Abstract. The effects of three important SCIAMACHY near-infrared instrument calibration issues on the retrieved methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) total columns have been investigated: the effects of the growing ice layer on the near-infrared detectors, the effects of the orbital variation of the instrument dark signal, and the effects of the dead/bad detector pixels. Corrections for each of these instrument calibration issues have been defined. The retrieved CH4 and CO total columns including these corrections show good agreement with CO measurements from the MOPITT satellite instrument and with CH4 model calculations by the chemistry transport model TM3. Using a systematic approach, it is shown that all three instrument calibration issues have a significant effect on the retrieved CH4 and CO total columns, although the impact on the CH4 total columns is more pronounced than for CO. Results for three different wavelength ranges are compared and show good agreement. The growing ice layer and the orbital variation of the dark signal show a systematic, but time-dependent effect on the retrieved CH4 and CO total columns, whereas the dead/bad pixels show a more random effect. The importance of accurate corrections for each of these instrument calibration issues is illustrated using examples where inaccurate corrections lead to a wrong interpretation of the results.

The European Space Agency will launch the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN) for global wind profile observations in the near future. The potential of ALADIN to measure the optical properties of aerosol and cirrus, as well, is investigated based on simulations. A comprehensive data analysis scheme is developed that includes (a) the correction of Doppler-shifted particle backscatter interference in the molecular backscatter channels (cross-talk effect), (b) a procedure that allows us to check the quality of the cross-talk correction, and (c) the procedures for the independent retrieval of profiles of the volume extinction and backscatter coefficients of particles considering the height-dependent ALADIN signal resolution. The error analysis shows that the particle backscatter and extinction coefficients, and the corresponding extinction-to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio), can be obtained with an overall (systematic+statistical) error of 10%-15%, 15%-30%, and 20%-35%, respectively, in tropospheric aerosol and dust layers with extinction values from 50 to 200 Mm(-1); 700-shot averaging (50 km horizontal resolution) is required. Vertical signal resolution is 500 m in the lower troposphere and 1000 m in the free troposphere. In cirrus characterized by extinction coefficients of 200 Mm(-1) and an optical depth of >0.2, backscatter coefficients, optical depth, and column lidar ratios can be obtained with 25%-35% relative uncertainty and a horizontal resolution of 10 km (140 shots). In the stratosphere, only the backscatter coefficient of aerosol layers and polar stratospheric clouds can be retrieved with an acceptable uncertainty of 15%-30%. Vertical resolution is 2000 m.

Abstract. Total column amounts of CO, CH 4 , CO 2 and N 2 O retrieved from SCIAMACHY nadir observations in its near-infrared channels have been compared to data from a ground-based quasi-global network of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. The SCIAMACHY data considered here have been produced by three different retrieval algorithms, WFM-DOAS (version 0.5 for CO and CH 4 and version 0.4 for CO 2 and N 2 O), IMAP-DOAS (version 1.1 and 0.9 (for CO)) and IMLM (version 6.3) and cover the January to December 2003 time period. Comparisons have been made for individual data, as well as for monthly averages. To maximize the number of reliable coincidences that satisfy the temporal and spatial collocation criteria, the SCIA-MACHY data have been compared with a temporal 3rd order polynomial interpolation of the ground-based data. Particular attention has been given to the question whether SCIA-MACHY observes correctly the seasonal and latitudinal variability of the target species. The present results indicate that the individual SCIAMACHY data obtained with the actual Correspondence to: B. Dils (bart.dils@oma.be ) versions of the algorithms have been significantly improved, but that the quality requirements, for estimating emissions on regional scales, are not yet met. Nevertheless, possible directions for further algorithm upgrades have been identified which should result in more reliable data products in a near future.

Abstract. The near-infrared spectra measured with the SCIAMACHY instrument on board the ENVISAT satellite suffer from several instrument calibration problems. The effects of three important instrument calibration issues on the retrieved methane (CH 4 ) and carbon monoxide (CO) total columns have been investigated: the effects of the growing ice layer on the near-infrared detectors, the effects of the orbital variation of the instrument dark signal, and the effects of the dead/bad detector pixels. Corrections for each of these instrument calibration issues have been defined. The retrieved CH 4 and CO total columns including these corrections show good agreement with CO measurements from the MOPITT satellite instrument and with CH 4 model calculations by the chemistry transport model TM3. Using a systematic approach, it is shown that all three instrument calibration issues have a significant effect on the retrieved CH 4 and CO total columns. However, the impact on the CH 4 total columns is more pronounced than for CO, because of its smaller variability. Results for three different wavelength ranges are compared and show good agreement. The growing ice layer and the orbital variation of the dark signal show a systematic, but time-dependent effect on the retrieved CH 4 and CO total columns, whereas the effect of the dead/bad pixels is rather unpredictable: some dead pixels show a random effect, some more systematic, and others no effect at all. The importance of accurate corrections for each of these instrument calibration issues is illustrated using examples where inaccurate corrections lead to a wrong interpretation of the results.Correspondence to: A. M. S. Gloudemans (a.gloudemans@sron.nl)