scholarly journals OMI total bromine monoxide (OMBRO) data product: Algorithm, retrieval and measurement comparisons

Author(s):  
Raid M. Suleiman ◽  
Kelly Chance ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
Gonzalo González Abad ◽  
Thomas P. Kurosu ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents the retrieval algorithm for the operational Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) total bromine monoxide (BrO) data product (OMBRO) developed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), and shows some validation with correlative measurements and retrieval results. The algorithm is based on direct nonlinear least squares fitting of radiances from the spectral range 319.0–347.5 nm. Radiances are modeled from the solar irradiance, attenuated by contributions from BrO and interfering gases, and including rotational Raman scattering, additive and multiplicative closure polynomials, correction for Nyquist undersampling, and the average fitting residual spectrum. The retrieval uses albedo- and wavelength-dependent air mass factors (AMFs), which have been pre-computed using a single mostly stratospheric BrO profile. The BrO cross sections are multiplied by the wavelength- dependent AMFs before fitting so that the vertical column densities (VCDs) are retrieved directly. The fitting uncertainties of BrO VCDs typically vary between 4 and 7 × 1012 molecules cm−2 (~ 10–20 % of the measured BrO VCDs). The retrievals agree well with GOME-2 observations at simultaneous nadir overpasses and ground-based zenith-sky measurements at 25 Harestua, Norway, with mean biases less than 0.12 ± 0.76 × 1013 molecules cm−2 (3.2 ± 16.3 %). Global distribution and seasonal variation of OMI BrO are generally consistent with previous satellite observations. The retrievals show enhancement of BrO at US Great Salt Lake. It also shows significant BrO enhancement from the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, although the BrO retrievals can be affected under high SO2 loading conditions by the sub-optimum choice of SO2 cross sections.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 2067-2084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raid M. Suleiman ◽  
Kelly Chance ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
Gonzalo González Abad ◽  
Thomas P. Kurosu ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents the retrieval algorithm for the operational Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) total bromine monoxide (BrO) data product (OMBRO) developed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and shows comparisons with correlative measurements and retrieval results. The algorithm is based on direct nonlinear least squares fitting of radiances from the spectral range 319.0–347.5 nm. Radiances are modeled from the solar irradiance, attenuated by contributions from BrO and interfering gases, and including rotational Raman scattering, additive and multiplicative closure polynomials, correction for Nyquist undersampling and the average fitting residual spectrum. The retrieval uses albedo- and wavelength-dependent air mass factors (AMFs), which have been pre-computed using a single mostly stratospheric BrO profile. The BrO cross sections are multiplied by the wavelength-dependent AMFs before fitting so that the vertical column densities (VCDs) are retrieved directly. The fitting uncertainties of BrO VCDs typically vary between 4 and 7×1012 molecules cm−2 (∼10 %–20 % of the measured BrO VCDs). Additional fitting uncertainties can be caused by the interferences from O2-O2 and H2CO and their correlation with BrO. AMF uncertainties are estimated to be around 10 % when the single stratospheric-only BrO profile is used. However, under conditions of high tropospheric concentrations, AMF errors due to this assumption of profile can be as high as 50 %. The retrievals agree well with GOME-2 observations at simultaneous nadir overpasses and with ground-based zenith-sky measurements at Harestua, Norway, with mean biases less than -0.22±1.13×1013 and 0.12±0.76×1013 molecules cm−2, respectively. Global distribution and seasonal variation of OMI BrO are generally consistent with previous satellite observations. Finally, we confirm the capacity of OMBRO retrievals to observe enhancements of BrO over the US Great Salt Lake despite the current retrieval setup considering a stratospheric profile in the AMF calculations. OMBRO retrievals also show significant BrO enhancements from the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, although the BrO retrievals are affected under high SO2 loading conditions by the sub-optimum choice of SO2 cross sections.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 5007-5033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Steffen Beirle ◽  
Johannes Lampel ◽  
Mariliza Koukouli ◽  
Isabelle De Smedt ◽  
...  

