| 1. |
- Angelbratt, Jon, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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A new method to detect long term trends of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) total columns measured within the NDACC ground-based high resolution solar FTIR network
- 2011
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 11:13, s. 6167-6183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Total columns measured with the ground-based solar FTIR technique are highly variable in time due to atmospheric chemistry and dynamics in the atmosphere above the measurement station. In this paper, a multiple regression model with anomalies of air pressure, total columns of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and carbon monoxide (CO) and tropopause height are used to reduce the variability in the methane (CH(4)) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) total columns to estimate reliable linear trends with as small uncertainties as possible. The method is developed at the Harestua station (60 degrees N, 11 degrees E, 600 ma.s.l.) and used on three other European FTIR stations, i.e. Jungfraujoch (47 degrees N, 8 degrees E, 3600 ma.s.l.), Zugspitze (47 degrees N, 11 degrees E, 3000 ma.s.l.), and Kiruna (68 degrees N, 20 degrees E, 400 ma.s.l.). Linear CH(4) trends between 0.13 +/- 0.01-0.25 +/- 0.02% yr(-1) were estimated for all stations in the 1996-2009 period. A piecewise model with three separate linear trends, connected at change points, was used to estimate the short term fluctuations in the CH(4) total columns. This model shows a growth in 1996-1999 followed by a period of steady state until 2007. From 2007 until 2009 the atmospheric CH(4) amount increases between 0.57 +/- 0.22-1.15 +/- 0.17% yr(-1). Linear N(2)O trends between 0.19 +/- 0.01-0.40 +/- 0.02% yr(-1) were estimated for all stations in the 1996-2007 period, here with the strongest trend at Harestua and Kiruna and the lowest at the Alp stations. From the N(2)O total columns crude tropospheric and stratospheric partial columns were derived, indicating that the observed difference in the N(2)O trends between the FTIR sites is of stratospheric origin. This agrees well with the N(2)O measurements by the SMR instrument onboard the Odin satellite showing the highest trends at Harestua, 0.98 +/- 0.28% yr(-1), and considerably smaller trends at lower latitudes, 0.27 +/- 0.25% yr(-1). The multiple regression model was compared with two other trend methods, the ordinary linear regression and a Bootstrap algorithm. The multiple regression model estimated CH(4) and N(2)O trends that differed up to 31% compared to the other two methods and had uncertainties that were up to 300% lower. Since the multiple regression method were carefully validated this stresses the importance to account for variability in the total columns when estimating trend from solar FTIR data.
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| 2. |
- Baron, P., et al.
(författare)
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Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30 degrees S and 55 degrees N during the northern winter 2009-2010
- 2013
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 13:12, s. 6049-6064
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the links between stratospheric dynamics, climate and weather have been demonstrated, direct observations of stratospheric winds are lacking, in particular at altitudes above 30 km. We report observations of winds between 8 and 0.01 hPa (similar to 35-80 km) from October 2009 to April 2010 by the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station. The altitude range covers the region between 35-60 km where previous space-borne wind instruments show a lack of sensitivity. Both zonal and meridional wind components were obtained, though not simultaneously, in the latitude range from 30 degrees S to 55 degrees N and with a single profile precision of 7-9 ms(-1) between 8 and 0.6 hPa and better than 20 ms(-1) at altitudes above. The vertical resolution is 5-7 km except in the upper part of the retrieval range (10 km at 0.01 hPa). In the region between 1-0.05 hPa, an absolute value of the mean difference 5 ms(-1)). In the mesosphere, SMILES and ECMWF zonal winds exhibit large differences (>20 ms(-1)), especially in the tropics. We illustrate our results by showing daily and monthly zonal wind variations, namely the semi-annual oscillation in the tropics and reversals of the flow direction between 50-55 degrees N during sudden stratospheric warmings. The daily comparison with ECMWF winds reveals that in the beginning of February, a significantly stronger zonal westward flow is measured in the tropics at 2 hPa compared to the flow computed in the analysis (difference of similar to 20 ms(-1)). The results show that the comparison between SMILES and ECMWF winds is not only relevant for the quality assessment of the new SMILES winds, but it also provides insights on the quality of the ECMWF winds themselves. Although the instrument was not specifically designed for measuring winds, the results demonstrate that space-borne sub-mm wave radiometers have the potential to provide good quality data for improving the stratospheric winds in atmospheric models.
