Analysis for retrieval and validation results of FY-3 Total Ozone Unit (TOU)

Abstract

Retrieval experiment was made for global total column ozone using the first year measurements of Total Ozone Unit (TOU) on board the second generation polar orbiting meteorological satellite of China, FY-3/A. The retrieval results were analyzed and validated by comparison with AURA/OMI, Meteop/GOME-2 global ozone products and ground-based ozone measurement data. The qualititative comparisons over the globe especially over Antarctica and the Tibetan Plateau show that the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics are consistent with OMI and GOME-2 products. The quantitative comparisons with ground-based measurements and AURA/OMI ozone product were made over 74 stations, the TOU total ozone retrieval has a 3% rms relative error compared with AURA/OMI ozone product and 4.2% rms relative error with ground-based measurements. The maximum difference between satellite retrieval and ground-based measurements was found in the Antarctica ozone hole. The TOU global ozone product is operational and distributed to all users.Total Ozone Unit, total column ozone, FY-3 satellite, retrieval, validation Citation:Wang W H, Zhang X Y, An X Q, et al. Analysis for retrieval and validation results of FY-3 Total Ozone Unit (TOU).

Cross-Calibration of the Total Ozone Unit (TOU) With the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and SBUV/2 for Environmental Applications

“…The only modification is that, for tropical areas, the TOU algorithm uses a different triplet of channels from TOMS version 7 [7]. The TOU algorithm uses channels 2, 4, and 6 to retrieve the total column ozone in the tropical area.…”

“…The TOU ozone product has been used to monitor the global ozone change and Antarctic ozone hole since 2008 [7]. In the spring of 2011, the total ozone over the Arctic decreased dramatically, and the TOU data have successively monitored the whole process.…”

“…Since then, many spaceborne BUV instruments such as the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometers (TOMSs) have been developed and deployed on various space platforms [6]. In May 2008, China launched its first BUV instrument, the Total Ozone Unit (TOU), flying on the polar-orbiting satellite FengYun (FY)-3/A (FY-3A) [7], [8]. The main scientific purpose of TOU is to map the total column ozone in the Earth's atmosphere.…”

Monitoring of the 2011 spring low ozone events in the Arctic region

“…The FY-3B SBUS is now regularly used for the ozone monitoring program in China. Prior to the introduction of the FY-3B, the FY-3A carrying the TOU (Total Ozone Unit) also delivered reliable and precise ozone measurement data [19,20]. The main difference between the SBUS and TOU lies in the design of channels and observation methods.…”

“…The SBUS has 12 channels aimed at the surface of the Earth with fixed nadir observation, which provides vertical ozone profile data from the surface to the top of the atmosphere with a spatial resolution of approximately 200 km [17,18]. The TOU, on the other hand, uses 6 channels and a scanning method of observation to obtain global total ozone data with a spatial resolution of 50 km [19,20]. With both the SBUS and TOU on board, the FY-3 is able to take full advantage of two different technical monitoring methods which deliver complete and accurate data relating to both total ozone and vertical distribution levels.…”