| 1. |
- Tinetti, Giovanna, et al.
(författare)
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The EChO science case
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 40:2-3, s. 329-391
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The discovery of almost two thousand exoplanets has revealed an unexpectedly diverse planet population. We see gas giants in few-day orbits, whole multi-planet systems within the orbit of Mercury, and new populations of planets with masses between that of the Earth and Neptune-all unknown in the Solar System. Observations to date have shown that our Solar System is certainly not representative of the general population of planets in our Milky Way. The key science questions that urgently need addressing are therefore: What are exoplanets made of? Why are planets as they are? How do planetary systems work and what causes the exceptional diversity observed as compared to the Solar System? The EChO (Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory) space mission was conceived to take up the challenge to explain this diversity in terms of formation, evolution, internal structure and planet and atmospheric composition. This requires in-depth spectroscopic knowledge of the atmospheres of a large and well-defined planet sample for which precise physical, chemical and dynamical information can be obtained. In order to fulfil this ambitious scientific program, EChO was designed as a dedicated survey mission for transit and eclipse spectroscopy capable of observing a large, diverse and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. The transit and eclipse spectroscopy method, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allows us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of at least 10(-4) relative to the star. This can only be achieved in conjunction with a carefully designed stable payload and satellite platform. It is also necessary to provide broad instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect as many molecular species as possible, to probe the thermal structure of the planetary atmospheres and to correct for the contaminating effects of the stellar photosphere. This requires wavelength coverage of at least 0.55 to 11 mu m with a goal of covering from 0.4 to 16 mu m. Only modest spectral resolving power is needed, with R similar to 300 for wavelengths less than 5 mu m and R similar to 30 for wavelengths greater than this. The transit spectroscopy technique means that no spatial resolution is required. A telescope collecting area of about 1 m(2) is sufficiently large to achieve the necessary spectro-photometric precision: for the Phase A study a 1.13 m(2) telescope, diffraction limited at 3 mu m has been adopted. Placing the satellite at L2 provides a cold and stable thermal environment as well as a large field of regard to allow efficient time-critical observation of targets randomly distributed over the sky. EChO has been conceived to achieve a single goal: exoplanet spectroscopy. The spectral coverage and signal-to-noise to be achieved by EChO, thanks to its high stability and dedicated design, would be a game changer by allowing atmospheric composition to be measured with unparalleled exactness: at least a factor 10 more precise and a factor 10 to 1000 more accurate than current observations. This would enable the detection of molecular abundances three orders of magnitude lower than currently possible and a fourfold increase from the handful of molecules detected to date. Combining these data with estimates of planetary bulk compositions from accurate measurements of their radii and masses would allow degeneracies associated with planetary interior modelling to be broken, giving unique insight into the interior structure and elemental abundances of these alien worlds. EChO would allow scientists to study exoplanets both as a population and as individuals. The mission can target super-Earths, Neptune-like, and Jupiter-like planets, in the very hot to temperate zones (planet temperatures of 300-3000 K) of F to M-type host stars. The EChO core science would be delivered by a three-tier survey. The EChO Chemical Census: This is a broad survey of a few-hundred exoplanets, which allows us to explore the spectroscopic and chemical diversity of the exoplanet population as a whole. The EChO Origin: This is a deep survey of a subsample of tens of exoplanets for which significantly higher signal to noise and spectral resolution spectra can be obtained to explain the origin of the exoplanet diversity (such as formation mechanisms, chemical processes, atmospheric escape). The EChO Rosetta Stones: This is an ultra-high accuracy survey targeting a subsample of select exoplanets. These will be the bright "benchmark" cases for which a large number of measurements would be taken to explore temporal variations, and to obtain two and three dimensional spatial information on the atmospheric conditions through eclipse-mapping techniques. If EChO were launched today, the exoplanets currently observed are sufficient to provide a large and diverse sample. The Chemical Census survey would consist of > 160 exoplanets with a range of planetary sizes, temperatures, orbital parameters and stellar host properties. Additionally, over the next 10 years, several new ground- and space-based transit photometric surveys and missions will come on-line (e.g. NGTS, CHEOPS, TESS, PLATO), which will specifically focus on finding bright, nearby systems. The current rapid rate of discovery would allow the target list to be further optimised in the years prior to EChO's launch and enable the atmospheric characterisation of hundreds of planets.
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| 2. |
- Clerbaux, C., et al.
