Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer Research Articles

Harmonized retrieval of middle atmospheric ozone from two microwave radiometers in Switzerland

Abstract. We present new harmonized ozone time series from two ground-based microwave radiometers in Switzerland: GROMOS and SOMORA. Both instruments have measured hourly ozone profiles in the middle atmosphere (20–75 km) for more than 2 decades. As inconsistencies in long-term trends derived from these two instruments were detected, a harmonization project was initiated in 2019. The goal was to fully harmonize the data processing of GROMOS and SOMORA to better understand and possibly reduce the discrepancies between the two data records. The harmonization has been completed for the data from 2009 until 2022 and has been successful at reducing the differences observed between the two time series. It also explains the remaining differences between the two instruments and flags their respective anomalous measurement periods in order to adapt their consideration for future trend computations. We describe the harmonization and the resulting time series in detail. We also highlight the improvements in the ozone retrievals with respect to the previous data processing. In the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, the seasonal ozone relative differences between the two instruments are now within 10 % and show good correlation (R > 0.7) (except during summertime). We also perform a comparison of these new data series against measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV) satellite instruments over Switzerland. Seasonal mean differences with MLS and SBUV are within 10 % in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere up to 60 km and increase rapidly above that point.

Discontinuities in the Ozone Concentration Time Series from MERRA 2 Reanalysis

Artificial discontinuities in time series are a great problem for trend analysis because they influence the values of the trend and its significance. The aim of this paper is to investigate their occurrence in the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA 2) ozone concentration data. It is the first step toward the utilization of the MERRA 2 ozone data for trend analysis. We use the Pettitt homogeneity test to search for discontinuities in the ozone time series. We showed the data above 4 hPa are not suitable for trend analyses due to the unrealistic patterns in an average ozone concentration and due to the frequent occurrence of significant discontinuities. Below this layer in the stratosphere, their number is much smaller, and mostly, they are insignificant, and the patterns of the average ozone concentration are explainable. In the troposphere, the number of discontinuities increases, but they are insignificant. The transition from Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV) to Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura data in 2004 is visible only above 1 hPa, where the data are not suitable for trend analyses due to other reasons. We can conclude the MERRA 2 ozone concentration data can be used in trend analysis with caution only below 4 hPa.

The use of QBO, ENSO, and NAO perturbations in the evaluation of GOME-2 MetOp A total ozone measurements

Abstract. In this work we present evidence that quasi-cyclical perturbations in total ozone (quasi-biennial oscillation – QBO, El Niño–Southern Oscillation – ENSO, and North Atlantic Oscillation – NAO) can be used as independent proxies in evaluating Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) 2 aboard MetOp A (GOME-2A) satellite total ozone data, using ground-based (GB) measurements, other satellite data, and chemical transport model calculations. The analysis is performed in the frame of the validation strategy on longer time scales within the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Satellite Application Facility on Atmospheric Composition Monitoring (AC SAF) project, covering the period 2007–2016. Comparison of GOME-2A total ozone with ground observations shows mean differences of about -0.7±1.4 % in the tropics (0–30∘), about +0.1±2.1 % in the mid-latitudes (30–60∘), and about +2.5±3.2 % and 0.0±4.3 % over the northern and southern high latitudes (60–80∘), respectively. In general, we find that GOME-2A total ozone data depict the QBO–ENSO–NAO natural fluctuations in concurrence with the co-located solar backscatter ultraviolet radiometer (SBUV), GOME-type Total Ozone Essential Climate Variable (GTO-ECV; composed of total ozone observations from GOME, SCIAMACHY – SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY, GOME-2A, and OMI – ozone monitoring instrument, combined into one homogeneous time series), and ground-based observations. Total ozone from GOME-2A is well correlated with the QBO (highest correlation in the tropics of +0.8) in agreement with SBUV, GTO-ECV, and GB data which also give the highest correlation in the tropics. The differences between deseazonalized GOME-2A and GB total ozone in the tropics are within ±1 %. These differences were tested further as to their correlations with the QBO. The differences had practically no QBO signal, providing an independent test of the stability of the long-term variability of the satellite data. Correlations between GOME-2A total ozone and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were studied over the tropical Pacific Ocean after removing seasonal, QBO, and solar-cycle-related variability. Correlations between ozone and the SOI are on the order of +0.5, consistent with SBUV and GB observations. Differences between GOME-2A and GB measurements at the station of Samoa (American Samoa; 14.25∘ S, 170.6∘ W) are within ±1.9 %. We also studied the impact of the NAO on total ozone in the northern mid-latitudes in winter. We find very good agreement between GOME-2A and GB observations over Canada and Europe as to their NAO-related variability, with mean differences reaching the ±1 % levels. The agreement and small differences which were found between the independently produced total ozone datasets as to the influence of the QBO, ENSO, and NAO show the importance of these climatological proxies as additional tool for monitoring the long-term stability of satellite–ground-truth biases.

Representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profiles, their trends and attribution to proxies

Abstract. This paper is focusing on the representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profile variations over the middle and upper stratosphere. From the lower to the upper stratosphere, ozone profiles from single or grouped lidar stations correlate well with zonal means calculated from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV) satellite overpasses. The best representativeness with significant correlation coefficients is found within ±15∘ of latitude circles north or south of any lidar station. This paper also includes a multivariate linear regression (MLR) analysis on the relative importance of proxy time series for explaining variations in the vertical ozone profiles. Studied proxies represent variability due to influences outside of the earth system (solar cycle) and within the earth system, i.e. dynamic processes (the Quasi Biennial Oscillation, QBO; the Arctic Oscillation, AO; the Antarctic Oscillation, AAO; the El Niño Southern Oscillation, ENSO), those due to volcanic aerosol (aerosol optical depth, AOD), tropopause height changes (including global warming) and those influences due to anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric chemistry (equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine, EESC). Ozone trends are estimated, with and without removal of proxies, from the total available 1980 to 2015 SBUV record. Except for the chemistry related proxy (EESC) and its orthogonal function, the removal of the other proxies does not alter the significance of the estimated long-term trends. At heights above 15 hPa an “inflection point” between 1997 and 1999 marks the end of significant negative ozone trends, followed by a recent period between 1998 and 2015 with positive ozone trends. At heights between 15 and 40 hPa the pre-1998 negative ozone trends tend to become less significant as we move towards 2015, below which the lower stratosphere ozone decline continues in agreement with findings of recent literature.

Evaluation of the Ozone Fields in NASA's MERRA-2 Reanalysis.

We describe and assess the quality of the assimilated ozone product from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) produced at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) spanning the time period from 1980 to present. MERRA-2 assimilates partial column ozone retrievals from a series of Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) radiometers on NASA and NOAA spacecraft between January 1980 and September 2004; starting in October 2004 retrieved ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and total column ozone from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's EOS Aura satellite are assimilated. We compare the MERRA-2 ozone with independent satellite and ozonesonde data focusing on the representation of the spatial and temporal variability of stratospheric and upper tropospheric ozone and on implications of the change in the observing system from SBUV to EOS Aura. The comparisons show agreement within 10 % (standard deviation of the difference) between MERRA-2 profiles and independent satellite data in most of the stratosphere. The agreement improves after 2004 when EOS Aura data are assimilated. The standard deviation of the differences between the lower stratospheric and upper tropospheric MERRA-2 ozone and ozonesondes is 11.2 % and 24.5 %, respectively, with correlations of 0.8 and above, indicative of a realistic representation of the near-tropopause ozone variability in MERRA-2. The agreement improves significantly in the EOS Aura period, however MERRA-2 is biased low in the upper troposphere with respect to the ozonesondes. Caution is recommended when using MERRA-2 ozone for decadal changes and trend studies.

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

A cross-sensor calibration technique is developed and applied to improve upon the prelaunch radiance calibration and characterization for the Total Ozone Unit (TOU) onboard the FengYun-3/A satellite. The Level 3 products from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard the Earth Observing System Aura are used as input to a radiative transfer model to predict the TOU radiances and characterize the biases for the measurements over the Pacific Ocean in low- and midlatitudes. The coefficients are derived from a regression algorithm to adjust the TOU radiances. It is shown that, after the measurement bias correction, the biases between the retrieved total column ozone products from the TOU with those from the OMI Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)-Version 8 products and those from a set of ground-based station measurements are 3 % and 5% , respectively. The variations in the estimated total ozone amounts from the TOU are consistent with those derived from Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer instruments and OMI for a period from January 2010 to February 2011.