Abstract. Tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on AURA and the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 aboard METOP-A (GOME-2A) and METOP-B (GOME-2B) are widely used to characterize the global distributions, trends and dominating sources of these trace gases. They are also useful for the comparison with chemical transport models (CTMs). We use tropospheric VCDs and vertical profiles of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from MAX-DOAS measurements from 2011 to 2014 in Wuxi, China, to validate the corresponding products (daily and bi-monthly-averaged data) derived from OMI and GOME-2A/B by different scientific teams. Prior to the comparison, the spatial and temporal coincidence criteria for MAX-DOAS and satellite data are determined by a sensitivity study using different spatial and temporal averaging conditions. Cloud effects on both MAX-DOAS and satellite observations are also investigated. Our results indicate that the discrepancies between satellite and MAX-DOAS results increase with increasing effective cloud fraction and are dominated by the effects of clouds on the satellite products. In comparison with MAX-DOAS, we found a systematic underestimation of all SO2 (40 to 57 %) and HCHO products (about 20 %), and an overestimation of the GOME-2A/B NO2 products (about 30 %), but good consistency with the DOMINO version 2 NO2 product. To better understand the reasons for these differences, we evaluated the a priori profile shapes used in the OMI retrievals (derived from CTM) by comparison with those derived from the MAX-DOAS observations. Significant differences are found for the SO2 and HCHO profile shapes derived from the IMAGES model, whereas on average good agreement is found for the NO2 profile shapes derived from the TM4 model. We also applied the MAX-DOAS profile shapes to the satellite retrievals and found that these modified satellite VCDs agree better with the MAX-DOAS VCDs than the VCDs from the original data sets by up to 10, 47 and 35 % for NO2, SO2 and HCHO, respectively. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of aerosols on the satellite retrievals. For OMI observations of NO2, a systematic underestimation is found for large AOD, which is mainly attributed to effect of the aerosols on the cloud retrieval and the subsequent application of a cloud correction scheme (implicit aerosol correction). In contrast, the effect of aerosols on the clear-sky air mass factor (explicit aerosol correction) has a smaller effect. For SO2 and HCHO observations selected in the same way, no clear aerosol effect is found, probably because for the considered data sets no cloud correction is applied (and also because of the larger scatter). From our findings we conclude that for satellite observations with cloud top pressure (CTP) > 900 hPa and effective cloud fraction (eCF) < 10 % the application of a clear-sky air mass factor might be a good option if accurate aerosol information is not available. Another finding of our study is that the ratio of morning-to-afternoon NO2 VCDs can be considerably overestimated if results from different sensors and/or retrievals (e.g. OMI and GOME-2) are used, whereas fewer deviations for HCHO and SO2 VCDs are found.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Steffen Beirle ◽  
Johannes lampel ◽  
Mariliza Koukouli ◽  
Isabelle De Smedt ◽  
...  

