Odin/SMR Limb Observations of Nitric Acid in the Stratosphere

Other conference contribution, 2007

The Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR) on board the Odin satellite, launched in February 2001, observes thermal emissions of stratospheric nitric acid (HNO3) originating from the Earth limb in a band centred at 544.6GHz. The characteristics of the retrieved Odin/SMR version-2.0 HNO3 profiles are described. A climatology over more than five years of HNO 3 observations from 2001 to 2007 was created. Different aspects of the data, such as the global distribution and seasonal variation, the denitrification inside the polar vortices as well as the presence of high quantities of HNO3 in the middle and upper stratosphere at midwinter high latitudes are discussed.