Articles | Volume 9, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5499-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5499-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Errors induced by different approximations in handling horizontal atmospheric inhomogeneities in MIPAS/ENVISAT retrievals
Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, ISAC-CNR, Bologna, Italy
Marco Ridolfi
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universita' di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Istituto di Fisica Applicata “Nello Carrara”, IFAC-CNR, Firenze, Italy
Massimo Carlotti
Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universita' di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Björn-Martin Sinnhuber
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, IMK-ASF, Karlsruhe, Germany
Oliver Kirner
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Steinbuch Center for Computing, Karlsruhe, Germany
Michael Kiefer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, IMK-ASF, Karlsruhe, Germany
Bianca Maria Dinelli
Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, ISAC-CNR, Bologna, Italy
Related authors
Pierre Gramme, Cedric Busschots, Emmanuel Dekemper, Didier Pieroux, Noel Baker, Stefano Casadio, Anna Maria Iannarelli, Nicola Ferrante, Annalisa Di Bernardino, Paolo Pettinari, Elisa Castelli, Luca Di Liberto, and Francesco Cairo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 6021–6037, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6021-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6021-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new remote sensing instrument using hyperspectral imaging to observe the variability in space and time of the nitrogen dioxide concentration. We also show the results of its validation campaign in a challenging urban setting in Rome, showing very good agreement with two reference instruments. Having an imaging instrument rather than the currently state-of-the-art unidirectional spectrometers brings promising capability in the context of satellite product validation.
Martina Taddia, Federico Fabiano, Stefano Della Fera, Elisa Castelli, and Bianca Maria Dinelli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3750, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3750, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The time relationship between the energy emitted by the Earth system across the thermal infrared spectral region (also known as Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR)) and El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), shows important contribution from stratospheric temperature and ozone changes. The peak of the radiative response is wavenumber-dependent, this makes this analysis particularly suitable for climate models evaluations.
Tim Trent, Marc Schröder, Shu-Peng Ho, Steffen Beirle, Ralf Bennartz, Eva Borbas, Christian Borger, Helene Brogniez, Xavier Calbet, Elisa Castelli, Gilbert P. Compo, Wesley Ebisuzaki, Ulrike Falk, Frank Fell, John Forsythe, Hans Hersbach, Misako Kachi, Shinya Kobayashi, Robert E. Kursinski, Diego Loyola, Zhengzao Luo, Johannes K. Nielsen, Enzo Papandrea, Laurence Picon, Rene Preusker, Anthony Reale, Lei Shi, Laura Slivinski, Joao Teixeira, Tom Vonder Haar, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9667–9695, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9667-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9667-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In a warmer future, water vapour will spend more time in the atmosphere, changing global rainfall patterns. In this study, we analysed the performance of 28 water vapour records between 1988 and 2014. We find sensitivity to surface warming generally outside expected ranges, attributed to breakpoints in individual record trends and differing representations of climate variability. The implication is that longer records are required for high confidence in assessing climate trends.
Bianca Maria Dinelli, Piera Raspollini, Marco Gai, Luca Sgheri, Marco Ridolfi, Simone Ceccherini, Flavio Barbara, Nicola Zoppetti, Elisa Castelli, Enzo Papandrea, Paolo Pettinari, Angelika Dehn, Anu Dudhia, Michael Kiefer, Alessandro Piro, Jean-Marie Flaud, Manuel López-Puertas, David Moore, John Remedios, and Massimo Bianchini
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7975–7998, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7975-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7975-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The level-2 v8 database from the measurements of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), aboard the European Space Agency Envisat satellite, containing atmospheric fields of pressure, temperature, and volume mixing ratio of 21 trace gases, is described in this paper. The database covers all the measurements acquired by MIPAS (from July 2002 to April 2012). The number of species included makes it of particular importance for the studies of stratospheric chemistry.
Quentin Errera, Marc Op de beeck, Stefan Bender, Johannes Flemming, Bernd Funke, Alex Hoffmann, Michael Höpfner, Nathaniel Livesey, Gabriele Poli, Didier Pieroux, Piera Raspollini, and Björn-Martin Sinnhuber
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6130, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6130, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
CAIRT is a satellite mission concept developed to observe, among other, the vertical gradient of ozone and water vapour in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere where these species have their largest radiative impact. By simulating CAIRT observations and measuring their constrain on an atmospheric model using data assimilation, this study shows that CAIRT specifications are adequate to fulfil this objective.