Abstract. Tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on AURA and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 aboard METOP-A (GOME-2A) and METOP-B (GOME-2B) are widely used to characterize the global distributions, trends, dominating sources of the trace gases and for comparisons with chemical transport models (CTM). We use tropospheric VCDs and vertical profiles of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from MAX-DOAS measurements from 2011 to 2014 in Wuxi, China, to validate the corresponding products derived from OMI, GOME-2A/B by different scientific teams (daily and bimonthly averaged data). Prior to the comparison we investigate the effects of the spatial and temporal coincidence criteria for MAX-DOAS and satellite data on the comparison results. We find that the distance of satellite data from the location of the MAX-DOAS station is the dominating effect, and we make suggestions for the spatial (20 km for OMI NO2 and SO2 products and 50 km for OMI HCHO and all GOME-2A/B products) and temporal averaging (2 hours around satellite overpass time). We also investigate the effect of clouds on both MAX-DOAS and satellite observations. Our results indicate that the discrepancies between satellite and MAX-DOAS results increase with increasing effective cloud fractions and are dominated by the cloud effect on the satellite products. Our comparison results indicate a systematic underestimation of all SO2 (40 % to 57 %) and HCHO products (about 20 %) and an overestimation of the GOME-2A/B NO2 products (about 30 %) (DOMINO NO2 product is only slightly underestimated by 1 %). To better understand the reasons for the differences, we recalculated the AMFs for satellite observations based on the shape factors (SFs) derived from MAX-DOAS. The recalculated satellite VCDs agree better with the MAX-DOAS VCDs than those from the original products by up to 10 %, 47 % and 35 % for NO2, SO2 and HCHO, respectively. The improvement is strongest for periods with large trace gas VCDs. Finally we investigate the effect of aerosols on the satellite retrievals. We find an increasing underestimation of the OMI NO2, SO2 and HCHO products with increasing AOD by up to 8 %, 12 % and 2 %, respectively. One reason for this finding is that aerosols systematically affect the satellite cloud retrievals and can lead to apparent effective cloud fractions of up to 10 % and apparent cloud top pressures of down to 830 hPa for the typical urban region in Wuxi. We show that in such cases the implicit aerosol correction could cause a strong underestimation of tropospheric VCDs by up to about 45 %, 77 % and 100 % for NO2, SO2 and HCHO, respectively. For such conditions it might be better to apply AMFs for clear sky conditions than AMFs based on the satellite cloud retrievals. We find that the satellites systematically overestimate the magnitude of the diurnal variations of NO2 and HCHO. No significant weekly cycle for all trace gases is found by either the satellites or the MAX-DOAS measurements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 4093-4107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Vasilkov ◽  
Eun-Su Yang ◽  
Sergey Marchenko ◽  
Wenhan Qin ◽  
Lok Lamsal ◽  
...  

Abstract. We discuss a new cloud algorithm that retrieves an effective cloud pressure, also known as cloud optical centroid pressure (OCP), from oxygen dimer (O2-O2) absorption at 477 nm after determining an effective cloud fraction (ECF) at 466 nm, a wavelength not significantly affected by trace-gas absorption and rotational Raman scattering. The retrieved cloud products are intended for use as inputs to the operational nitrogen dioxide (NO2) retrieval algorithm for the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flying on the Aura satellite. The cloud algorithm uses temperature-dependent O2-O2 cross sections and incorporates flexible spectral fitting techniques that account for specifics of the surface reflectivity. The fitting procedure derives O2-O2 slant column densities (SCDs) from radiances after O3, NO2, and H2O absorption features have been removed based on estimates of the amounts of these species from independent OMI algorithms. The cloud algorithm is based on the frequently used mixed Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (MLER) concept. A geometry-dependent Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (GLER), which is a proxy of surface bidirectional reflectance, is used for the ground reflectivity in our implementation of the MLER approach. The OCP is derived from a match of the measured O2-O2 SCD to that calculated with the MLER method. Temperature profiles needed for computation of vertical column densities are taken from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) model. We investigate the effect of using GLER instead of climatological LER on the retrieved ECF and OCP. For evaluation purposes, the retrieved ECFs and OCPs are compared with those from the operational OMI cloud product, which is also based on the same O2-O2 absorption band. Impacts of the application of the newly developed cloud algorithm to the OMI NO2 retrieval are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 3891-3907 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Chan Miller ◽  
G. Gonzalez Abad ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
X. Liu ◽  
T. Kurosu ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present an algorithm for the retrieval of glyoxal from backscattered solar radiation, and apply it to spectra measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The algorithm is based on direct spectrum fitting, and adopts a two-step fitting routine to account for liquid water absorption. Previous studies have shown that glyoxal retrieval algorithms are highly sensitive to the position of the spectral fit window. This dependence was systematically tested on real and simulated OMI spectra. We find that a combination of errors resulting from uncertainties in reference cross sections and spectral features associated with the Ring effect are consistent with the fit-window dependence observed in real spectra. This implies an optimal fitting window of 435–461 nm, consistent with previous satellite glyoxal retrievals. The results from the retrieval of simulated spectra also support previous findings that have suggested that glyoxal is sensitive to NO2 cross-section temperature. The retrieval window limits of the liquid water retrieval are also tested. A retrieval window 385–470 nm reduces interference with strong spectral features associated with sand. We show that cross-track dependent offsets (stripes) present in OMI can be corrected using offsets derived from retrieved slant columns over the Sahara, and apply the correction to OMI data. Average glyoxal columns are on average lower than those of previous studies likely owing to the choice of reference sector for offset correction. OMI VCDs (vertical column densities)are lower compared to other satellites over the tropics and Asia during the monsoon season, suggesting that the new retrieval is less sensitive to water vapour abundance. Consequently we do not see significant glyoxal enhancements over tropical oceans. OMI-derived glyoxal-to-formaldehyde ratios over biogenic and anthropogenic source regions are consistent with surface observations.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Vasilkov ◽  
Eun-Su Yang ◽  
Sergey Marchenko ◽  
Wenhan Qin ◽  
Lok Lamsal ◽  
...  

