that initial atmospheric conditions control the meridional distribution of volcanic volatiles and modulate volcanic forcing and subsequent climate and environmental impacts of tropical and Northern Hemisphere extratropical eruptions. This highlights the potential for predicting these impacts as early as the first post-eruption month.
Xin Yang, Kimberly Strong, Alison S. Criscitiello, Marta Santos-Garcia, Kristof Bognar, Xiaoyi Zhao, Pierre Fogal, Kaley A. Walker, Sara M. Morris, and Peter Effertz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5863–5886, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5863-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5863-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses snow samples collected from a Canadian high Arctic site, Eureka, to demonstrate that surface snow in early spring is a net sink of atmospheric bromine and nitrogen. Surface snow bromide and nitrate are significantly correlated, indicating the oxidation of reactive nitrogen is accelerated by reactive bromine. In addition, we show evidence that snow photochemical release of reactive bromine is very weak, and its emission flux is much smaller than the deposition flux of bromide.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Paul S. Jeffery, James R. Drummond, Jiansheng Zou, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4253–4263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4253-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4253-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The MOPITT instrument has been monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) since March 2000. This dataset has been used for many applications; however, episodic emission events, which release large amounts of CO into the atmosphere, are a major source of uncertainty. This study presents a method for identifying these events by determining measurements that are unlikely to have typically arisen. The distribution and frequency of these flagged measurements in the MOPITT dataset are presented and discussed.
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
Short summary
Short summary
There remain large uncertainties in long-term changes of stratospheric–atmospheric temperatures. We have produced a time series of more than 20 years of satellite-based temperature measurements from the OSIRIS instrument in the upper–middle stratosphere. The dataset is publicly available and intended to be used for a better understanding of changes in stratospheric temperatures.
Julie Christin Schindlbeck-Belo, Matthew Toohey, Marion Jegen, Steffen Kutterolf, and Kira Rehfeld
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1063–1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1063-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1063-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Volcanic forcing of climate resulting from major explosive eruptions is a dominant natural driver of past climate variability. To support model studies of the potential impacts of explosive volcanism on climate variability across timescales, we present an ensemble reconstruction of volcanic stratospheric sulfur injection over the last 140 000 years that is based primarily on tephra records.
Victoria A. Flood, Kimberly Strong, Cynthia H. Whaley, Kaley A. Walker, Thomas Blumenstock, James W. Hannigan, Johan Mellqvist, Justus Notholt, Mathias Palm, Amelie N. Röhling, Stephen Arnold, Stephen Beagley, Rong-You Chien, Jesper Christensen, Makoto Deushi, Srdjan Dobricic, Xinyi Dong, Joshua S. Fu, Michael Gauss, Wanmin Gong, Joakim Langner, Kathy S. Law, Louis Marelle, Tatsuo Onishi, Naga Oshima, David A. Plummer, Luca Pozzoli, Jean-Christophe Raut, Manu A. Thomas, Svetlana Tsyro, and Steven Turnock
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1079–1118, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1079-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1079-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
It is important to understand the composition of the Arctic atmosphere and how it is changing. Atmospheric models provide simulations that can inform policy. This study examines simulations of CH4, CO, and O3 by 11 models. Model performance is assessed by comparing results matched in space and time to measurements from five high-latitude ground-based infrared spectrometers. This work finds that models generally underpredict the concentrations of these gases in the Arctic troposphere.
Lukas Fehr, Chris McLinden, Debora Griffin, Daniel Zawada, Doug Degenstein, and Adam Bourassa
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Andrea Pazmiño, Florence Goutail, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Alain Hauchecorne, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Franck Lefèvre, Audrey Lecouffe, Michel Van Roozendael, Nis Jepsen, Georg Hansen, Rigel Kivi, Kimberly Strong, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15655–15670, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15655-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15655-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The vortex-averaged ozone loss over the last 3 decades is evaluated for both polar regions using the passive ozone tracer of the chemical transport model TOMCAT/SLIMCAT and total ozone observations from the SAOZ network and MSR2 reanalysis. Three metrics were developed to compute ozone trends since 2000. The study confirms the ozone recovery in the Antarctic and shows a potential sign of quantitative detection of ozone recovery in the Arctic that needs to be robustly confirmed in the future.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Vladimir Savastiouk, Henri Diémoz, and C. Thomas McElroy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4785–4806, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4785-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4785-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes a way to significantly improve ozone measurements at low sun elevations and large ozone amounts when using the Brewer ozone spectrophotometer. The proposed algorithm will allow more uniform ozone measurements across the monitoring network. This will contribute to more reliable trend analysis and support the satellite validation. This research contributes to better understanding the physics of the instrument, and the new algorithm is based on this new knowledge.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Vitali Fioletov, Xiaoyi Zhao, Ihab Abboud, Michael Brohart, Akira Ogyu, Reno Sit, Sum Chi Lee, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Koji Miyagawa, Bryan J. Johnson, Patrick Cullis, John Booth, Glen McConville, and C. Thomas McElroy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12731–12751, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12731-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12731-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stratospheric ozone within the Southern Hemisphere springtime polar vortex has been a subject of intense research since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole. The wintertime ozone in the vortex is less studied. We show that the recent wintertime ozone values over the South Pole were about 12 % below the pre-1980s level; i.e., the decline there was nearly twice as large as that over southern midlatitudes. Thus, wintertime ozone there can be used as an indicator of the ozone layer state.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Luis F. Millán, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Michaela I. Hegglin, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Thierry Leblanc, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Kaley Walker, Krzysztof Wargan, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2957–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The determination of atmospheric composition trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is still highly uncertain. We present the creation of dynamical diagnostics to map several ozone datasets (ozonesondes, lidars, aircraft, and satellite measurements) in geophysically based coordinate systems. The diagnostics can also be used to analyze other greenhouse gases relevant to surface climate and UTLS chemistry.
