1. |
- Glatthor, N., et al.
(author)
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Global peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) retrieval in the upper troposphere from limb emission spectra of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS)
- 2007
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7:11, s. 2775-2787
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We use limb emission spectra of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) onboard the ENVIronmental SATellite (ENVISAT) to derive the first global distribution of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in the upper troposphere. PAN is generated in tropospheric air masses polluted by fuel combustion or biomass burning and acts as a reservoir and carrier of NOx in the cold free troposphere. PAN exhibits continuum-like broadband structures in the mid-infrared region and was retrieved in a contiguous analysis window covering the wavenumber region 775–800 cm−1. The interfering species CCl4, HCFC-22, H2O, ClONO2, CH3CCl3 and C2H2 were fitted along with PAN, whereas pre-fitted profiles were used to model the contribution of other contaminants like ozone. Sensitivity tests consisting in retrieval without consideration of PAN demonstrated the existence of PAN signatures in MIPAS spectra obtained in polluted air masses. The analysed dataset consists of 10 days between 4 October and 1 December 2003. This period covers the end of the biomass burning season in South America and South and East Africa, in which generally large amounts of pollutants are produced and distributed over wide areas of the southern hemispheric free troposphere. Indeed, elevated PAN amounts of 200–700 pptv were measured in a large plume extending from Brasil over the Southern Atlantic, Central and South Africa, the South Indian Ocean as far as Australia at altitudes between 8 and 16 km. Enhanced PAN values were also found in a much more restricted area between northern subtropical Africa and India. The most significant northern midlatitude PAN signal was detected in an area at 8 km altitude extending from China into the Chinese Sea. The average mid and high latitude PAN amounts found at 8 km were around 125 pptv in the northern, but only between 50 and 75 pptv in the southern hemisphere. The PAN distribution found in the southern hemispheric tropics and subtropics is highly correlated with the jointly fitted acetylene (C2H2), which is another pollutant produced by biomass burning, and agrees reasonably well with the CO plume detected during end of September 2003 at the 275 hPa level (~10 km) by the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument on the Terra satellite. Similar southern hemispheric PAN amounts were also observed by previous airborne measurements performed in September/October 1992 and 1996 above the South Atlantic and the South Pacific, respectively.
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2. |
- Hopfner, M., et al.
(author)
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Validation of MIPAS ClONO2 measurements
- 2007
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7, s. 257-281
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Altitude profiles of ClONO2 retrieved with the IMK (Institut fur Meteorologie und Klimaforschung) science-oriented data processor from MIPAS/Envisat (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding on Envisat) mid-infrared limb emission measurements between July 2002 and March 2004 have been validated by comparison with balloon-borne (Mark IV, FIRS2, MIPAS-B), airborne (MIPAS-STR), ground-based (Spitsbergen, Thule, Kiruna, Harestua, Jungfraujoch, Izana, Wollongong, Lauder), and spaceborne (ACE-FTS) observations. With few exceptions we found very good agreement between these instruments and MIPAS with no evidence for any bias in most cases and altitude regions. For balloon-borne measurements typical absolute mean differences are below 0.05 ppbv over the whole altitude range from 10 to 39 km. In case of ACE-FTS observations mean differences are below 0.03 ppbv for observations below 26 km. Above this altitude the comparison with ACE-FTS is affected by the photochemically induced diurnal variation of ClONO2. Correction for this by use of a chemical transport model led to an overcompensation of the photochemical effect by up to 0.1 ppbv at altitudes of 30-35 km in case of MIPAS-ACE-FTS comparisons while for the balloon-borne observations no such inconsistency has been detected. The comparison of MIPAS derived total column amounts with ground-based observations revealed no significant bias in the MIPAS data. Mean differences between MIPAS and FTIR column abundances are 0.11 +/- 0.12 x 10(14) cm(-2) (1.0 +/- 1.1%) and -0.09 +/- 0.19 x 10(14) cm(-2) (-0.8 +/- 1.7%), depending on the coincidence criterion applied. chi(2) tests have been performed to assess the combined precision estimates of MIPAS and the related instruments. When no exact coincidences were available as in case of MIPAS-FTIR or MIPAS-ACE-FTS comparisons it has been necessary to take into consideration a coincidence error term to account for chi(2) deviations. From the resulting chi(2) profiles there is no evidence for a systematic over/underestimation of the MIPAS random error analysis.
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3. |
- Steck, T., et al.
(author)
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Bias determination and precision validation of ozone profiles from MIPAS-Envisat retrieved with the IMK-IAA processor
- 2007
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7:13, s. 3639-3662
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper characterizes vertical ozone profiles retrieved with the IMK-IAA (Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe – Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia) science-oriented processor from high spectral resolution data (until March 2004) measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) aboard the environmental satellite Envisat. Bias determination and precision validation is performed on the basis of correlative measurements by ground-based lidars, Fourier transform infrared spectrometers, and microwave radiometers as well as balloon-borne ozonesondes, the balloon-borne version of MIPAS, and two satellite instruments (Halogen Occultation Experiment and Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement III). Percentage mean differences between MIPAS and the comparison instruments for stratospheric ozone are generally within ±10%. The precision in this altitude region is estimated at values between 5 and 10% which gives an accuracy of 15 to 20%. Below 18 km, the spread of the percentage mean differences is larger and the precision degrades to values of more than 20% depending on altitude and latitude. The main reason for the degraded precision at low altitudes is attributed to undetected thin clouds which affect MIPAS retrievals, and to the influence of uncertainties in the water vapor concentration.
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4. |
- von Clarmann, T., et al.
(author)
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MIPAS measurements of upper tropospheric C2H6 and O3 during the southern hemispheric biomass burning season in 2003
- 2007
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7:22, s. 5861-5872
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Under cloud free conditions, the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) provides measurements of spectrally resolved limb radiances down to the upper troposphere. These are used to infer global distributions of mixing ratios of atmospheric constituents in the upper troposphere and the stratosphere. From 21 October to 12 November 2003, MIPAS observed enhanced amounts of upper tropospheric C2H6 (up to about 400 pptv) and ozone (up to about 80 ppbv). The absolute values of C2H6, however, may be systematically low by about 30% due to uncertainties of the spectroscopic data used. By means of trajectory calculations, the enhancements observed in the southern hemisphere are, at least partly, attributed to a biomass burning plume, which covers wide parts of the Southern hemisphere, from South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean to Australia. The chemical composition of the part of the plume-like pollution belt associated with South American fires, where rainforest burning is predominant appears different from the part of the plume associated with southern African savanna burning. In particular, African savanna fires lead to a larger ozone enhancement than equatorial American fires. In this analysis, MIPAS observations of high ozone were disregarded where low CFC-11 (below 245 pptv) was observed, because this hints at a stratospheric component in the measured signal. Different type of vegetation burning (flaming versus smouldering combustion) has been identified as a candidate explanation for the different plume compositions
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5. |
- Wang, D.Y., et al.
(author)
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Validation of nitric acid retrieved by the IMK-IAA processor from MIPAS/ENVISAT measurements
- 2007
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 7, s. 721-738
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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