Abstract. We discuss a new cloud algorithm that retrieves an effective cloud pressure, also known as cloud optical centroid pressure (OCP), from oxygen dimer (O2-O2) absorption at 477 nm after determining an effective cloud fraction (ECF) at 466 nm, a wavelength not significantly affected by trace gas absorption and rotational-Raman scattering. The retrieved cloud products are intended for use as inputs to the operational nitrogen dioxide (NO2) retrieval algorithm for the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flying on the Aura satellite. The cloud algorithm uses temperature-dependent O2-O2 cross-sections and incorporates flexible spectral fitting techniques that account for specifics of the surface reflectivity. The fitting procedure derives O2-O2 slant column densities (SCD) from radiances after O3, NO2, and H2O absorption features have been removed based on estimates of the amounts of these species from independent OMI algorithms. The cloud algorithm is based on the frequently used Mixed Lambert-Equivalent Reflectivity (MLER) concept. A geometry-dependent Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (GLER) is used for the ground reflectivity in our implementation of the MLER approach. The OCP is derived from a match of the measured O2-O2 SCD to that calculated with the MLER method. Temperature profiles needed for computation of vertical column densities are taken from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) model. We investigate the effect of using GLER instead of climatological LER on the retrieved ECF and OCP. For evaluation purposes, the retrieved ECFs and OCPs are compared with those from the operational OMI cloud product which is also based on the same O2-O2 absorption band. Impacts of the application of the newly developed cloud algorithm to the OMI NO2 retrieval are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejian Fu ◽  
Susan S. Kulawik ◽  
Kazuyuki Miyazaki ◽  
Kevin W. Bowman ◽  
John R. Worden ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on the A-Train Aura satellite was designed to profile tropospheric ozone and its precursors, taking measurements from 2004 to 2018. Starting in 2008, TES global sampling of tropospheric ozone was gradually reduced in latitude with global coverage stopping in 2011. To extend the record of TES, this work presents a multispectral approach that will provide O3 data products with vertical resolution and measurement uncertainty similar to TES by combining the single-footprint thermal infrared (TIR) hyperspectral radiances from the Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument and the ultraviolet (UV) channels from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The joint AIR+OMI O3 retrievals are processed through the MUlti-SpEctra, MUlti-SpEcies, MUlti-SEnsors (MUSES) retrieval algorithm. Comparisons of collocated joint AIRS+OMI and TES to ozonesonde measurements show that both systems have similar errors, with mean and standard deviation of the differences well within the estimated measurement uncertainty. AIRS+OMI and TES have slightly different biases (within 5 parts per billion) versus the sondes. Both AIRS and OMI have wide swath widths (~ 1,650 km for AIRS; ~ 2,600 km for OMI) across satellite ground tracks. Consequently, the joint AIRS+OMI measurements have the potential to maintain TES vertical sensitivity while increasing coverage by two orders of magnitude, thus providing an unprecedented new dataset to quantify the evolution of tropospheric ozone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3551-3571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Ahn Kwon ◽  
Rokjin J. Park ◽  
Gonzalo González Abad ◽  
Kelly Chance ◽  
Thomas P. Kurosu ◽  
...  