Lucie J. Lücke, Andrew P. Schurer, Matthew Toohey, Lauren R. Marshall, and Gabriele C. Hegerl
Clim. Past, 19, 959–978, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-959-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-959-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Evidence from tree rings and ice cores provides incomplete information about past volcanic eruptions and the Sun's activity. We model past climate with varying solar and volcanic scenarios and compare it to reconstructed temperature. We confirm that the Sun's influence was small and that uncertain volcanic activity can strongly influence temperature shortly after the eruption. On long timescales, independent data sources closely agree, increasing our confidence in understanding of past climate.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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).
Nasrin Mostafavi Pak, Jacob K. Hedelius, Sébastien Roche, Liz Cunningham, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Coleen Roehl, Joshua Laughner, Geoffrey Toon, Paul Wennberg, Harrison Parker, Colin Arrowsmith, Joseph Mendonca, Pierre Fogal, Tyler Wizenberg, Beatriz Herrera, Kimberly Strong, Kaley A. Walker, Felix Vogel, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1239–1261, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-based remote sensing instruments in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Consistency between TCCON measurements is crucial to accurately infer changes in atmospheric composition. We use portable remote sensing instruments (EM27/SUN) to evaluate biases between TCCON stations in North America. We also improve the retrievals of EM27/SUN instruments and evaluate the previous (GGG2014) and newest (GGG2020) retrieval algorithms.
Joshua L. Laughner, Sébastien Roche, Matthäus Kiel, Geoffrey C. Toon, Debra Wunch, Bianca C. Baier, Sébastien Biraud, Huilin Chen, Rigel Kivi, Thomas Laemmel, Kathryn McKain, Pierre-Yves Quéhé, Constantina Rousogenous, Britton B. Stephens, Kaley Walker, and Paul O. Wennberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1121–1146, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1121-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Observations using sunlight to measure surface-to-space total column of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need an initial guess of the vertical distribution of those gases to start from. We have developed an approach to provide those initial guess profiles that uses readily available meteorological data as input. This lets us make these guesses without simulating them with a global model. The profiles generated this way match independent observations well.
Yi Wang, Mark Schoeberl, Ghassan Taha, Daniel Zawada, and Adam Bourassa
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-36, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-36, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The OMPS-LP satellite instrument measures aerosol scattering properties across the atmospheric limb. Adopting an algorithm that uses extinction at two wavelengths, we retrieve vertical profiles of particle size and concentration. We demonstrate that these profiles are consistent with in-situ balloon and SAGE-III/ISS satellite measurements. We also show how aerosol size and concentration evolve during Reikoke and Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruptions.
Ali Jalali, Kaley A. Walker, Kimberly Strong, Rebecca R. Buchholz, Merritt N. Deeter, Debra Wunch, Sébastien Roche, Tyler Wizenberg, Erik Lutsch, Erin McGee, Helen M. Worden, Pierre Fogal, and James R. Drummond
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6837–6863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6837-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6837-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study validates MOPITT version 8 carbon monoxide measurements over the Canadian high Arctic for the period 2006 to 2019. The MOPITT products from different detector pixels and channels are compared with ground-based measurements from the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. These results show good consistency between the satellite and ground-based measurements and provide guidance on the usage of these MOPITT data at high latitudes.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Sarah A. Strode, Ghassan Taha, Luke D. Oman, Robert Damadeo, David Flittner, Mark Schoeberl, Christopher E. Sioris, and Ryan Stauffer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6145–6161, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6145-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6145-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We use a global atmospheric chemistry model simulation to generate scaling factors that account for the daily cycle of NO2 and ozone. These factors facilitate comparisons between sunrise and sunset observations from SAGE III/ISS and observations from other instruments. We provide the scaling factors as monthly zonal means for different latitudes and altitudes. We find that applying these factors yields more consistent comparisons between observations from SAGE III/ISS and other instruments.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Xin Yang, Kimberly Strong, Alison S. Criscitiello, Marta Santos-Garcia, Kristof Bognar, Xiaoyi Zhao, Pierre Fogal, Kaley A. Walker, Sara M. Morris, and Peter Effertz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-696, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-696, 2022
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Snow pack in high Arctic plays a key role in polar atmospheric chemistry, especially in spring when photochemistry becomes active. By sampling surface snow from a Canadian high Arctic location at Eureka, Nunavut (80° N, 86° W), we demonstrate that surface snow is a net sink rather than a source of atmospheric reactive bromine and nitrate. This finding is new and opposite to previous conclusions that snowpack is a large and direct source of reactive bromine in polar spring.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, Joseph R. McConnell, Jihong Cole-Dai, and Mirko Severi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3167–3196, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3167-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3167-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Volcanism is a key driver of climate. Based on ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, we reconstruct its climate impact potential over the Holocene. By aligning records on a well-dated chronology from Antarctica, we resolve long-standing inconsistencies in the dating of past volcanic eruptions. We reconstruct 850 eruptions (which, in total, injected 7410 Tg of sulfur in the stratosphere) and estimate how they changed the opacity of the atmosphere, a prerequisite for climate model simulations.