Stefanie Falk, Luca Reißig, Bianca Zilker, Andreas Richter, and Björn-Martin Sinnhuber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 15653–15682, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15653-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone depletion events (ODEs) and bromine explosions in the Arctic were studied for 2019/20. Our model underestimated boundary layer height and showed warm biases, affecting ODE simulation. Updates improved coastal ozone agreement but failed to capture strong ODEs. Bromine monoxide (BrO) was overestimated at the surface yet underestimated in columns. Long-term data show declining strong ODEs since 2008, suggesting additional climate-driven factors beyond sea ice age.
Pierre Gramme, Cedric Busschots, Emmanuel Dekemper, Didier Pieroux, Noel Baker, Stefano Casadio, Anna Maria Iannarelli, Nicola Ferrante, Annalisa Di Bernardino, Paolo Pettinari, Elisa Castelli, Luca Di Liberto, and Francesco Cairo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 6021–6037, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6021-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6021-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new remote sensing instrument using hyperspectral imaging to observe the variability in space and time of the nitrogen dioxide concentration. We also show the results of its validation campaign in a challenging urban setting in Rome, showing very good agreement with two reference instruments. Having an imaging instrument rather than the currently state-of-the-art unidirectional spectrometers brings promising capability in the context of satellite product validation.
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
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.
Martina Taddia, Federico Fabiano, Stefano Della Fera, Elisa Castelli, and Bianca Maria Dinelli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3750, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3750, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The time relationship between the energy emitted by the Earth system across the thermal infrared spectral region (also known as Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR)) and El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), shows important contribution from stratospheric temperature and ozone changes. The peak of the radiative response is wavenumber-dependent, this makes this analysis particularly suitable for climate models evaluations.
Rodrigo J. Seguel, Charlie Opazo, Yann Cohen, Owen R. Cooper, Laura Gallardo, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Florian Obersteiner, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, Susanne Rohs, and Andreas Marsing
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8553–8573, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8553-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8553-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We explored ozone differences between the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemispheres in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere. We found lower ozone (with stratospheric origin) in the Southern Hemisphere, especially during years of severe ozone depletion. Sudden stratospheric warming events increased the ozone in each hemisphere, highlighting the relationship between stratospheric processes and ozone in the upper troposphere, where ozone is an important greenhouse gas.
Norbert Glatthor, Thomas von Clarmann, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Gabriele P. Stiller, Bernd Funke, Maya Garcia-Comas, Manuel Lopez-Puertas, Oliver Kirner, and Michelle L. Santee
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3352, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3352, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a global climatology of MIPAS version 8 chlorine monoxide (ClO), retrieved from spaceborne observations between 2002 and 2012. Due to an improved retrieval setup, the high bias and poor vertical resolution of upper stratospheric ClO, which had affected the previous V5 data set, has been removed. Comparisons with ClO observations of the Microwave Limb Sounder generally show good agreement. Differences can be explained by simulations with an atmospheric chemistry model.
Florian Voet, Felix Ploeger, Johannes Laube, Peter Preusse, Paul Konopka, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Michael Höpfner, Bernd Funke, Gerald Wetzel, Sören Johansson, Gabriele Stiller, Eric Ray, and Michaela I. Hegglin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3541–3565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study refines estimates of the stratospheric “age of air”, a measure of how long air circulates in the stratosphere. By analyzing correlations between trace gases measurable by satellites, the research introduces a method that reduces uncertainties and detects small-scale atmospheric features. This improved understanding of stratospheric circulation is crucial for better climate models and predictions, enhancing our ability to assess the impacts of climate change on the atmosphere.
Björn-Martin Sinnhuber
Polarforschung, 92, 33–45, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-92-33-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-92-33-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of past climate change is essential to test our understanding of the rapidly changing Arctic. One of the longest Arctic temperature time series comes from observations in Svalbard that extend back more than 125 years but have a gap during World War II between 1941 and 1945. Observations from German military weather stations on Svalbard have now been retrieved from weather maps preserved at the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), which will help close much of the existing data gap.
