Characterization of model errors in the calculation of tangent heights for atmospheric infrared limb measurements

Ridolfi, M.; Sgheri, L.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4117-2014

Articles | Volume 7, issue 12

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4117-2014

© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4117-2014

© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 7, issue 12

Research article

|

03 Dec 2014

Research article |

| 03 Dec 2014

Characterization of model errors in the calculation of tangent heights for atmospheric infrared limb measurements

M. Ridolfi and L. Sgheri

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Final revised paper (published on 03 Dec 2014)
Preprint (discussion started on 28 Jul 2014)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC C2348: 'Referee Comment', Anonymous Referee #1, 25 Aug 2014
- AC C2681: 'Reply to Referee #1', Marco Ridolfi, 16 Sep 2014
RC C2360: 'Characterization of model errors in the calculation of tangent heights for atmospheric infrared limb measurements', Anonymous Referee #2, 25 Aug 2014
- AC C2689: 'Reply to Referee #2', Marco Ridolfi, 16 Sep 2014

Short summary

In this paper, we review the main factors driving the calculation of the tangent height of spaceborne limb measurements: the ray-tracing method, the refractive index model and the assumed atmosphere. We find that commonly used ray-tracing and refraction models are very accurate, at least in the mid-infrared. The factor with the largest effect in the tangent height calculation is the assumed atmosphere, which may cause errors of up to 200m.