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| 3. |
- Baron, Phillippe, et al.
(författare)
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Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30° S and 55° N during the northern winter 2009–2010
- 2012
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 13, s. 6049-6064
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the links between stratospheric dynamics, climate and weather have been demonstrated, direct observations of stratospheric winds are lacking. We report observations of winds between 8 and 0.01 hPa (~35–80 km) from October 2009 to April 2010 by the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station. The altitude range covers the region between 35–60 km where previous space-borne wind instruments show a lack of sensitivity. Both zonal and meridional wind components were obtained, though not simultaneously, in the latitude range from 30° S to 55° N and with a single profile precision of 7–9 m s−1 between 8 and 0.6 hPa and better than 20 m s−1 at altitudes above. The vertical resolution is 5–7 km except in the upper part of the retrieval range (10 km at 0.01 hPa). In the region between 1–0.05 hPa, a mean difference <2 m s−1 is found between SMILES profiles retrieved from different spectroscopic lines and instrumental settings. Good agreement (mean difference of ~2 m s−1) is also found with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis in most of the stratosphere except for the zonal winds over the equator (mean difference of 5–10 m s−1). In the mesosphere, SMILES and ECMWF zonal winds exhibit large differences (> 20 m s−1), especially in the tropics. We illustrate our results by showing daily and monthly zonal wind variations, namely the semi-annual oscillation in the tropics and reversals of the flow direction between 50° N–55° N during sudden stratospheric warmings in the stratosphere. The daily comparison with ECMWF winds reveals that in the beginning of February, a significantly stronger zonal westward flow is measured in the tropics at 2 hPa compared to the flow computed in the analysis (difference of ~20 m s−1). The results show that the comparison between SMILES and ECMWF winds is not only relevant for the quality assessment of the new SMILES winds but it also provides insights on the quality of the ECMWF winds themselves. Although the instrument was not specifically designed for measuring winds, the results demonstrate that space-borne sub-mm wave radiometers have the potential to provide good quality data for improving the stratospheric winds in atmospheric models.
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| 4. |
- Baron, P., et al.
(författare)
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The Level 2 research product algorithms for the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES)
- 2011
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 4, s. 2105-2124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper describes the algorithms of the level-2 research (L2r) processing chain developed for the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES). The chain has been developed in parallel to the operational chain for conducting researches on calibration and retrieval algorithms. L2r chain products are available to the scientific community. The objective of version 2 is the retrieval of the vertical distribution of trace gases in the altitude range of 18–90 km. A theoretical error analysis is conducted to estimate the retrieval feasibility of key parameters of the processing: line-of-sight elevation tangent altitudes (or angles), temperature and ozone profiles. While pointing information is often retrieved from molecular oxygen lines, there is no oxygen line in the SMILES spectra, so the strong ozone line at 625.371 GHz has been chosen. The pointing parameters and the ozone profiles are retrieved from the line wings which are measured with high signal to noise ratio, whereas the temperature profile is retrieved from the optically thick line center. The main systematic component of the retrieval error was found to be the neglect of the non-linearity of the radiometric gain in the calibration procedure. This causes a temperature retrieval error of 5–10 K. Because of these large temperature errors, it is not possible to construct a reliable hydrostatic pressure profile. However, as a consequence of the retrieval of pointing parameters, pressure induced errors are significantly reduced if the retrieved trace gas profiles are represented on pressure levels instead of geometric altitude levels. Further, various setups of trace gas retrievals have been tested. The error analysis for the retrieved HOCl profile demonstrates that best results for inverting weak lines can be obtained by using narrow spectral windows.