Sebastian Rhode, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Inna Polichtchouk, Kaoru Sato, Shingo Watanabe, Manfred Ern, Karlheinz Nogai, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5785–5819, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5785-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5785-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the capabilities of a proposed satellite mission, CAIRT, for observing gravity waves throughout the middle atmosphere and present the necessary methodology for in-depth wave analysis. Our findings suggest that such a satellite mission is highly capable of resolving individual wave parameters and could give new insights into the role of gravity waves in general atmospheric circulation and atmospheric processes.
Tim Trent, Marc Schröder, Shu-Peng Ho, Steffen Beirle, Ralf Bennartz, Eva Borbas, Christian Borger, Helene Brogniez, Xavier Calbet, Elisa Castelli, Gilbert P. Compo, Wesley Ebisuzaki, Ulrike Falk, Frank Fell, John Forsythe, Hans Hersbach, Misako Kachi, Shinya Kobayashi, Robert E. Kursinski, Diego Loyola, Zhengzao Luo, Johannes K. Nielsen, Enzo Papandrea, Laurence Picon, Rene Preusker, Anthony Reale, Lei Shi, Laura Slivinski, Joao Teixeira, Tom Vonder Haar, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9667–9695, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9667-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9667-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In a warmer future, water vapour will spend more time in the atmosphere, changing global rainfall patterns. In this study, we analysed the performance of 28 water vapour records between 1988 and 2014. We find sensitivity to surface warming generally outside expected ranges, attributed to breakpoints in individual record trends and differing representations of climate variability. The implication is that longer records are required for high confidence in assessing climate trends.
Karolin Voss, Philip Holzbeck, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Ralph Kleinschek, Gerald Wetzel, Blanca Fuentes Andrade, Michael Höpfner, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4507–4528, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A novel balloon-borne instrument for direct sun and solar occultation measurements of several UV–Vis absorbing gases (e.g. O3, NO2, BrO, IO, and HONO) is described. Its major design features and performance during two stratospheric deployments are discussed. From the measured overhead BrO concentration and a suitable photochemical correction, total stratospheric bromine is inferred to (17.5 ± 2.2) ppt in air masses which entered the stratosphere around early 2017 ± 1 year.
Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Thomas Gulde, Vincent Huijnen, Anne Kleinert, Erik Kretschmer, Guido Maucher, Tom Neubert, Hans Nordmeyer, Christof Piesch, Peter Preusse, Martin Riese, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, Gerald Wetzel, and Wolfgang Woiwode
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8125–8138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present airborne infrared limb sounding GLORIA measurements of ammonia (NH3) in the upper troposphere of air masses within the Asian monsoon and of those connected with biomass burning. Comparing CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) model data, we find that the model reproduces the measured enhanced NH3 within the Asian monsoon well but not that within biomass burning plumes, where no enhanced NH3 is measured in the upper troposphere but considerable amounts are simulated by CAMS.
Norbert Glatthor, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Udo Grabowski, Michael Höpfner, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2849–2871, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2849-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2849-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present global atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) distributions retrieved from measurements of the MIPAS instrument on board the Environmental Satellite (Envisat) during 2002 to 2012. Monitoring of these gases is of scientific interest because both of them are strong greenhouse gases. We analyze the latest, improved version of calibrated MIPAS measurements. Further, we apply a new retrieval scheme leading to an improved CH4 and N2O data product .
Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, and Manuel López-Puertas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1759–1789, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1759-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22 contribute to the depletion of ozone and are potent greenhouse gases. They have been banned by the Montreal protocol. With MIPAS on Envisat the atmospheric composition could be observed between 2002 and 2012. We present here the retrieval of their atmospheric distributions for the final data version 8. We characterise the derived data by their error budget and their spatial resolution. An additional representation for direct comparison to models is also provided.
Manuel López-Puertas, Maya García-Comas, Bernd Funke, Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5609–5645, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5609-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes a new version (V8) of ozone data from MIPAS middle-atmosphere spectra. The dataset comprises high-quality ozone profiles from 20 to 100 km, with pole-to-pole latitude coverage for the day- and nighttime, spanning 2005 until 2012. An exhaustive treatment of errors has been performed. Compared to other satellite instruments, MIPAS ozone shows a positive bias of 5 %–8 % below 70 km. In the upper mesosphere, this new version agrees much better than previous ones (within 10 %).