Estimation of Arctic O3 loss during winter 2006/2007 using data assimilation and comparison with a chemical transport model

The evolution of Arctic stratospheric O3 throughout the winter and spring of 2006/2007 is estimated by a state-of-the-art chemical transport model (CTM) and by a 3D-Var assimilation system using O3 data from the Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV/2) satellites. Modelled and assimilated O3 compare well with MLS measurements. The aim of this article is to compare O3 loss estimates derived from the CTM and data-assimilation results, and as a result point to further developments in the method of inferring O3 loss using data assimilation. The methods for inferring O3 loss are discussed and compared with other published methods. The assimilation-system vertical transport is found to be too fast, in agreement with an earlier study, although this affects only the O3 reference field used for the loss estimation. Improving the O3 reference in the assimilation method used here provides a maximum vortex average O3 loss range of 0.8–1.2 ppmv at 68 hPa and 1.0–1.5 ppmv at 46 hPa, peaking at the beginning of March. The corresponding CTM values are 1.4 and 1.6 ppmv, respectively, with the peak lagging the assimilation by a few days at 46 hPa. We show that using a passive tracer as reference for O3 loss does not provide the best estimate for polar stratospheric cloud (PSC)-related loss for this winter; up to 40% of total O3 loss is shown not to be related to PSCs or heterogenous chemistry. Hence, the use of a passive O3 reference for estimating PSC-related O3 loss should be made with care. In addition to the vortex average losses, we estimate an innermost vortex O3 loss of 1.4 ppmv due to PSCs only. Transport effects and differences between the CTM and the assimilation system are discussed, and possible improvements for both models are suggested. Copyright © Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright, 2011

Estimation of Arctic ozone loss in winter 2004/05 based on assimilation of EOS MLS and SBUV/2 observations

AbstractIn this paper we present a new technique for the estimation of ozone loss in the stratospheric polar vortex based on the assimilation of Earth Observing System Microwave Limb Sounder (EOS MLS) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet radiometer (SBUV/2) ozone observations in the Met Office data assimilation system. We focus on the northern winter of 2004/05, which was exceptionally cold in the Arctic stratosphere, with associated large ozone depletion due to heterogeneous chemistry. Our ozone loss estimate, which was calculated for the 1 February to 10 March 2005 period, peaks at 450 K (approximately 17–18 km), and is 0.6 ppmv at that isentropic level (our loss estimate for the vortex core only was somewhat higher (1.0 ppmv) and indicates uncertainties related to mixing at the vortex edge). This value is similar to or smaller than results from other studies, which estimate ozone loss in this period to be in the 0.6–1.2 ppmv range. When combined with results from other studies that estimate ozone loss occurring outside our assimilation period, we obtain an estimate of 0.8–1.2 ppmv for ozone loss from early January to early March 2005.We find a second maximum in ozone loss for the 1 February–10 March period near 650 K (approximately 25 km) of around 0.4 ppmv. This is a lower figure than found in other studies, but ozone loss is actually much stronger at this level outside the vortex in a low‐ozone pocket in the Aleutian anticyclone, likely due to the NOx catalytic cycle. Our results show that the ozone data assimilation method we have used to estimate ozone loss is very promising, and can lead to potentially more accurate ozone‐loss estimates than other methods. © Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright, 2008.