(författare)
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CO measurements from the ACE-FTS satellite instrument: data analysis and validation using ground-based, airborne and spaceborne observations
- 2008
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8, s. 2569-2594
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) mission was launched in August 2003 to sound the atmosphere by solar occultation. Carbon monoxide (CO), a good tracer of pollution plumes and atmospheric dynamics, is one of the key species provided by the primary instrument, the ACE-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). This instrument performs measurements in both the CO 1-0 and 2-0 ro-vibrational bands, from which vertically resolved CO concentration profiles are retrieved, from the mid-troposphere to the thermosphere. This paper presents an updated description of the ACE-FTS version 2.2 CO data product, along with a comprehensive validation of these profiles using available observations (February 2004 to December 2006). We have compared the CO partial columns with ground-based measurements using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and millimeter wave radiometry, and the volume mixing ratio profiles with airborne (both high-altitude balloon flight and airplane) observations. CO satellite observations provided by nadir-looking instruments (MOPITT and TES) as well as limb-viewing remote sensors (MIPAS, SMR and MLS) were also compared with the ACE-FTS CO products. We show that the ACE-FTS measurements provide CO profiles with small retrieval errors (better than 5% from the upper troposphere to 40 km, and better than 10% above). These observations agree well with the correlative measurements, considering the rather loose coincidence criteria in some cases. Based on the validation exercise we assess the following uncertainties to the ACE-FTS measurement data: better than 15% in the upper troposphere (8–12 km), than 30% in the lower stratosphere (12–30 km), and than 25% from 30 to 100 km.
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| 3. |
- Kerzenmacher, T., et al.
(författare)
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Validation of NO2 and NO from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE)
- 2008
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8:19, s. 5801--5841-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vertical profiles of NO2 and NO have been obtained from solar occultation measurements by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE), using an infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and (for NO2) an ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectrometer, MAESTRO (Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation). In this paper, the quality of the ACE-FTS version 2.2 NO2 and NO and the MAESTRO version 1.2 NO2 data are assessed using other solar occultation measurements (HALOE, SAGE II, SAGE III, POAM III, SCIAMACHY), stellar occultation measurements (GOMOS), limb measurements (MIPAS, OSIRIS), nadir measurements (SCIAMACHY), balloon-borne measurements (SPIRALE, SAOZ) and ground-based measurements (UV-VIS, FTIR). Time differences between the comparison measurements were reduced using either a tight coincidence criterion, or where possible, chemical box models. ACE-FTS NO2 and NO and the MAESTRO NO2 are generally consistent with the correlative data. The ACE-FTS and MAESTRO NO2 volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles agree with the profiles from other satellite data sets to within about 20% between 25 and 40 km, with the exception of MIPAS ESA (for ACE-FTS) and SAGE II (for ACE-FTS (sunrise) and MAESTRO) and suggest a negative bias between 23 and 40 km of about 10%. MAESTRO reports larger VMR values than the ACE-FTS. In comparisons with HALOE, ACE-FTS NO VMRs typically (on average) agree to ±8% from 22 to 64 km and to +10% from 93 to 105 km, with maxima of 21% and 36%, respectively. Partial column comparisons for NO2 show that there is quite good agreement between the ACE instruments and the FTIRs, with a mean difference of +7.3% for ACE-FTS and +12.8% for MAESTRO.
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| 4. |
- Orell-Miquel, J., et al.
(författare)
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Confirmation of an He I evaporating atmosphere around the 650-Myr-old sub-Neptune HD 235088 b (TOI-1430 b) with CARMENES
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 677
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- HD 235088 (TOI-1430) is a young star known to host a sub-Neptune-sized planet candidate. We validated the planetary nature of HD 235088 b with multiband photometry, refined its planetary parameters, and obtained a new age estimate of the host star, placing it at 600- 800 Myr. Previous spectroscopic observations of a single transit detected an excess absorption of He I coincident in time with the planet candidate transit. Here, we confirm the presence of He I in the atmosphere of HD 235088 b with one transit observed with CARMENES. We also detected hints of variability in the strength of the helium signal, with an absorption of -0.91 ± 0.11%, which is slightly deeper (2γ) than the previous measurement. Furthermore, we simulated the He I signal with a spherically symmetric 1D hydrodynamic model, finding that the upper atmosphere of HD 235088 b escapes hydrodynamically with a significant mass loss rate of (1.5-5) × 1010 g s-1 in a relatively cold outflow, with T = 3125 ±375 K, in the photon-limited escape regime. HD 235088 b (Rp = 2.045 ± 0.075 R⊕) is the smallest planet found to date with a solid atmospheric detection - not just of He I but any other atom or molecule. This positions it a benchmark planet for further analyses of evolving young sub-Neptune atmospheres.