Maya García-Comas, Bernd Funke, Manuel López-Puertas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Andrea Linden, Belén Martínez-Mondéjar, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5357–5386, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5357-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have released version 8 of MIPAS IMK–IAA temperatures and pointing information retrieved from MIPAS Middle and Upper Atmosphere mode version 8.03 calibrated spectra, covering 20–115 km altitude. We considered non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emission explicitly for each limb scan, essential to retrieve accurate temperatures above the mid-mesosphere. Comparisons of this temperature dataset with SABER measurements show excellent agreement, improving those of previous MIPAS versions.
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.
Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2167–2196, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2167-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2167-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
New global nitric oxide (NO) volume-mixing-ratio and lower-thermospheric temperature data products, retrieved from Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) spectra with the IMK-IAA MIPAS data processor, have been released. The dataset covers the entire Envisat mission lifetime and includes retrieval results from all MIPAS observation modes. The data are based on ESA version 8 calibration and were processed using an improved retrieval approach.
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).
Michael Kiefer, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Michael Höpfner, Sylvia Kellmann, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1443–1460, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1443-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1443-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A new ozone data set, derived from radiation measurements of the space-borne instrument MIPAS, is presented. It consists of more than 2 million single ozone profiles from 2002–2012, covering virtually all latitudes and altitudes between 5 and 70 km. Progress in data calibration and processing methods allowed for significant improvement of the data quality, compared to previous data versions. Hence, the data set will help to better understand e.g. the time evolution of ozone in the stratosphere.
Stefano Della Fera, Federico Fabiano, Piera Raspollini, Marco Ridolfi, Ugo Cortesi, Flavio Barbara, and Jost von Hardenberg
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 1379–1394, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1379-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1379-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The long-term comparison between observed and simulated outgoing longwave radiances represents a strict test to evaluate climate model performance. In this work, 9 years of synthetic spectrally resolved radiances, simulated online on the basis of the atmospheric fields predicted by the EC-Earth global climate model (v3.3.3) in clear-sky conditions, are compared to IASI spectral radiance climatology in order to detect model biases in temperature and humidity at different atmospheric levels.
Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Bernd Funke, Michael Kiefer, Anne Kleinert, Gabriele P. Stiller, Andrea Linden, and Sylvia Kellmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6991–7018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6991-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6991-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Errors of profiles of temperature and mixing ratios retrieved from spectra recorded with the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding are estimated. All known and quantified sources of uncertainty are considered. Some ongoing uncertaities contribute to both the random and to the systematic errors. In some cases, one source of uncertainty propagates onto the error budget via multiple pathways. Problems arise when the correlations of errors to be propagated are unknown.
Marco Ridolfi, Cecilia Tirelli, Simone Ceccherini, Claudio Belotti, Ugo Cortesi, and Luca Palchetti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6723–6737, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6723-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Synergistic retrieval (SR) and complete data fusion (CDF) methods exploit the complementarity of coinciding remote-sensing measurements. We assess the performance of the SR and CDF methods on the basis of synthetic measurements of the FORUM and IASI-NG missions. In the case of perfectly matching measurements, SR and CDF results differ by less than 1 / 10 of the error due to measurement noise. In the case of a realistic mismatch, the two methods show differences in the order of their error bars.
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.
Piera Raspollini, Enrico Arnone, Flavio Barbara, Massimo Bianchini, Bruno Carli, Simone Ceccherini, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Angelika Dehn, Stefano Della Fera, Bianca Maria Dinelli, Anu Dudhia, Jean-Marie Flaud, Marco Gai, Michael Kiefer, Manuel López-Puertas, David P. Moore, Alessandro Piro, John J. Remedios, Marco Ridolfi, Harjinder Sembhi, Luca Sgheri, and Nicola Zoppetti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1871–1901, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1871-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1871-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The MIPAS instrument onboard the ENVISAT satellite provided 10 years of measurements of the atmospheric emission al limb that allow for the retrieval of latitude- and altitude-resolved atmospheric composition. We describe the improvements implemented in the retrieval algorithm used for the full mission reanalysis, which allows for the generation of the global distributions of 21 atmospheric constituents plus temperature with increased accuracy with respect to previously generated data.