Helen Mackay, Gill Plunkett, Britta J. L. Jensen, Thomas J. Aubry, Christophe Corona, Woon Mi Kim, Matthew Toohey, Michael Sigl, Markus Stoffel, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Christoph Raible, Matthew S. M. Bolton, Joseph G. Manning, Timothy P. Newfield, Nicola Di Cosmo, Francis Ludlow, Conor Kostick, Zhen Yang, Lisa Coyle McClung, Matthew Amesbury, Alistair Monteath, Paul D. M. Hughes, Pete G. Langdon, Dan Charman, Robert Booth, Kimberley L. Davies, Antony Blundell, and Graeme T. Swindles
Clim. Past, 18, 1475–1508, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1475-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1475-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We assess the climatic and societal impact of the 852/3 CE Alaska Mount Churchill eruption using environmental reconstructions, historical records and climate simulations. The eruption is associated with significant Northern Hemisphere summer cooling, despite having only a moderate sulfate-based climate forcing potential; however, evidence of a widespread societal response is lacking. We discuss the difficulties of confirming volcanic impacts of a single eruption even when it is precisely dated.
Kang Sun, Mahdi Yousefi, Christopher Chan Miller, Kelly Chance, Gonzalo González Abad, Iouli E. Gordon, Xiong Liu, Ewan O'Sullivan, Christopher E. Sioris, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3721–3745, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3721-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3721-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study of upper atmospheric airglow from oxygen is motivated by the need to measure oxygen simultaneously with methane and CO2 in satellite remote sensing. We provide an accurate understanding of the spatial, temporal, and spectral distribution of airglow emissions, which will help in the satellite remote sensing of greenhouse gases and constraining the chemical and physical processes in the upper atmosphere.
William G. Read, Gabriele Stiller, Stefan Lossow, Michael Kiefer, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Dale Hurst, Holger Vömel, Karen Rosenlof, Bianca M. Dinelli, Piera Raspollini, Gerald E. Nedoluha, John C. Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Patrick Eriksson, Christopher E. Sioris, Kaley A. Walker, Katja Weigel, John P. Burrows, and Alexei Rozanov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3377–3400, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3377-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3377-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper attempts to provide an assessment of the accuracy of 21 satellite-based instruments that remotely measure atmospheric humidity in the upper troposphere of the Earth's atmosphere. The instruments made their measurements from 1984 to the present time; however, most of these instruments began operations after 2000, and only a few are still operational. The objective of this study is to quantify the accuracy of each satellite humidity data set.
Cynthia H. Whaley, Rashed Mahmood, Knut von Salzen, Barbara Winter, Sabine Eckhardt, Stephen Arnold, Stephen Beagley, Silvia Becagli, Rong-You Chien, Jesper Christensen, Sujay Manish Damani, Xinyi Dong, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Gregory Faluvegi, Mark Flanner, Joshua S. Fu, Michael Gauss, Fabio Giardi, Wanmin Gong, Jens Liengaard Hjorth, Lin Huang, Ulas Im, Yugo Kanaya, Srinath Krishnan, Zbigniew Klimont, Thomas Kühn, Joakim Langner, Kathy S. Law, Louis Marelle, Andreas Massling, Dirk Olivié, Tatsuo Onishi, Naga Oshima, Yiran Peng, David A. Plummer, Olga Popovicheva, Luca Pozzoli, Jean-Christophe Raut, Maria Sand, Laura N. Saunders, Julia Schmale, Sangeeta Sharma, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Henrik Skov, Fumikazu Taketani, Manu A. Thomas, Rita Traversi, Kostas Tsigaridis, Svetlana Tsyro, Steven Turnock, Vito Vitale, Kaley A. Walker, Minqi Wang, Duncan Watson-Parris, and Tahya Weiss-Gibbons
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5775–5828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5775-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5775-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Air pollutants, like ozone and soot, play a role in both global warming and air quality. Atmospheric models are often used to provide information to policy makers about current and future conditions under different emissions scenarios. In order to have confidence in those simulations, in this study we compare simulated air pollution from 18 state-of-the-art atmospheric models to measured air pollution in order to assess how well the models perform.
Davide Zanchettin, Claudia Timmreck, Myriam Khodri, Anja Schmidt, Matthew Toohey, Manabu Abe, Slimane Bekki, Jason Cole, Shih-Wei Fang, Wuhu Feng, Gabriele Hegerl, Ben Johnson, Nicolas Lebas, Allegra N. LeGrande, Graham W. Mann, Lauren Marshall, Landon Rieger, Alan Robock, Sara Rubinetti, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Helen Weierbach
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2265–2292, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides metadata and first analyses of the volc-pinatubo-full experiment of CMIP6-VolMIP. Results from six Earth system models reveal significant differences in radiative flux anomalies that trace back to different implementations of volcanic forcing. Surface responses are in contrast overall consistent across models, reflecting the large spread due to internal variability. A second phase of VolMIP shall consider both aspects toward improved protocol for volc-pinatubo-full.
