Reply on RC1

Abstract

Recently, the Fast atmOspheric traCe gAs retrievaL (FOCAL) algorithm has been applied to measurements of the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) and its successor GOSAT-2. FOCAL has been originally developed for Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) retrievals with the focus on the derivation of carbon dioxide (XCO2). However, depending on the available spectral windows, FOCAL also successfully retrieves total column amounts for other atmospheric species. Here, we show new results from updated GOSAT and GOSAT-2 FOCAL retrievals. The main focus is placed on methane (XCH4; full physics and proxy product), water vapour (XH2O) and the relative ratio of semi-heavy water (HDO) to water vapour (δD). Due to the extended spectral range of GOSAT-2 it is also possible to derive information on carbon monoxide (XCO) and nitrous oxide (XN2O) for which we also show first results. We also present an update on XCO2 from both instruments. Compared to the previous product version (v1), the number of valid XCO2 data could be significantly increased in the updated version (v3.0) by 50 % for GOSAT and about a factor of two for GOSAT-2. All FOCAL data products show reasonable spatial distribution and temporal variations. Comparisons with TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network) result in station-to-station biases which are generally in line with the reported TCCON uncertainties. With this updated version of the GOSAT-2 FOCAL data, we provide a first total column average XN2O product. Global XN2O maps show a gradient from the tropics to higher latitudes in the order of 15 ppb, which can be explained by variations in tropopause height. The new GOSAT-2 XN2O product compares well with TCCON. Its station-to-station variability is lower than 2 ppb, which is about the magnitude of the typical N2O variations close to the surface. However, both GOSAT-2 and TCCON measurements show that the seasonal variations in the total column average XN2O are in the order of 8 ppb peak-to-peak, which can be easily resolved by the GOSAT-2 FOCAL data.