Helmut Ziereis, Peter Hoor, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Andreas Zahn, Greta Stratmann, Paul Stock, Michael Lichtenstern, Jens Krause, Vera Bense, Armin Afchine, Christian Rolf, Wolfgang Woiwode, Marleen Braun, Jörn Ungermann, Andreas Marsing, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Engel, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and Hermann Oelhaf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3631–3654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne observations were conducted in the lowermost Arctic stratosphere during the winter of 2015/2016. The observed distribution of reactive nitrogen shows clear indications of nitrification in mid-winter and denitrification in late winter. This was caused by the formation of polar stratospheric cloud particles, which were observed during several flights. The sedimentation and evaporation of these particles and the descent of air masses cause a redistribution of reactive nitrogen.
Sören Johansson, Gerald Wetzel, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Michael Höpfner, Anne Kleinert, Tom Neubert, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and Jörn Ungermann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3675–3691, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3675-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present GLORIA airborne cross sections of PAN, C2H6, HCOOH, CH3OH, and C2H4 in the South Atlantic UTLS in September/October 2019. Filamentary structures and a large plume were observed. Backward trajectories indicate that measured pollutants come from South America and central Africa. Comparisons to CAMS show structural agreement of the measured distributions. PAN absolute VMRs agree with the GLORIA measurements, C2H6 and HCOOH are simulated too low, and CH3OH and C2H4 are too high.
Florian Haenel, Wolfgang Woiwode, Jennifer Buchmüller, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Michael Höpfner, Sören Johansson, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Oliver Kirner, Anne Kleinert, Hermann Oelhaf, Johannes Orphal, Roland Ruhnke, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, Michael Weimer, and Peter Braesicke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2843–2870, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2843-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2843-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We compare remote sensing observations of H2O, O3, HNO3 and clouds in the upper troposphere–lowermost stratosphere during an Arctic winter long-range research flight with simulations by two different state-of-the-art model systems. We find good agreement for dynamical structures, trace gas distributions and clouds. We investigate model biases and sensitivities, with the goal of aiding model development and improving our understanding of processes in the upper troposphere–lowermost stratosphere.
Michael T. Kiefer, Warren E. Heilman, Shiyuan Zhong, Joseph J. Charney, Xindi Bian, Nicholas S. Skowronski, Kenneth L. Clark, Michael R. Gallagher, John L. Hom, and Matthew Patterson
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1713–1734, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1713-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1713-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We examine methods used to represent wildland fire sensible heat release in atmospheric models. A set of simulations are evaluated using observations from a low-intensity prescribed fire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The comparison is motivated by the need for guidance regarding the representation of low-intensity fire sensible heating in atmospheric models. Such fires are prevalent during prescribed fire operations and can impact the health and safety of fire personnel and the public.
Bianca Maria Dinelli, Piera Raspollini, Marco Gai, Luca Sgheri, Marco Ridolfi, Simone Ceccherini, Flavio Barbara, Nicola Zoppetti, Elisa Castelli, Enzo Papandrea, Paolo Pettinari, Angelika Dehn, Anu Dudhia, Michael Kiefer, Alessandro Piro, Jean-Marie Flaud, Manuel López-Puertas, David Moore, John Remedios, and Massimo Bianchini
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7975–7998, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7975-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7975-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The level-2 v8 database from the measurements of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), aboard the European Space Agency Envisat satellite, containing atmospheric fields of pressure, temperature, and volume mixing ratio of 21 trace gases, is described in this paper. The database covers all the measurements acquired by MIPAS (from July 2002 to April 2012). The number of species included makes it of particular importance for the studies of stratospheric chemistry.