Julia Koch, Adam Bourassa, Nick Lloyd, Chris Roth, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3191–3202, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3191-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The mesopause, the region of the earth's atmosphere between 85 and 100 km, is hard to access by direct measurements. Therefore we look for parameters that can be measured using satellite or ground-based measurements. In this study we researched sodium airglow, a phenomenon that occurs when sodium atoms are excited by chemical reactions. We compared satellite measurements of the airglow and resulting sodium concentration profiles to gain a better understanding of the sodium in that region.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Gill Plunkett, Michael Sigl, Hans F. Schwaiger, Emma L. Tomlinson, Matthew Toohey, Joseph R. McConnell, Jonathan R. Pilcher, Takeshi Hasegawa, and Claus Siebe
Clim. Past, 18, 45–65, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-45-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-45-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We report the identification of volcanic ash associated with a sulfate layer in Greenland ice cores previously thought to have been from the Vesuvius 79 CE eruption and which had been used to confirm the precise dating of the Greenland ice-core chronology. We find that the tephra was probably produced by an eruption in Alaska. We show the importance of verifying sources of volcanic signals in ice cores through ash analysis to avoid errors in dating ice cores and interpreting volcanic impacts.
Mahtab Majdzadeh, Craig A. Stroud, Christopher Sioris, Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Chris McLinden, Xiaoyi Zhao, Michael D. Moran, Ihab Abboud, and Jack Chen
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 219–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-219-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-219-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A new lookup table for aerosol optical properties based on a Mie scattering code was calculated and adopted within an improved version of the photolysis module in the GEM-MACH in-line chemical transport model. The modified version of the photolysis module makes use of online interactive aerosol feedback and applies core-shell parameterizations to the black carbon absorption efficiency based on Bond et al. (2006) to the size bins with black carbon mass fraction of less than 40 %.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Tyler Wizenberg, Kimberly Strong, Kaley Walker, Erik Lutsch, Tobias Borsdorff, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7707–7728, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7707-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7707-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
CO is an important atmospheric gas that influences both air quality and the climate. Here, we compare CO measurements from TROPOMI with those from ACE-FTS and an Arctic ground-based FTS at Eureka, Nunavut, to further characterize the accuracy of TROPOMI measurements. CO columns from the instruments agree well but show larger differences at high latitudes. Despite this, the results fall within the TROPOMI accuracy target, indicating good data quality at high latitudes.
Anne Dallmeyer, Martin Claussen, Stephan J. Lorenz, Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 17, 2481–2513, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2481-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using the comprehensive Earth system model, MPI-ESM1.2, we explore the global Holocene vegetation changes and interpret them in terms of the Holocene climate change. The model results reveal that most of the Holocene vegetation transitions seen outside the high northern latitudes can be attributed to modifications in the intensity of the global summer monsoons.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Nathaniel J. Livesey, William G. Read, Lucien Froidevaux, Alyn Lambert, Michelle L. Santee, Michael J. Schwartz, Luis F. Millán, Robert F. Jarnot, Paul A. Wagner, Dale F. Hurst, Kaley A. Walker, Patrick E. Sheese, and Gerald E. Nedoluha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15409–15430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15409-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15409-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), an instrument on NASA's Aura mission launched in 2004, measures vertical profiles of the temperature and composition of Earth's "middle atmosphere" (the region from ~12 to ~100 km altitude). We describe how, among the 16 trace gases measured by MLS, the measurements of water vapor (H2O) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have started to drift since ~2010. The paper also discusses the origins of this drift and work to ameliorate it in a new version of the MLS dataset.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Davide Zanchettin, Stefan Brönnimann, Elin Lundstad, and Rob Wilson
Clim. Past, 17, 1455–1482, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1455-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1455-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The 1809 eruption is one of the most recent unidentified volcanic eruptions with a global climate impact. We demonstrate that climate model simulations of the 1809 eruption show generally good agreement with many large-scale temperature reconstructions and early instrumental records for a range of radiative forcing estimates. In terms of explaining the spatially heterogeneous and temporally delayed Northern Hemisphere cooling suggested by tree-ring networks, the investigation remains open.
Ilya Stanevich, Dylan B. A. Jones, Kimberly Strong, Martin Keller, Daven K. Henze, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Debra Wunch, Justus Notholt, Christof Petri, Thorsten Warneke, Ralf Sussmann, Matthias Schneider, Frank Hase, Rigel Kivi, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Voltaire A. Velazco, Kaley A. Walker, and Feng Deng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9545–9572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9545-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9545-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the utility of a weak-constraint (WC) four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation scheme for mitigating systematic errors in methane simulation in the GEOS-Chem model. We use data from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and show that, compared to the traditional 4D-Var approach, the WC scheme improves the agreement between the model and independent observations. We find that the WC corrections to the model provide insight into the source of the errors.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Margot Clyne, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Michael J. Mills, Myriam Khodri, William Ball, Slimane Bekki, Sandip S. Dhomse, Nicolas Lebas, Graham Mann, Lauren Marshall, Ulrike Niemeier, Virginie Poulain, Alan Robock, Eugene Rozanov, Anja Schmidt, Andrea Stenke, Timofei Sukhodolov, Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Fiona Tummon, Davide Zanchettin, Yunqian Zhu, and Owen B. Toon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3317–3343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3317-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3317-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study finds how and why five state-of-the-art global climate models with interactive stratospheric aerosols differ when simulating the aftermath of large volcanic injections as part of the Model Intercomparison Project on the climatic response to Volcanic forcing (VolMIP). We identify and explain the consequences of significant disparities in the underlying physics and chemistry currently in some of the models, which are problems likely not unique to the models participating in this study.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Emily M. Gordon, Annika Seppälä, Bernd Funke, Johanna Tamminen, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2819–2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2819-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2819-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) is the rain of solar energetic particles into the Earth's atmosphere. EPP is known to deplete O3 in the polar mesosphere–upper stratosphere via the formation of NOx. NOx also causes chlorine deactivation in the lower stratosphere and has, thus, been proposed to potentially result in reduced ozone depletion in the spring. We provide the first evidence to show that NOx formed by EPP is able to remove active chlorine, resulting in enhanced total ozone column.