Abstract. We describe a formaldehyde (HCHO) retrieval algorithm for the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) that will be launched by the Korean Ministry of Environment in 2019. The algorithm comprises three steps: preprocesses, radiance fitting, and postprocesses. The preprocesses include a wavelength calibration, as well as interpolation and convolution of absorption cross sections; radiance fitting is conducted using a nonlinear fitting method referred to as basic optical absorption spectroscopy (BOAS); and postprocesses include air mass factor calculations and bias corrections. In this study, several sensitivity tests are conducted to examine the retrieval uncertainties using the GEMS HCHO algorithm. We evaluate the algorithm with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Level 1B irradiance/radiance data by comparing our retrieved HCHO column densities with OMI HCHO products of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (OMHCHO) and of the Quality Assurance for Essential Climate Variables project (OMI QA4ECV). Results show that OMI HCHO slant columns retrieved using the GEMS algorithm are in good agreement with OMHCHO, with correlation coefficients of 0.77–0.91 and regression slopes of 0.94–1.04 for March, June, September, and December 2005. Spatial distributions of HCHO slant columns from the GEMS algorithm are consistent with the OMI QA4ECV products, but relatively poorer correlation coefficients of 0.52–0.76 are found compared to those against the OMHCHO products. Also, we compare the satellite results with ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations. OMI GEMS HCHO vertical columns are 9 %–25 % lower than those of MAX-DOAS at Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP) in France, Bremen in Germany, and Xianghe in China. We find that the OMI GEMS retrievals have less bias than the OMHCHO and OMI QA4ECV products at OHP and Bremen in comparison with MAX-DOAS.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 7909-7927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kanaya ◽  
H. Irie ◽  
H. Takashima ◽  
H. Iwabuchi ◽  
H. Akimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract. We conducted long-term network observations using standardized Multi-Axis Differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instruments in Russia and ASia (MADRAS) from 2007 onwards and made the first synthetic data analysis. At seven locations (Cape Hedo, Fukue and Yokosuka in Japan, Hefei in China, Gwangju in Korea, and Tomsk and Zvenigorod in Russia) with different levels of pollution, we obtained 80 927 retrievals of tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (TropoNO2VCD) and aerosol optical depth (AOD). In the technique, the optimal estimation of the TropoNO2VCD and its profile was performed using aerosol information derived from O4 absorbances simultaneously observed at 460–490 nm. This large data set was used to analyze NO2 climatology systematically, including temporal variations from the seasonal to the diurnal scale. The results were compared with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations and global model simulations. Two NO2 retrievals of OMI satellite data (NASA ver. 2.1 and Dutch OMI NO2 (DOMINO) ver. 2.0) generally showed close correlations with those derived from MAX-DOAS observations, but had low biases of up to ~50%. The bias was distinct when NO2 was abundantly present near the surface and when the AOD was high, suggesting a possibility of incomplete accounting of NO2 near the surface under relatively high aerosol conditions for the satellite observations. Except for constant biases, the satellite observations showed nearly perfect seasonal agreement with MAX-DOAS observations, suggesting that the analysis of seasonal features of the satellite data were robust. Weekend reduction in the TropoNO2VCD found at Yokosuka and Gwangju was absent at Hefei, implying that the major sources had different weekly variation patterns. While the TropoNO2VCD generally decreased during the midday hours, it increased exceptionally at urban/suburban locations (Yokosuka, Gwangju, and Hefei) during winter. A global chemical transport model, MIROC-ESM-CHEM (Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate–Earth System Model–Chemistry), was validated for the first time with respect to background NO2 column densities during summer at Cape Hedo and Fukue in the clean marine atmosphere.


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