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- Blumenstock, T., et al.
(author)
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Characterization and potential for reducing optical resonances in Fourier transform infrared spectrometers of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC)
- 2021
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In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 14:2, s. 1239-1252
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although optical components in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers are preferably wedged, in practice, infrared spectra typically suffer from the effects of optical resonances ("channeling") affecting the retrieval of weakly absorbing gases. This study investigates the level of channeling of each FTIR spectrometer within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Dedicated spectra were recorded by more than 20 NDACC FTIR spectrometers using a laboratory mid-infrared source and two detectors. In the indium antimonide (InSb) detector domain (1900-5000 cm-1), we found that the amplitude of the most pronounced channeling frequency amounts to 0.1 ‰ to 2.0 ‰ of the spectral background level, with a mean of (0:68±0:48) ‰ and a median of 0.60 ‰. In the mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) detector domain (700-1300 cm-1), we find even stronger effects, with the largest amplitude ranging from 0.3 ‰ to 21 ‰ with a mean of (2:45±4:50) ‰ and a median of 1.2 ‰. For both detectors, the leading channeling frequencies are 0.9 and 0.11 or 0.23 cm-1 in most spectrometers. The observed spectral frequencies of 0.11 and 0.23 cm-1 correspond to the optical thickness of the beam splitter substrate. The 0.9 cm-1 channeling is caused by the air gap in between the beam splitter and compensator plate. Since the air gap is a significant source of channeling and the corresponding amplitude differs strongly between spectrometers, we propose new beam splitters with the wedge of the air gap increased to at least 0.8. We tested the insertion of spacers in a beam splitter's air gap to demonstrate that increasing the wedge of the air gap decreases the 0.9 cm-1 channeling amplitude significantly. A wedge of the air gap of 0.8 reduces the channeling amplitude by about 50 %, while a wedge of about 2 removes the 0.9 cm-1 channeling completely. This study shows the potential for reducing channeling in the FTIR spectrometers operated by the NDACC, thereby increasing the quality of recorded spectra across the network.
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2. |
- Sha, Mahesh Kumar, et al.
(author)
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Validation of methane and carbon monoxide from Sentinel-5 Precursor using TCCON and NDACC-IRWG stations
- 2021
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In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 14:9, s. 6249-6304
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) mission with the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board has been measuring solar radiation backscattered by the Earth's atmosphere and surface since its launch on 13 October 2017. In this paper, we present for the first time the S5P operational methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) products' validation results covering a period of about 3 years using global Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) and Infrared Working Group of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC-IRWG) network data, accounting for a priori alignment and smoothing uncertainties in the validation, and testing the sensitivity of validation results towards the application of advanced co-location criteria. We found that the S5P standard and bias-corrected CH4 data over land surface for the recommended quality filtering fulfil the mission requirements. The systematic difference of the bias-corrected total column-averaged dry air mole fraction of methane (XCH4) data with respect to TCCON data is -0.26 +/- 0.56 % in comparison to -0.68 +/- 0.74 % for the standard XCH4 data, with a correlation of 0.6 for most stations. The bias shows a seasonal dependence. We found that the S5P CO data over all surfaces for the recommended quality filtering generally fulfil the missions requirements, with a few exceptions, which are mostly due to co-location mismatches and limited availability of data. The systematic difference between the S5P total column-averaged dry air mole fraction of carbon monoxide (XCO) and the TCCON data is on average 9.22 +/- 3.45 % (standard TCCON XCO) and 2.45 +/- 3.38 % (unscaled TCCON XCO). We found that the systematic difference between the S5P CO column and NDACC CO column (excluding two outlier stations) is on average 6.5 +/- 3.54 %. We found a correlation of above 0.9 for most TCCON and NDACC stations. The study shows the high quality of S5P CH4 and CO data by validating the products against reference global TCCON and NDACC stations covering a wide range of latitudinal bands, atmospheric conditions and surface conditions.
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3. |
- Vigouroux, C., et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of tropospheric and stratospheric ozone trends over Western Europe from ground-based FTIR network observations
- 2008
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8:23, s. 6865-6886
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Within the European project UFTIR (Time series of Upper Free Troposphere observations from an European ground-based FTIR network), six ground-based stations in Western Europe, from 79 degrees N to 28 degrees N, all equipped with Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) instruments and part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), have joined their efforts to evaluate the trends of several direct and indirect greenhouse gases over the period 1995-2004. The retrievals of CO, CH4, C2H6, N2O, CHClF2, and O-3 have been optimized. Using the optimal estimation method, some vertical information can be obtained in addition to total column amounts. A bootstrap resampling method has been implemented to determine annual partial and total column trends for the target gases. The present work focuses on the ozone results. The retrieved time series of partial and total ozone columns are validated with ground-based correlative data (Brewer, Dobson, UV-Vis, ozonesondes, and Lidar). The observed total column ozone trends are in agreement with previous studies: 1) no total column ozone trend is seen at the lowest latitude station Izana (28 degrees N); 2) slightly positive total column trends are seen at the two mid-latitude stations Zugspitze and Jungfraujoch (47 degrees N), only one of them being significant; 3) the highest latitude stations Harestua (60 degrees N), Kiruna (68 degrees N) and Ny-Alesund (79 degrees N) show significant positive total column trends. Following the vertical information contained in the ozone FTIR retrievals, we provide partial columns trends for the layers: ground-10 km, 10-18 km, 18-27 km, and 27-42 km, which helps to distinguish the contributions from dynamical and chemical changes on the total column ozone trends. We obtain no statistically significant trends in the ground-10 km layer for five out of the six ground-based stations. We find significant positive trends for the lower-most stratosphere at the two mid-latitude stations, and at Ny-Alesund. We find smaller, but significant trends for the 18 27 km layer at Kiruna, Harestua, Jungfraujoch, and Izana. The results for the upper layer are quite contrasted: we find significant positive trends at Kiruna, Harestua, and Jungfraujoch, and significant negative trends at Zugspitze and Izana. These ozone partial columns trends are discussed and compared with previous studies.
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