Ghassan Taha, Robert Loughman, Tong Zhu, Larry Thomason, Jayanta Kar, Landon Rieger, and Adam Bourassa
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1015–1036, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1015-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work describes the newly released OMPS LP aerosol extinction profile multi-wavelength Version 2.0 algorithm and dataset. It is shown that the V2.0 aerosols exhibit significant improvements in OMPS LP retrieval performance in the Southern Hemisphere and at lower altitudes. The new product is compared to the SAGE III/ISS, OSIRIS and CALIPSO missions and shown to be of good quality and suitable for scientific studies.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Seidai Nara, Tomohiro O. Sato, Takayoshi Yamada, Tamaki Fujinawa, Kota Kuribayashi, Takeshi Manabe, Lucien Froidevaux, Nathaniel J. Livesey, Kaley A. Walker, Jian Xu, Franz Schreier, Yvan J. Orsolini, Varavut Limpasuvan, Nario Kuno, and Yasuko Kasai
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6837–6852, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6837-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6837-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the atmosphere, more than 80 % of chlorine compounds are anthropogenic. Hydrogen chloride (HCl), the main stratospheric chlorine reservoir, is useful to estimate the total budget of the atmospheric chlorine compounds. We report, for the first time, the HCl vertical distribution from the middle troposphere to the lower thermosphere using a high-sensitivity SMILES measurement; the data quality is quantified by comparisons with other measurements and via theoretical error analysis.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Cited articles
Ångström, A.: The parameters of atmospheric turbidity, Tellus, 16, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v16i1.8885, 1964.
Bernath, P. F.: The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE), J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 186, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2016.04.006, 2017.
Bernath, P. F., McElroy, C. T., Abrams, M. C., Boone, C. D., Butler, M., Camy-Peyret, C., Carleer, M., Clerbaux, C., Coheur, P.-F., Colin, R., DeCola, P., DeMazière, M., Drummond, J. R., Dufour, D., Evans, W. F. J., Fast, H., Fussen, D., Gilbert, K., Jennings, D. E., Llewellyn, E. J., Lowe, R. P., Mahieu, E., McConnell, J. C., McHugh, M., McLeod, S. D., Michaud, R., Midwinter, C., Nassar, R., Nichitiu, F., Nowlan, C., Rinsland, C. P., Rochon, Y. J., Rowlands, N., Semeniuk, K., Simon, P., Skelton, R., Sloan, J. J., Soucy, M.-A., Strong, K., Tremblay, P., Turnbull, D., Walker, K. A., Walkty, I., Wardle, D. A., Wehrle, V., Zander, R., and Zou, J.: Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE): Mission overview, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L15S01, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022386, 2005.
Boone, C. D., Walker, K. A., and Bernath, P. F.: Version 3 retrievals for the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), in: The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment ACE at 10: A Solar Occultation Anthology, A. Deepak Publishing, Hampton, Virginia, USA, 103–127, ISBN 978-0-937194-54-9, 2013.
Bourassa, A. E., Robock, A., Randel, W. J., Deshler, T., Rieger, L. A., Lloyd, N. D., Llewellyn, E. J., and Degenstein, D. A.: Large volcanic aerosol load in the stratosphere linked to Asian monsoon transport, Science, 336, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1219371, 2012.
Bourassa, A. E., Rieger, L. A., Zawada, D. J., Khaykin, S., Thomason, L. W., and Degenstein, D. A.: Satellite Limb Observations of Unprecedented Forest Fire Aerosol in the Stratosphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030607, 2019.
Bourassa, A. E., Zawada, D. J., Rieger, L. A., Warnock, T. W., Toohey, M., and Degenstein, D. A.: Tomographic Retrievals of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Aerosol, Geophys. Res. Lett., 50, e2022GL101978, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101978, 2023.
Chu, W. P., McCormick, M. P., Lenoble, J., Brogniez, C., and Pruvost, P.: SAGE II inversion algorithm, J. Geophys. Res., 94, https://doi.org/10.1029/JD094iD06p08339, 1989.
Damadeo, R. P., Zawodny, J. M., Thomason, L. W., and Iyer, N.: SAGE version 7.0 algorithm: application to SAGE II, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 3539–3561, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3539-2013, 2013.
Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Reid, J. S., Dubovik, O., Smirnov, A., O'Neill, N. T., Slutsker, I., and Kinne, S.: Wavelength dependence of the optical depth of biomass burning, urban, and desert dust aerosols, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900923, 1999.
Friberg, J., Martinsson, B. G., Andersson, S. M., and Sandvik, O. S.: Volcanic impact on the climate – the stratospheric aerosol load in the period 2006–2015, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11149–11169, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11149-2018, 2018.
Hirsch, E. and Koren, I.: Record-breaking aerosol levels explained by smoke injection into the stratosphere, Science, 371, 1269–1274, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe1415, 2021.
Hofmann, D. J. and Solomon, S.: Ozone destruction through heterogeneous chemistry following the eruption of El Chichón, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 94, 5029–5041, https://doi.org/10.1029/JD094iD04p05029, 1989.
