Abstract
Abstract. Measurement of atmospheric temperature as a function of pressure, T(P), is key to understanding many atmospheric processes and a prerequisite for retrieving gas mixing ratios and other parameters from solar occultation measurements. This paper gives a brief overview of the solar occultation measurement technique followed by a detailed discussion of the mechanisms that make the measurement sensitive to temperature. Methods for retrieving T(P) using both broadband transmittance and refraction are discussed. Investigations using measurements of broadband transmittance in two CO2 absorption bands (the 4.3 and 2.7 μm bands) and refractive bending are then presented. These investigations include sensitivity studies, simulated retrieval studies, and examples from SOFIE.
Highlights
Broadband solar occultation has been used for decades to remotely measure atmospheric constituents
While developing the retrieval codes used for Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE), we explored a number of more complicated retrieval schemes and settled on the procedure depicted by the curves labeled F, which are similar to F LU except in this case the temperatures are perturbed for the tangent point and all points above
The success of the HALOE and SOFIE experiments demonstrate that broadband solar occultation measurements can be used to accurately retrieve atmospheric T (P ) profiles
Summary
Broadband solar occultation has been used for decades to remotely measure atmospheric constituents. Using the solar image as a source along with precise pointing knowledge permits a reliable, consistent, and accurate long-term measurement of important species. The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE-II) (McCormick et al, 1989), monitored density, ozone, water, and aerosol for over 21 yr, and the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) (Russell et al, 1993), monitored these along with several halogen species and temperature as a function of pressure, T (P ), for over 14 yr. The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) (Gordley et al, 2009b), has achieved remarkable measurements of polar
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