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| 5. |
- Remsberg, E.E., et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of the quality of the Version 1.07 temperature-versus-pressure profiles of the middle atmosphere from TIMED/SABER
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. - 2169-897X .- 2169-8996. ; 113:D17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quality of the retrieved temperature-versus-pressure (or T(p)) profiles is described for the middle atmosphere for the publicly available Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) Version 1.07 (V1.07) data set. The primary sources of systematic error for the SABER results below about 70 km are (1) errors in the measured radiances, (2) biases in the forward model, and (3) uncertainties in the corrections for ozone and in the determination of the reference pressure for the retrieved profiles. Comparisons with other correlative data sets indicate that SABER T(p) is too high by 1–3 K in the lower stratosphere but then too low by 1 K near the stratopause and by 2 K in the middle mesosphere. There is little difference between the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) algorithm results below about 70 km from V1.07 and V1.06, but there are substantial improvements/differences for the non-LTE results of V1.07 for the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere (UMLT) region. In particular, the V1.07 algorithm uses monthly, diurnally averaged CO2 profiles versus latitude from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model. This change has improved the consistency of the character of the tides in its kinetic temperature (Tk). The Tk profiles agree with UMLT values obtained from ground-based measurements of column-averaged OH and O2 emissions and of the Na lidar returns, at least within their mutual uncertainties. SABER Tk values obtained near the mesopause with its daytime algorithm also agree well with the falling sphere climatology at high northern latitudes in summer. It is concluded that the SABER data set can be the basis for improved, diurnal-to-interannual-scale temperatures for the middle atmosphere and especially for its UMLT region.
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| 6. |
- Wang, D.Y., et al.
(författare)
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Validation of nitric acid retrieved by the IMK-IAA processor from MIPAS/ENVISAT measurements
- 2007
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7, s. 721-738
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) onboard the ENVISAT satellite provides profiles of temperature and various trace-gases from limb-viewing mid-infrared emission measurements. The stratospheric nitric acid (HNO(3)) from September 2002 to March 2004 was retrieved from the MIPAS observations using the science-oriented data processor developed at the Institut fur Meteorologie und Klimaforschung (IMK), which is complemented by the component of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) treatment from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA). The IMK-IAA research product, different from the ESA operational product, is validated in this paper by comparison with a number of reference data sets. Individual HNO3 profiles of the IMK-IAA MIPAS show good agreement with those of the balloon-borne version of MIPAS (MIPAS-B) and the infrared spectrometer MkIV, with small differences of less than 0.5 ppbv throughout the entire altitude range up to about 38 km, and below 0.2 ppbv above 30 km. However, the degree of consistency is largely affected by their temporal and spatial coincidence, and differences of 1 to 2 ppbv may be observed between 22 and 26 km at high latitudes near the vortex boundary, due to large horizontal inhomogeneity of HNO(3). Statistical comparisons of MIPAS IMK-IAA HNO(3) VMRs with respect to those of satellite measurements of Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, ACE-FTS, as well as the MIPAS ESA product show good consistency. The mean differences are generally +/- 0.5 ppbv and standard deviations of the differences are of 0.5 to 1.5 ppbv. The maximum differences are 2.0 ppbv around 20 to 25 km. This gives confidence in the general reliability of MIPAS HNO(3) VMR data and the other three satellite data sets.
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| 7. |
- López-Puertas, M., et al.
(författare)
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Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium limb radiances for the mipas instrument on Envisat-1
- 1998
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Ingår i: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. - 0022-4073 .- 1879-1352. ; 59:3-5, s. 377-403
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An evaluation of the effects that the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) has on the retrieval of pressure, temperature and the five primary target gases (O3, H2O, CH4, N2O, and HNO3) from spectra to be taken by Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on the Envisat-1 platform has been conducted. For doing so, non-LTE and LTE limb radiances in the spectral range of 680–2275 cm−1 (4.15–14.6 μm) with a resolution of 0.05 cm−1 at tangent heights from 10 to 70 km have been computed. These calculations included the most updated non-LTE populations of a large number of vibrational levels of the CO2, O3, H2O, CH4, N2O and HNO3 molecules which cause the most prominent atmospheric infrared emissions. A discussion of the most important non-LTE effects on the limb radiances as well as on the retrievals of pressure-temperature and volume mixing ratios of O3, H2O, CH4, N2O, and HNO3 is presented, together with the most important non-LTE issues that could be studied with the future coming of MIPAS data.
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| 8. |
- Gardner, J.L., et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of nighttime nitric oxide 5.3 μm emissions in the thermosphere measured by MIPAS and SABER
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 112:A10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A comparative study of nitric oxide (NO) 5.3 μm emissions in the thermosphere measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) spectrometer and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) radiometer satellite instruments was conducted for nighttime data collected on 14 June 2003. The agreement between the data sets was very good, within ∼25% over the entire latitude range studied from −58° to + 4°. The MIPAS and SABER data were inverted to retrieve NO volume emission rates. Spectral fitting of the MIPAS data was used to determine the NO(v = 1) rotational and spin-orbit temperatures, which were found to be in nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) above 110 km. Near 110 km the rotational and spin-orbit temperatures converged, indicating the onset of equilibrium in agreement with the results of non-LTE modeling. Because of the onset of equilibrium the NO rotational and spin-orbit temperatures can be used to estimate the kinetic temperature near 110 km. The results indicate that the atmospheric model NRLMSISE-00 underestimates the kinetic temperature near 110 km for the locations investigated. The SABER instrument 5.3 μm band filter cuts off a significant fraction of the NO(Δv = 1) band, and therefore modeling of NO is necessary to predict the total band radiance. The needed correction factors were directly determined from the MIPAS data, providing validation of the modeled values used in SABER operational data processing. The correction factors were applied to the SABER data to calculate densities of NO(v = 1). A feasibility study was also conducted to investigate the use of NO 5.3 μm emission data to derive NO(v = 0) densities in the thermosphere.