Jeffery, P. S., Drummond, J. R., McElroy, C. T., Walker, K. A., and Zou, J.: Validation of the version 4.5 MAESTRO ozone and NO2 measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 569–602, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-569-2025, 2025.
Kalnajs, L. E. and Deshler, T.: A New Instrument for Balloon-Borne In Situ Aerosol Size Distribution Measurements, the Continuation of a 50 Year Record of Stratospheric Aerosols Measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 127, e2022JD037485, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037485, 2022.
Kar, J., Lee, K.-P., Vaughan, M. A., Tackett, J. L., Trepte, C. R., Winker, D. M., Lucker, P. L., and Getzewich, B. J.: CALIPSO level 3 stratospheric aerosol profile product: version 1.00 algorithm description and initial assessment, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6173–6191, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6173-2019, 2019.
Khaykin, S., Legras, B., Bucci, S., Sellitto, P., Isaksen, L., Tencé, F., Bekki, S., Bourassa, A., Rieger, L., Zawada, D., Jumelet, J., and Godin-Beekmann, S.: The 2019/20 Australian wildfires generated a persistent smoke-charged vortex rising up to 35 km altitude, Commun Earth Environ, 1, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00022-5, 2020.
Kloss, C., Sellitto, P., Legras, B., Vernier, J. P., Jégou, F., Venkat Ratnam, M., Suneel Kumar, B., Lakshmi Madhavan, B., and Berthet, G.: Impact of the 2018 Ambae Eruption on the Global Stratospheric Aerosol Layer and Climate, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2020JD032410, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032410, 2020.
Kloss, C., Berthet, G., Sellitto, P., Ploeger, F., Taha, G., Tidiga, M., Eremenko, M., Bossolasco, A., Jégou, F., Renard, J.-B., and Legras, B.: Stratospheric aerosol layer perturbation caused by the 2019 Raikoke and Ulawun eruptions and their radiative forcing, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021.
Knepp, T. N., Kovilakam, M., Thomason, L., and Miller, S. J.: Characterization of stratospheric particle size distribution uncertainties using SAGE II and SAGE III/ISS extinction spectra, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2025–2054, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2025-2024, 2024.
Kovilakam, M., Thomason, L. W., Ernest, N., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., and Millán, L.: The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (version 2.0): 1979–2018, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2607–2634, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2607-2020, 2020.
Kovilakam, M., Thomason, L., and Knepp, T.: SAGE III/ISS aerosol/cloud categorization and its impact on GloSSAC, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2709–2731, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2709-2023, 2023.
Kremser, S., Thomason, L. W., von Hobe, M., Hermann, M., Deshler, T., Timmreck, C., Toohey, M., Stenke, A., Schwarz, J. P., Weigel, R., Fueglistaler, S., Prata, F. J., Vernier, J. P., Schlager, H., Barnes, J. E., Antuña-Marrero, J. C., Fairlie, D., Palm, M., Mahieu, E., Notholt, J., Rex, M., Bingen, C., Vanhellemont, F., Bourassa, A., Plane, J. M. C., Klocke, D., Carn, S. A., Clarisse, L., Trickl, T., Neely, R., James, A. D., Rieger, L., Wilson, J. C., and Meland, B.: Stratospheric aerosol – Observations, processes, and impact on climate, Rev. Geophys., 54, 278–335, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015RG000511, 2016.
Lacis, A., Hansen, J., and Sato, M.: Climate forcing by stratospheric aerosols, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 1607, https://doi.org/10.1029/92GL01620, 1992.
Llewellyn, E. J., Lloyd, N. D., Degenstein, D. A., Gattinger, R. L., Petelina, S. V., Bourassa, A. E., Wiensz, J. T., Ivanov, E. V., McDade, I. C., Solheim, B. H., McConnell, J. C., Haley, C. S., von Savigny, C., Sioris, C. E., McLinden, C. A., Griffioen, E., Kaminski, J., Evans, W. F. J., Puckrin, E., Strong, K., Wehrle, V., Hum, R. H., Kendall, D. J. W., Matsushita, J., Murtagh, D. P., Brohede, S., Stegman, J., Witt, G., Barnes, G., Payne, W. F., Piché, L., Smith, K., Warshaw, G., Deslauniers, D.-L., Marchand, P., Richardson, E. H., King, R. A., Wevers, I., McCreath, W., Kyrölä, E., Oikarinen, L., Leppelmeier, G. W., Auvinen, H., Mégie, G., Hauchecorne, A., Lefèvre, F., de La Nöe, J., Ricaud, P., Frisk, U., Sjoberg, F., von Schéele, F., and Nordh, L.: The OSIRIS instrument on the Odin spacecraft, Can. J. Phys., 82, 411–422, https://doi.org/10.1139/p04-005, 2004.
Lumpe, J. D., Bevilacqua, R. M., Hoppel, K. W., Krigman, S. S., Kriebel, D. L., Debrestian, D. J., Randall, C. E., Rusch, D. W., Brogniez, C., Ramananahérisoa, R., Shettle, E. P., Olivero, J. J., Lenoble, J., and Pruvost, P.: POAM II retrieval algorithm and error analysis, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 102, https://doi.org/10.1029/97jd00906, 1997.
Malinina, E., Rozanov, A., Rozanov, V., Liebing, P., Bovensmann, H., and Burrows, J. P.: Aerosol particle size distribution in the stratosphere retrieved from SCIAMACHY limb measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2085–2100, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2085-2018, 2018.
