Abstract. Atmospheric SO 2 can be measured by remote sensing of scattered sunlight from space, using its unique absorption features in the ultraviolet region. However, the sensitivity of the SO 2 measurement depends critically on spectral interference, surface albedo and varies with wavelength as Rayleigh scattering increases at shorter wavelengths. The Weighting Function Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (WFDOAS) method was used to pinpoint these problems and improve the retrieval. The Ring spectra included in the WFDOAS fit were determined as a function of total ozone column density, solar zenith angle, surface albedo, and effective scene altitude. The WFDOAS SO 2 retrieval from SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) data onboard the ENVISAT satellite are presented here and compared to those of the Standard DOAS (SDOAS) method for cases of background conditions and volcanic eruption. The study demonstrates the problems in the SO 2 retrieval with SDOAS, such as the positive offsets over remote (clean) regions and the negative offsets at high solar zenith angles and high ozone, could be attributed to imperfect correction for the varying ozone dependence of the Ring effect and could be solved by the WFDOAS approach.