Abstract
Abstract. The OMPS Limb Profiler (LP) instrument is designed to provide high-vertical-resolution ozone and aerosol profiles from measurements of the scattered solar radiation in the 290–1000 nm spectral range. It collected its first Earth limb measurement on 10 January 2012 and continues to provide daily global measurements of ozone and aerosol profiles from the cloud top up to 60 and 40 km, respectively. The relatively high vertical and spatial sampling allow detection and tracking of sporadic events when aerosol particles are injected into the stratosphere, such as volcanic eruptions or pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCb) events. In this paper we discuss the newly released Version 2.0 OMPS multi-wavelength aerosol extinction coefficient retrieval algorithm. The algorithm now produces aerosol extinction profiles at 510, 600, 674, 745, 869 and 997 nm wavelengths. The OMPS LP Version 2.0 data products are compared to the SAGE III/ISS, OSIRIS and CALIPSO missions and shown to be of good quality and suitable for scientific studies. The comparison shows significant improvements in the OMPS LP retrieval performance in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and at lower altitudes. These improvements arise from use of the longer wavelengths, in contrast with the V1.0 and V1.5 OMPS aerosol retrieval algorithms, which used radiances only at 675 nm and therefore had limited sensitivity in those regions. In particular, the extinction coefficients at 745, 869 and 997 nm are shown to be the most accurate, with relative accuracies and precisions close to 10 % and 15 %, respectively, while the 675 nm relative accuracy and precision are on the order of 20 %. The 510 nm extinction coefficient is shown to have limited accuracy in the SH and is only recommended for use between 20–24 km and only in the Northern Hemisphere. The V2.0 retrieval algorithm has been applied to the complete set of OMPS LP measurements, and the new dataset is publicly available.
Highlights
1.1 The importance of stratospheric aerosol measurementsObservations of the stratospheric aerosol layer were first provided by Junge et al (1961) using balloon-borne measurements, showing a layer extending from 15 to 25 km altitude with a peak at 20 km
Comparisons with coincident measurements by the SAGE III/International Space Station (ISS), Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) and CloudAerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) instruments indicate that the OMPS Limb Profiler (LP) retrievals are suitable for scientific studies
We estimate the uncertainty in the aerosol retrieval caused by diffuse upwelling radiance (DUR) to be on the order of 5 %
Summary
Observations of the stratospheric aerosol layer were first provided by Junge et al (1961) using balloon-borne measurements, showing a layer extending from 15 to 25 km altitude with a peak at 20 km. Stratospheric aerosols can have a direct impact on Earth’s climate system by affecting its radiative balance, and they play an important role in the chemical and dynamical processes related to ozone destruction in the stratosphere (Hofmann and Solomon, 1989; Solomon, 1999; Zhu et al, 2018). Powerful volcanic eruptions such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991 can increase the stratospheric sulfur burden by several orders of magnitude over the pre-eruption levels, which can last for several years and lead to stratospheric warming and tropospheric cooling (Robock, 2000; Deshler, 2008). A review paper by Kremser et al (2016) concluded that it is critical to maintain continuous observational records to detect unpredictable events (like large volcanic eruptions) or unexpected developments (such as non-volcanic processes like strong PyroCb events that result in changes in stratospheric aerosol levels), noting that observations are critical for testing the reliability of climate models
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