Malinina, E., Rozanov, A., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., Bovensmann, H., Burrows, J. P., and Degenstein, D.: Stratospheric aerosol characteristics from space-borne observations: extinction coefficient and Ångström exponent, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3485–3502, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3485-2019, 2019.
McCormick, M. P.: Sage II: An overview, Adv. Space Res., 7, 219–226, https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-1177(87)90151-7, 1987.
McCormick, M. P., Hamill, P., Pepin, T. J., Chu, W. P., Swissler, T. J., and McMaster, L. R.: Satellite Studies of the Stratospheric Aerosol, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 60, 1038–1047, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1979)060<1038:SSOTSA>2.0.CO;2, 1979.
McCormick, M. P., Thomason, L. W., and Trepte, C. R.: Atmospheric effects of the Mt Pinatubo eruption, Nature, 373, 399–404, https://doi.org/10.1038/373399a0, 1995.
McCormick, M. P., Lei, L., Hill, M. T., Anderson, J., Querel, R., and Steinbrecht, W.: Early results and validation of SAGE III-ISS ozone profile measurements from onboard the International Space Station, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1287–1297, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1287-2020, 2020.
McElroy, C. T., Nowlan, C. R., Drummond, J. R., Bernath, P. F., Barton, D. V., Dufour, D. G., Midwinter, C., Hall, R. B., Ogyu, A., Ullberg, A., Wardle, D. I., Kar, J., Zou, J., Nichitiu, F., Boone, C. D., Walker, K. A., and Rowlands, N.: The ACE-MAESTRO instrument on SCISAT: Description, performance, and preliminary results, Appl. Optics, 46, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.46.004341, 2007.
McElroy, C. T., Barton, D. V., Nowlan, C. R., and Drummond, J. R.: MAESTRO: The SCISAT UV-Visible-Near IR Instrument, in: The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment ACE at 10: A Solar Occultation Anthology, A. Deepak Publishing, Hampton, Virginia, USA, ISBN 978-0-937194-54-9, 2013.
Mironova, I. A., Usoskin, I. G., Kovaltsov, G. A., and Petelina, S. V.: Possible effect of extreme solar energetic particle event of 20 January 2005 on polar stratospheric aerosols: direct observational evidence, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 769–778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-769-2012, 2012.
Murphy, D. M., Froyd, K. D., Bourgeois, I., Brock, C. A., Kupc, A., Peischl, J., Schill, G. P., Thompson, C. R., Williamson, C. J., and Yu, P.: Radiative and chemical implications of the size and composition of aerosol particles in the existing or modified global stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8915–8932, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8915-2021, 2021.
Randall, C. E., Bevilacqua, R. M., Lumpe, J. D., and Hoppel, K. W.: Validation of POAM III aerosols: Comparison to SAGE II and HALOE, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 27525–27536, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000528, 2001.
Rieger, L. A., Bourassa, A. E. and Degenstein, D. A.: Merging the OSIRIS and SAGE II stratospheric aerosol records, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120, 8890–8904, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023133, 2015.
Rieger, L. A., Zawada, D. J., Bourassa, A. E., and Degenstein, D. A.: A Multiwavelength Retrieval Approach for Improved OSIRIS Aerosol Extinction Retrievals, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 2018JD029897, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029897, 2019.
Rieger, L. A., Cole, J. N. S., Fyfe, J. C., Po-Chedley, S., Cameron-Smith, P. J., Durack, P. J., Gillett, N. P. and Tang, Q.: Quantifying CanESM5 and EAMv1 sensitivities to Mt. Pinatubo volcanic forcing for the CMIP6 historical experiment, Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4831–4843, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4831-2020, 2020.
Robert, C. É., Bingen, C., Vanhellemont, F., Mateshvili, N., Dekemper, E., Tétard, C., Fussen, D., Bourassa, A., and Zehner, C.: AerGOM, an improved algorithm for stratospheric aerosol extinction retrieval from GOMOS observations – Part 2: Intercomparisons, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4701–4718, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4701-2016, 2016.
Santer, B. D., Bonfils, C., Painter, J. F., Zelinka, M. D., Mears, C., Solomon, S., Schmidt, G. A., Fyfe, J. C., Cole, J. N. S., Nazarenko, L., Taylor, K. E., and Wentz, F. J.: Volcanic contribution to decadal changes in tropospheric temperature, Nat. Geosci., 7, 185–189, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2098, 2014.
Schuster, G. L., Dubovik, O., and Holben, B. N.: Angstrom exponent and bimodal aerosol size distributions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, 7207, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006328, 2006.
Sioris, C. E., Zou, J., McElroy, C. T., McLinden, C. A., and Vömel, H.: High vertical resolution water vapour profiles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere retrieved from MAESTRO solar occultation spectra, Adv. Space Res., 46, 642–650, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ASR.2010.04.040, 2010.
Sioris, C. E., Zou, J., McElroy, C. T., Boone, C. D., Sheese, P. E., and Bernath, P. F.: Water vapour variability in the high-latitude upper troposphere – Part 2: Impact of volcanic eruptions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2207–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2207-2016, 2016.
Sofieva, V. F., Kalakoski, N., Päivärinta, S.-M., Tamminen, J., Laine, M., and Froidevaux, L.: On sampling uncertainty of satellite ozone profile measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1891–1900, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1891-2014, 2014.
