HO2 measurements in the stratosphere and the mesosphere from the sub-millimetre limb sounder Odin/SMR

Journal article, 2009

This paper presents observations of the hydroperoxy radical (HO 2 ) performed by the Odin/SMR instrument from the middle stratosphere to the upper mesosphere (35-90 km). The data set covers the period from October 2003 to December 2005 on a basis of one observation period of 24 hours each month. Odin/SMR can provide two zonal maps of HO 2 per day, with a vertical resolution of 10 km. The non-standard processing applied to the retrievals is described. The consistency between HO 2 observations from three periods in August 2004 demonstrates the robustness of the retrieval method. It also shows that the measurements are sensitive enough to detect changes in the middle and upper mesosphere. The retrieval needs further improvements for studying stratospheric variations. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.