Comparisons between SCIAMACHY and ground-based FTIR data for total columns of CO, CH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O

Abstract

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.

Validation of ACE-FTS N<sub>2</sub>O measurements

“…Twelve such instruments participated in this study; all are at stations of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) (Kurylo and Zander, 2000) and make regular measurements of a suite of tropospheric and stratospheric species. Many have previously provided data for validation of N 2 O measurements by satellite instruments, such as ILAS (Wood et al, 2002), ILAS-II (Griesfeller et al, 2006), SCIAMACHY (Dils et al, 2006), and MIPAS (Vigouroux et al, 2007). Table 2 lists the stations involved, including their location, the instrument type and spectral resolution, and the retrieval code and microwindows used to retrieve N 2 O.…”

Validation of TES methane with HIPPO aircraft observations: implications for inverse modeling of methane sources

“…Previous validations of SCIAMACHY and GOSAT have used coincident observations from a limited number of ground based Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS), most of which are located in Europe and eastern North America (Dils et al, 2006;Morino et al, 2011;Sussmann et al, 2005). AIRS methane has been validated with NOAA/GMD aircraft profiles from 22 locations (Xiong et al, 2008) …”

Comparison of OSIRIS stratospheric NO2 and O3 measurements with ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer measurements at the Toronto Atmospheric Observatory

“…These observations provide trace gas concentrations in the stratosphere and troposphere for use in trend and climate studies, for example, refs. Currently, it is one of only two such NDACC instruments operating in Canada and has been used for both ground-truthing [18,19] and scientific process studies [20]. 14-17. In 2001, the Toronto Atmospheric Observatory was established with a high-resolution ground-based FTS as its principal instrument (TAO-FTS).…”