Validation of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder middle atmosphere water vapor and nitrous oxide measurements
Journal article, 2007
The quality of the version 2.2 (v2.2) middle atmosphere water vapor and nitrous oxide measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite is assessed. The impacts of the various sources of systematic error are estimated by a comprehensive set of retrieval simulations. Comparisons with correlative data sets from ground-based, balloon and satellite platforms operating in the UV/ visible, infrared and microwave regions of the spectrum are performed. Precision estimates are also validated, and recommendations are given on the data usage. The v2.2 H < inf > 2 < /inf > O data have been improved over v1.5 by providing higher vertical resolution in the lower stratosphere and better precision above the stratopause. The single-profile precision is ∼0.2-0.3 ppmv (4-9%), and the vertical resolution is ∼3-4 km in the stratosphere. The precision and vertical resolution become worse with increasing height above the stratopause. Over the pressure range 0.1-0.01 hPa the precision degrades from 0.4 to 1.1 ppmv (6-34%), and the vertical resolution degrades to ∼12-16 km. The accuracy is estimated to be 0.2-0.5 ppmv (4-11%) for the pressure range 68-0.01 hPa. The scientifically useful range of the H < inf > 2 < /inf > O data is from 316 to 0.002 hPa, although only the 82-0.002 hPa pressure range is validated here. Substantial improvement has been achieved in the v2.2 N < inf > 2 < /inf > O data over v1.5 by reducing a significant low bias in the stratosphere and eliminating unrealistically high biased mixing ratios in the polar regions. The single-profile precision is ∼13-25 ppbv (7-38%), the vertical resolution is ∼4-6 km and the accuracy is estimated to be 3-70 ppbv (9-25%) for the pressure range 100-4.6 hPa. The scientifically useful range of the N < inf > 2 < /inf > O data is from 100 to 1 hPa. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.
Author
A. Lambert
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
W.G. Read
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
N.J. Livesey
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
M.L. Santee
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
G.L. Manney
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
L. Froidevaux
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
D.L. Wu
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
M.J. Schwartz
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
H.C. Pumphrey
University of Edinburgh
C. Jimenez
University of Edinburgh
G.E. Nedoluha
Naval Research Laboratory
R.E. Coeld
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
D.T. Cuddy
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
W.H. Daffer
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
B.J. Drouin
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
R.A. Fuller
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
R.F. Jarnot
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
B.W. Knosp
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
H.M. Pickett
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
V.S. Perun
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
W.V. Snyder
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
P.C. Stek
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
R.P. Thurstans
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
P.A. Wagner
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
J.W. Waters
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
K.W. Jucks
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
G.C. Toon
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
R.A. Stachnik
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
P.F. Bernath
University of Waterloo
University of York
C.D. Boone
University of Waterloo
K.A. Walker
University of Toronto
University of Waterloo
Joachim Urban
Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Global Environmental Measurements
Donal Murtagh
Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Global Environmental Measurements
J.W. Elkins
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
E. Atlas
University of Miami
Journal of Geophysical Research
01480227 (ISSN) 21562202 (eISSN)
Vol. 112 D24 D24S36Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
DOI
10.1029/2007JD008724