Sofieva, V. F., Rozanov, A., Szelag, M., Burrows, J. P., Retscher, C., Damadeo, R., Degenstein, D., Rieger, L. A., and Bourassa, A.: CREST: a Climate Data Record of Stratospheric Aerosols, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5227–5241, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5227-2024, 2024a.
Sofieva, V. F., Szelag, M., Tamminen, J., Fussen, D., Bingen, C., Vanhellemont, F., Mateshvili, N., Rozanov, A., and Pohl, C.: Multi-wavelength dataset of aerosol extinction profiles retrieved from GOMOS stellar occultation measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3085–3101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3085-2024, 2024b.
Solomon, S., Portmann, R. W., Garcia, R. R., Thomason, L. W., Poole, L. R. and McCormick, M. P.: The role of aerosol variations in anthropogenic ozone depletion at northern midlatitudes, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 101, 6713–6727, https://doi.org/10.1029/95JD03353, 1996.
Solomon, S., Daniel, J. S., Neely, R. R., Vernier, J.-P., Dutton, E. G., and Thomason, L. W.: The Persistently Variable “Background” Stratospheric Aerosol Layer and Global Climate Change, Science, 333, 866–870, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1206027, 2011.
Solomon, S., Dube, K., Stone, K., Yu, P., Kinnison, D., Toon, O. B., Strahan, S. E., Rosenlof, K. H., Portmann, R., Davis, S., Randel, W., Bernath, P., Boone, C., Bardeen, C. G., Bourassa, A., Zawada, D., and Degenstein, D.: On the stratospheric chemistry of midlatitude wildfire smoke, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 119, e2117325119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117325119, 2022.
Stenchikov, G. L., Kirchner, I., Robock, A., Graf, H.-F., Antu na, J. C., Grainger, R. G., Lambert, A., and Thomason, L.: Radiative forcing from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 13837–13857, https://doi.org/10.1029/98JD00693, 1998.
Thomason, L. W., Poole, L. R., and Randall, C. E.: SAGE III aerosol extinction validation in the Arctic winter: comparisons with SAGE II and POAM III, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 1423–1433, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-1423-2007, 2007.
Thomason, L. W., Ernest, N., Millán, L., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., Vernier, J.-P., Manney, G., Luo, B., Arfeuille, F., and Peter, T.: A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979–2016, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 469–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, 2018.
Thomason, L. W., Kovilakam, M., Schmidt, A., von Savigny, C., Knepp, T., and Rieger, L.: Evidence for the predictability of changes in the stratospheric aerosol size following volcanic eruptions of diverse magnitudes using space-based instruments, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1143–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1143-2021, 2021.
Toohey, M., Hegglin, M. I., Tegtmeier, S., Anderson, J., Añel, J. A., Bourassa, A., Brohede, S., Degenstein, D., Froidevaux, L., Fuller, R., Funke, B., Gille, J., Jones, A., Kasai, Y., Krüger, K., Kyrölä, E., Neu, J. L., Rozanov, A., Smith, L., Urban, J., von Clarmann, T., Walker, K. A., and Wang, R. H. J.: Characterizing sampling biases in the trace gas climatologies of the SPARC Data Initiative, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 11847–11862, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50874, 2013.
Torres, O., Bhartia, P. K., Taha, G., Jethva, H., Das, S., Colarco, P., Krotkov, N., Omar, A., and Ahn, C.: Stratospheric Injection of Massive Smoke Plume From Canadian Boreal Fires in 2017 as Seen by DSCOVR-EPIC, CALIOP, and OMPS-LP Observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2020JD032579, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032579, 2020.
Vernier, J.-P., Pommereau, J.-P., Garnier, A., Pelon, J., Larsen, N., Nielsen, J., Christensen, T., Cairo, F., Thomason, L. W., and Leblanc, T.: Tropical stratospheric aerosol layer from CALIPSO lidar observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD011946, 2009.
Vernier, J.-P., Thomason, L. W., Pommereau, J.-P., Bourassa, A., Pelon, J., Garnier, A., Hauchecorne, A., Blanot, L., Trepte, C., Degenstein, D., and Vargas, F.: Major influence of tropical volcanic eruptions on the stratospheric aerosol layer during the last decade, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047563, 2011.
von Savigny, C. and Hoffmann, C. G.: Issues related to the retrieval of stratospheric-aerosol particle size information based on optical measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1909–1920, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1909-2020, 2020.
World Meteorological Organization: International Meteorological Vocabulary, Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization, Geneve, 2nd edn., 1992.
Wrana, F., von Savigny, C., Zalach, J. and Thomason, L. W.: Retrieval of stratospheric aerosol size distribution parameters using satellite solar occultation measurements at three wavelengths, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2345–2357, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2345-2021, 2021.
Wrana, F., Niemeier, U., Thomason, L. W., Wallis, S. and von Savigny, C.: Stratospheric aerosol size reduction after volcanic eruptions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9725–9743, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9725-2023, 2023.
Short summary
Measurements of stratospheric aerosol from the Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation (MAESTRO) instrument are compared to other measurements to assess their scientific value. We find that medians of MAESTRO measurements binned by month and latitude show reasonable correlation with other data sets, with notable increases after volcanic eruptions, and that biases in the data can be alleviated through a simple correction technique. Used with care, MAESTRO aerosol measurements provide information that can complement other data sets.
Measurements of stratospheric aerosol from the Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the...