Paolo Pettinari, Flavio Barbara, Simone Ceccherini, Bianca Maria Dinelli, Marco Gai, Piera Raspollini, Luca Sgheri, Massimo Valeri, Gerald Wetzel, Nicola Zoppetti, and Marco Ridolfi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7959–7974, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7959-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7959-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Phosgene (COCl2) is a toxic gas whose presence is a consequence of human activity. Besides its direct injection in the troposphere, stratospheric COCl2 is produced from the decomposition of CCl4, an anthropogenic gas regulated by the Montreal Protocol. As a consequence, COCl2 negative trends characterize the lower and part of the middle stratosphere. However, we find positive trends in the upper troposphere, demonstrating the non-negligible role of other Cl-containing species not yet regulated.
Michael Höpfner, Oliver Kirner, Gerald Wetzel, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Florian Haenel, Sören Johansson, Johannes Orphal, Roland Ruhnke, Gabriele Stiller, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18433–18464, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18433-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18433-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
BrONO2 is an important reservoir gas for inorganic stratospheric bromine linked to the chemical cycles of stratospheric ozone depletion. Presently infrared limb sounding is the only way to measure BrONO2 in the atmosphere. We provide global distributions of BrONO2 derived from MIPAS observations 2002–2012. Comparisons with EMAC atmospheric modelling show an overall agreement and enable us to derive an independent estimate of stratospheric bromine of 21.2±1.4pptv based on the BrONO2 measurements.
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.
Michael Kiefer, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Anne Kleinert, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, Daniel R. Marsh, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4111–4138, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4111-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4111-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
An improved dataset of vertical temperature profiles of the Earth's atmosphere in the altitude range 5–70 km is presented. These profiles are derived from measurements of the MIPAS instrument onboard ESA's Envisat satellite. The overall improvements are based on upgrades in the input data and several improvements in the data processing approach. Both of these are discussed, and an extensive error discussion is included. Enhancements of the new dataset are demonstrated by means of examples.
Gerald Wetzel, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Thomas Gulde, Michael Höpfner, Sören Johansson, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Oliver Kirner, Anne Kleinert, Erik Kretschmer, Guido Maucher, Hans Nordmeyer, Hermann Oelhaf, Johannes Orphal, Christof Piesch, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8213–8232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8213-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8213-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of the pollutants C2H6, C2H2, HCOOH, and PAN were performed in the North Atlantic UTLS region with the airborne limb imager GLORIA in 2017. Enhanced amounts of these species were detected in the upper troposphere and even in the lowermost stratosphere (PAN). Main sources of these gases are forest fires in North America and anthropogenic pollution in South Asia. Simulations of EMAC and CAMS are qualitatively able to reproduce the measured data but underestimate the absolute amounts.
Cited articles
Carlotti, M.: Global-fit approach to the analysis of limb-scanning atmospheric measurements, Appl. Opt., 27, 3250–3254, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.27.003250, 1988.
Carlotti, M., Brizzi, G., Papandrea, E., Prevedelli, M., Ridolfi, M., Dinelli, B. M., and Magnani, L.: GMTR: Two-dimensional geofit multitarget retrieval model for Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding/Environmental Satellite observations, Appl. Opt., 45, 716–727, 2006.
Carlotti, M., Arnone, E., Castelli, E., Dinelli, B. M., and Papandrea, E.: Position error in profiles retrieved from MIPAS observations with a 1-D algorithm, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 419–429, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-419-2013, 2013.
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P., Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C., Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B., Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Kållberg, P., Köhler, M., Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park, B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N., and Vitart, F.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 137, 553–597, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.828, 2011.
Dudhia, A., Jay, V. L., and Rodgers, C. D.: MIPAS Orbital Retrieval using Sequential Estimation, Earth Observation Data Group, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, available at: http://www.atm.ox.ac.uk/MORSE/ (last access: 14 November 2016), 2005.
Fischer, H., Birk, M., Blom, C., Carli, B., Carlotti, M., von Clarmann, T., Delbouille, L., Dudhia, A., Ehhalt, D., Endemann, M., Flaud, J. M., Gessner, R., Kleinert, A., Koopman, R., Langen, J., López-Puertas, M., Mosner, P., Nett, H., Oelhaf, H., Perron, G., Remedios, J., Ridolfi, M., Stiller, G., and Zander, R.: MIPAS: an instrument for atmospheric and climate research, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2151–2188, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-2151-2008, 2008.