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| 9. |
- López-Puertas, M., et al.
(författare)
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Non-LTE studies for the analysis of MIPAS/ENVISAT data
- 2002
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 4539, s. 381-395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) is a high-resolution limb sounder on board the European polar platform ENVISAT, scheduled for launch late in 2001. Three main characteristics converge in MIPAS which make it a very useful instrument for non-LTE studies: its wide spectral coverage (4.15-14.6 μm or 680-2275 cm-1); high spectral resolution (0.03 cm-1), and high sensitivity; all of this in addition to its global spatial coverage. In this paper we present an overview of the non-LTE studies that have been carried out in preparation for the analysis of MIPAS data, including the evaluation of non-LTE effects in the operational processing, focussed in the stratosphere, and the retrieval of species that normally emit under non-LTE conditions. The current mission plan for measuring the non-LTE upper atmosphere is described, as well as the general purpose non-LTE retrieval scheme developed for analyzing those measurements.
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| 10. |
- Funke, B., et al.
(författare)
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HEPPA-II model-measurement intercomparison project: EPP indirect effects during the dynamically perturbed NH winter 2008-2009
- 2017
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 17:5, s. 3573-3604
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We compare simulations from three high-top (with upper lid above 120 km) and five medium-top (with upper lid around 80 km) atmospheric models with observations of odd nitrogen (NOx D NO+NO2), temperature, and carbon monoxide from seven satellite instruments (ACE-FTS on SciSat, GOMOS, MIPAS, and SCIAMACHY on Envisat, MLS on Aura, SABER on TIMED, and SMR on Odin) during the Northern Hemisphere (NH) polar winter 2008/2009. The models included in the comparison are the 3-D chemistry transport model 3dCTM, the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model, FinROSE, the Hamburg Model of the Neutral and Ionized Atmosphere (HAMMO-NIA), the Karlsruhe Simulation Model of the Middle Atmosphere (KASIMA), the modelling tools for SOlar Climate Ozone Links studies (SOCOL and CAO-SOCOL), and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM4). The comparison focuses on the energetic particle precipitation (EPP) indirect effect, that is, the polar winter descent of NOx largely produced by EPP in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. A particular emphasis is given to the impact of the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in January 2009 and the subsequent elevated stratopause (ES) event associated with enhanced descent of mesospheric air. The chemistry climate model simulations have been nudged toward reanalysis data in the troposphere and stratosphere while being unconstrained above. An odd nitrogen upper boundary condition obtained from MIPAS observations has further been applied to medium-top models. Most models provide a good representation of the mesospheric tracer descent in general, and the EPP indirect effect in particular, during the unperturbed (pre-SSW) period of the NH winter 2008/2009. The observed NOx descent into the lower mesosphere and stratosphere is generally reproduced within 20 %. Larger discrepancies of a few model simulations could be traced back either to the impact of the models' gravity wave drag scheme on the polar wintertime meridional circulation or to a combination of prescribed NOx mixing ratio at the uppermost model layer and low vertical resolution. In March-April, after the ES event, however, modelled mesospheric and stratospheric NOx distributions deviate significantly from the observations. The too-fast and early downward propagation of the NO x tongue, encountered in most simulations, coincides with a temperature high bias in the lower mesosphere (0.2-0.05 hPa), likely caused by an overestimation of descent velocities. In contrast, upper-mesospheric temperatures (at 0.05-0.001 hPa) are generally underestimated by the high-top models after the onset of the ES event, being indicative for too-slow descent and hence too-low NOx fluxes. As a consequence, the magnitude of the simulated NOx tongue is generally underestimated by these models. Descending NOx amounts simulated with mediumtop models are on average closer to the observations but show a large spread of up to several hundred percent. This is primarily attributed to the different vertical model domains in which the NOx upper boundary condition is applied. In general, the intercomparison demonstrates the ability of state-of- the-art atmospheric models to reproduce the EPP indirect effect in dynamically and geomagnetically quiescent NH winter conditions. The encountered differences between observed and simulated NOx, CO, and temperature distributions during the perturbed phase of the 2009 NH winter, however, emphasize the need for model improvements in the dynamical representation of elevated stratopause events in order to allow for a better description of the EPP indirect effect under these particular conditions.
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