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| 5. |
- Eriksson, Patrick, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Diurnal variations of humidity and ice water content in the tropical upper troposphere
- 2010
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 10:23, s. 11519-11533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observational results of diurnal variations of humidity from Odin-SMR and AURA-MLS, and cloud ice mass from Odin-SMR and CloudSat are presented for the first time. Comparisons show that the retrievals of humidity and cloud ice from these two satellite combinations are in good agreement. The retrieved data are combined from four almost evenly distributed times of the day allowing mean values, amplitudes and phases of the diurnal variations around 200 hpa to be estimated. This analysis is applied to six climatologically distinct regions, five located in the tropics and one over the subtropical northern Pacific Ocean. The strongest diurnal cycles are found over tropical land regions, where the amplitude is ∼7 RHi for humidity and ∼50% for ice mass. The greatest ice mass for these regions is found during the afternoon, and the humidity maximum is observed to lag this peak by ∼6 h. Over tropical ocean regions the variations are smaller and the maxima in both ice mass and humidity are found during the early morning. Observed results are compared with output from three climate models (ECHAM, EC-EARTH and CAM3). Direct measurement-model comparisons were not possible because the measured and modelled cloud ice masses represent different quantities. To make a meaningful comparison, the amount of snow had to be estimated from diagnostic parameters of the models. There is a high probability that the models underestimate the average ice mass (outside the 1-σ uncertainty). The models also show clear deficiencies when it comes to amplitude and phase of the regional variations, but to varying degrees. © 2010 Author(s).
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| 6. |
- Espy, P. J., et al.
(author)
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The role of the QBO in the inter-hemispheric coupling of summer mesospheric temperatures
- 2011
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 11:2, s. 495-502
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inter-hemispheric coupling between the polar summer mesosphere and planetary-wave activity in the extra-tropical winter stratosphere has recently been inferred using Polar Mesospheric Cloud (PMC) properties as a proxy for mesospheric temperature (Karlsson et al., 2007). Here we confirm these results using a ten-year time series of July mesospheric temperatures near 60 degrees N derived from the hydroxyl (OH) nightglow. In addition, we show that the time-lagged correlation between these summer mesospheric temperatures and the ECMWF winter stratospheric temperatures displays a strong Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO). The sign and phase of the correlation is consistent with the QBO modulation of the extra-tropical stratospheric dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere via the Holton-Tan mechanism (Holton and Tan, 1980). This lends strength to the identification of synoptic and planetary waves as the driver of the inter-hemispheric coupling, and results in a strong QBO modulation of the polar summer mesospheric temperatures.
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| 7. |
- Gabriel, A., et al.
(author)
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Zonal asymmetries in middle atmospheric ozone and water vapour derived from Odin satellite data 2001-2010
- 2011
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 11:18, s. 9865-9885
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stationary wave patterns in middle atmospheric ozone (O(3)) and water vapour (H(2)O) are an important factor in the atmospheric circulation, but there is a strong gap in diagnosing and understanding their configuration and origin. Based on Odin satellite data from 2001 to 2010 we investigate the stationary wave patterns in O(3) and H(2)O as indicated by the seasonal long-term means of the zonally asymmetric components O(3)* = O(3)-[O(3)] and H(2)O* = H(2)O-[H(2)O] ([O(3)], [H(2)O]: zonal means). At mid-and polar latitudes we find a pronounced wave one pattern in both constituents. In the Northern Hemisphere, the wave patterns increase during autumn, maintain their strength during winter and decay during spring, with maximum amplitudes of about 10-20% of the zonal mean values. During winter, the wave one in O(3)* shows a maximum over the North Pacific/Aleutians and a minimum over the North Atlantic/Northern Europe and a double-peak structure with enhanced amplitude in the lower and in the upper stratosphere. The wave one in H(2)O* extends from the lower stratosphere to the upper mesosphere with a westward shift in phase with increasing height including a jump in phase at upper stratosphere altitudes. In the Southern Hemisphere, similar wave patterns occur mainly during southern spring. By comparing the observed wave patterns in O(3)* and H(2)O* with a linear solution of a steady-state transport equation for a zonally asymmetric tracer component we find that these wave patterns are primarily due to zonally asymmetric transport by geostrophically balanced winds, which are derived from observed temperature profiles. In addition temperature-dependent photochemistry contributes substantially to the spatial structure of the wave pattern in O(3)*. Further influences, e. g., zonal asymmetries in eddy mixing processes, are discussed.