Höpfner, M., von Clarmann, T., Engelhardt, M., Fischer, H., Funke,B., Glatthor, N., Grabowski, U., Kellmann, S., Kiefer, M., Linden, A., López-Puertas, M., Milz, M., Steck, T., Stiller, G. P., Wang, D. Y., Ruhnke, R., Kouker, W., Reddmann, T., Bernath, P., Boone, C., and Walker, K. A.: Comparison between ACE-FTS and MIPAS IMK/IAA profiles of O3, H2O, N2O, CH4, CFC-11, CFC-12, HNO3, ClONO2, NO2, N2O5, CO, and SF6 in February/March 2004, Third Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of Envisat, (ACVE-3), ESRIN, Frascati, Italy, 4–7 December 2006, ESA SP-642, ESA Publications Division, ESTEC, the Netherlands, 2007.
Jöckel, P., Tost, H., Pozzer, A., Brühl, C., Buchholz, J., Ganzeveld, L., Hoor, P., Kerkweg, A., Lawrence, M. G., Sander, R., Steil, B., Stiller, G., Tanarhte, M., Taraborrelli, D., van Aardenne, J., and Lelieveld, J.: The atmospheric chemistry general circulation model ECHAM5/MESSy1: consistent simulation of ozone from the surface to the mesosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 5067–5104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-5067-2006, 2006
Livesey, N. J., Van Snyder, W., Read, W. G., and Wagner, P. A.: Retrieval algorithms for the EOS Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 44, 1144–1155, 2006.
Kiefer, M., Arnone, E., Dudhia, A., Carlotti, M., Castelli, E., von Clarmann, T., Dinelli, B. M., Kleinert, A., Linden, A., Milz, M., Papandrea, E., and Stiller, G.: Impact of temperature field inhomogeneities on the retrieval of atmospheric species from MIPAS IR limb emission spectra, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 3, 1487–1507, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-3-1487-2010, 2010.
Puķīte, J., Kühl, S., Deutschmann, T., Platt, U., and Wagner, T.: Accounting for the effect of horizontal gradients in limb measurements of scattered sunlight, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3045–3060, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-3045-2008, 2008.
Raspollini, P., Carli, B., Carlotti, M., Ceccherini, S., Dehn, A., Dinelli, B. M., Dudhia, A., Flaud, J.-M., López-Puertas, M., Niro, F., Remedios, J. J., Ridolfi, M., Sembhi, H., Sgheri, L., and von Clarmann, T.: Ten years of MIPAS measurements with ESA Level 2 processor V6 – Part 1: Retrieval algorithm and diagnostics of the products, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2419–2439, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2419-2013, 2013.
Steck, T., Höpfner, M., von Clarmann, T., and Grabowski, U.: Tomographic retrieval of atmospheric parameter from infrared limb emission observations, Appl. Opt., 44, 3291–3301, 2005.
von Clarmann, T., Ceccherini, S., Doicu, A., Dudhia, A., Funke, B., Grabowski, U., Hilgers, S., Jay, V., Linden, A., López-Puertas, M., Martín-Torres, J.-F., Payne, V., Reburn, J., Ridolfi, M., Schreier, F., Schwarz, G., Siddans, R., and Steck, T.: A blind test retrieval experiment for infrared limb emission spectrometry, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 4746, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003835, 2003.
von Clarmann, T., Höpfner, M., Kellmann, S., Linden, A., Chauhan, S., Funke, B., Grabowski, U., Glatthor, N., Kiefer, M., Schieferdecker, T., Stiller, G. P., and Versick, S.: Retrieval of temperature, H2O, O3, HNO3, CH4, N2O, ClONO2 and ClO from MIPAS reduced resolution nominal mode limb emission measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 2, 159–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2-159-2009, 2009.
Short summary
MIPAS is a satellite-borne limb emission sounder. The algorithm used to infer atmospheric composition from its measurements exploits the assumption that the atmosphere is horizontally homogeneous. This assumption can cause significant errors. We use synthetic observations to quantify these errors. Furthermore we show that the inclusion of any kind of horizontal variability model improves all the retrieval targets and that the two-dimensional approach implies the smallest errors.
MIPAS is a satellite-borne limb emission sounder. The algorithm used to infer atmospheric...