The importance of direct readout satellite data in sub-synoptic scale data assimilation and numerical weather prediction

Observations, directly read out from polar orbiting and geostationary satellites are vital to sub-synoptic scale analysis and forecasting over the Australian Region. Physically based methods are used for determining temperature, moisture and total ozone from NOAA satellite radiance observations from the High Resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRS), Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV/2) instruments. Physical methods have also been used to estimate wind at hourly intervals from visible and infrared observations from the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS-5). The quality of these observations and their impact on forecasts in the Australian Region are documented. The studies reported here show the importance of TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data to forecasting and that, in particular cases, their impact is pivotal. The benefits of a two-instrument approach, using the SBUV/2 and HIRS for estimating total ozone amount is also shown. The studies have also quantified the utility of both visible and infrared image-based hourly cloud motion vectors on forecasts, using conventional intermittent (cycling) and continuous (nudging and variational) data assimilation techniques. The vital role which these high temporal and spatial resolution wind data can play in tropical cyclone forecasting is also shown.

Consistency between variations of ozone and temperature in the stratosphere

We compare time series of monthly mean total ozone values, provided by the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV), with temperatures derived from the operational stratospheric analyses produced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Climate Prediction Center (NCEP/CPC). Results generally substantiate the expectancy of positive correlations between variations of ozone and temperature in the lower stratosphere, and negative correlations between the two in the upper stratosphere. It is found that the correlations did not behave in the expected manner during the periods immediately after the eruptions of El Chichon (April 1982) and Mt.Pinatubo (June 1991). Possible problems are also pointed out for other time periods, when the anticipated correlations are not indicated. In some of the cases, the evaluations lead to recommendations for continued investigation, in order to determine whether some values might be erroneous and should be removed to improve consistency within the datasets. In a few cases it is found that real variations can be mistakenly identified as errors.

Rotational Raman scattering (Ring effect) in satellite backscatter ultraviolet measurements

A detailed radiative transfer calculation has been carried out to estimate the effects of rotational Raman scattering (RRS) on satellite measurements of backscattered ultraviolet radiation. Raman-scattered light is shifted in frequency from the incident light, which causes filling in of solar Fraunhofer lines in the observed backscattered spectrum (also known as the Ring effect). The magnitude of the rotational Raman scattering filling in is a function of wavelength, solar zenith angle, surface reflectance, surface pressure, and instrument spectral resolution. The filling in predicted by our model is found to be in agreement with observations from the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer and the Nimbus-7 Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer.

NESDIS operational ozone data products

The NESDIS operational ozone monitoring program provides global ozone information obtained from a series of instrument/satellite systems. These include: • - The TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) on the TIROS-N satellite series from 1979 to present. • - The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet radiometer (SBUV/2) on the NOAA-9 and -11 satellites from 1985 to present. The TOVS data product is the total ozone amount whereas the SBUV/2 products are total ozone amount and vertical ozone profiles. Characterization and validation of the data are being carried out by a joint NOAA/NASA contractor science team utilizing data from ground-based measurement systems as well as other satellite instruments. We present here the status of the observing systems and the data generated to date and a review of the results of some of the validation efforts.

Radiometric Calibration of SBUV/2 Instruments: Retrospective Improvements

The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer satellite-borne ozone monitoring instrument and its radiometric calibration are described. BaSO4 diffusers used as part of the calibration transfer optics were found to be unstable, losing up to 6.5% total reflectance at 230 nm over five years. The resulting calibration errors were corrected after the instrument was in orbit by using data gathered when a more stable aluminum diffuser was used. A small spectral irradiance disagreement between FEL and D2 lamps is described.

An Approach to the Detection of Long-Term Trends in Upper Stratospheric Ozone from Space

A central problem in the detection of long-term trends in the upper stratospheric ozone from orbiting remote sensors involves the separation of instrument drifts from true geophysical changes. Periodic flights of a Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet radiometer (SSBUV) on the Space Shuttle will allow the detection of drifts in optically identical sensors (SBUV/2) carried on operational satellites. A detailed simulation of the SSBUV and SBUV/2 datasets defines the accuracy that can be attained by the in-orbit calibration procedure. The repeatability of the SSBUV calibration from one flight to the next is the most critical variable in the analysis. A repeatability near + or - 1.0 percent is essential for detection and correction of drifts in the SBUV/2 radiance measurements. The simulations show that true geophysical trends in backscattered radiance can be inferred to an accuracy of approximately + or - 1.0 percent per decade when SSBUV flies approximately once per year and provides a precise calibration correction to the SBUV/2 dataset over a full decade.