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| 8. |
- Imai, Koji, et al.
(author)
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Validation of ozone data from the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES)
- 2013
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202 .- 2169-897X. ; 118:11, s. 5750-5769
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) onboard the International Space Station provided global measurements of ozone profiles in the middle atmosphere from 12 October 2009 to 21 April 2010. We present validation studies of the SMILES version 2.1 ozone product based on coincidence statistics with satellite observations and outputs of chemistry and transport models (CTMs). Comparisons of the stratospheric ozone with correlative data show agreements that are generally within 10%. In the mesosphere, the agreement is also good and better than 30% even at a high altitude of 73km, and the SMILES measurements with their local time coverage also capture the diurnal variability very well. The recommended altitude range for scientific use is from 16 to 73km. We note that the SMILES ozone values for altitude above 26km are smaller than some of the correlative satellite datasets; conversely the SMILES values in the lower stratosphere tend to be larger than correlative data, particularly in the tropics, with less than 8% difference below similar to 24km. The larger values in the lower stratosphere are probably due to departure of retrieval results between two detection bands at altitudes below 28km; it is similar to 3% at 24km and is increasing rapidly down below.
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| 9. |
- Johnston, Marston Sheldon, 1971, et al.
(author)
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The representation of tropical upper tropospheric water in EC Earth V2
- 2012
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In: Climate Dynamics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0930-7575 .- 1432-0894. ; 39:11, s. 2713-2731
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tropical upper tropospheric humidity, clouds, and ice water content, as well as outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), are evaluated in the climate model EC Earth with the aid of satellite retrievals. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Microwave Limb Sounder together provide good coverage of relative humidity. EC Earth's relative humidity is in fair agreement with these observations. CloudSat and CALIPSO data are combined to provide cloud fractions estimates throughout the altitude region considered (500-100 hPa). EC Earth is found to overestimate the degree of cloud cover above 200 hPa and underestimate it below. Precipitating and non-precipitating EC Earth ice definitions are combined to form a complete ice water content. EC Earth's ice water content is below the uncertainty range of CloudSat above 250 hPa, but can be twice as high as CloudSat's estimate in the melting layer. CERES data show that the model underestimates the impact of clouds on OLR, on average with about 9 W m(-2). Regionally, EC Earth's outgoing longwave radiation can be similar to 20 W m(-2) higher than the observation. A comparison to ERA-Interim provides further perspectives on the model's performance. Limitations of the satellite observations are emphasised and their uncertainties are, throughout, considered in the analysis. Evaluating multiple model variables in parallel is a more ambitious approach than is customary.
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| 10. |
- Jones, Ashley, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of HCl and ClO time series in the upper stratosphere using satellite data sets
- 2011
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 11:11, s. 5321-5333
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous analyses of satellite and ground-based measurements of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine monoxide (ClO) have suggested that total inorganic chlorine in the upper stratosphere is on the decline. We create HCl and ClO time series using satellite data sets extended to November 2008, so that an update can be made on the long term evolution of these two species. We use the HALogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) data for the HCl analysis, and the Odin Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR) and the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (Aura-MLS) measurements for the study of ClO. Altitudes between 35 and 45 km and two mid-latitude bands: 30° S–50° S and 30° N–50° N, for HCl, and 20° S–20° N for ClO and HCl are studied. ACE-FTS and HALOE HCl anomaly time series (with QBO and seasonal contributions removed) are combined to produce all instrument average time series, which show HCl to be reducing from peak 1997 values at a linear estimated rate of −5.1 % decade−1 in the Northern Hemisphere and −5.2 % decade−1 in the Southern Hemisphere, while the tropics show a linear trend of −5.8 % per decade (although we do not remove the QBO contribution there due to sparse data). Trend values are significantly different from a zero trend at the 2 sigma level. ClO is decreasing in the tropics by −7.1 % ± 7.8 % decade−1 based on measurements made from December 2001 to November 2008. The statistically significant downward trend found in HCl after 1997 and the apparent downward ClO trend since 2001 (although not statistically significant) confirm how effective the 1987 Montreal protocol objectives and its amendments have been in reducing the total amount of inorganic chlorine.
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