| 1. |
- Tinetti, Giovanna, et al.
(author)
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The EChO science case
- 2015
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In: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 40:2-3, s. 329-391
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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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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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8, s. 2569-2594
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Validation of NO2 and NO from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE)
- 2008
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8:19, s. 5801--5841-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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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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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 677
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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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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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. - 2169-897X .- 2169-8996. ; 113:D17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(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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| 7. |
- López-Puertas, M., et al.
(author)
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Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium limb radiances for the mipas instrument on Envisat-1
- 1998
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In: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. - 0022-4073 .- 1879-1352. ; 59:3-5, s. 377-403
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Comparison of nighttime nitric oxide 5.3 μm emissions in the thermosphere measured by MIPAS and SABER
- 2007
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 112:A10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Non-LTE studies for the analysis of MIPAS/ENVISAT data
- 2002
-
In: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 4539, s. 381-395
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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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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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 17:5, s. 3573-3604
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 11. |
- Glatthor, N., et al.
(author)
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Retrieval of stratospheric ozone profiles from MIPAS/ENVISAT limb emission spectra : a sensitivity study
- 2006
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 6:10, s. 2767-2781
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the dependence of ozone volume mixing ratio profiles, retrieved from limb emission infrared spectra of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), on different retrieval setups such as the treatment of the background continuum, cloud filtering, spectral regions used for analysis and a series of further more technical parameter choices. The purpose of this investigation is to better understand the error sources of the ozone retrieval, to optimize the current retrieval setup and to document changes in the data versions. It was shown that the cloud clearing technique used so far (cloud index 1.8) does not reliably exclude all cloud-contaminated spectra from analysis. Through analysis of spectra calculated for cloudy atmospheres we found that the cloud index should be increased to a value of 3.0 or higher. Further, it was found that assignment of a common background continuum to adjacent microwindows within 5 cm−1 is advantageous, because it sufficiently represents the continuum emission by aerosols, clouds and gases as reported in the literature, and is computationally more efficient. For ozone retrieval we use ozone lines from MIPAS band A (685–970 cm−1) and band AB (1020–1170 cm−1) as well. Therefore we checked ozone retrievals with lines from bands A or AB only for a systematic difference. Such a difference was indeed found and could, to a major part, be attributed to the spectroscopic data used in these two bands, and to a minor part to neglection of modelling of non-local thermodynamic (non-LTE) emissions. Another potential explanation, a bias in the radiance calibration of level-1B spectra of bands A and AB, could largely be ruled out by correlation analysis and inspection of broadband spectra. Further upgrades in the ozone retrieval consist of application of an all-zero a-priori profile and a weaker regularization. Finally, the ozone distribution obtained with the new retrieval setup (data versions V3o_O3_7) was compared to the data version used before (V2_O3_2). Differences are smaller than $\pm$0.4 ppmv in the altitude region 15–50 km. Further, differences to ozone measured by the HALogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) are partly reduced with the new MIPAS data version.
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| 12. |
- Winick, Jeremy R., et al.
(author)
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Thermospheric infrared radiance response to the April 2002 geomagnetic storm from SABER infrared and GUVI ultraviolet limb data
- 2004
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In: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 5235, s. 250-263
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The SABER instrument on TIMED continuously measures certain infrared limb radiance profiles with unprecedented sensitivity. Among these are emissions of CO 2 v 3 at 4.3 μm, routinely recorded to tangent heights of ∼140-150 km, and NO at 5.3 μm, seen to above 200 km. Both of these are greatly enhanced during periods of strong auroral activity, when they can be measured to ∼200 km and ∼300 km, respectively. We use these infrared channels of SABER and coincident far ultraviolet (FUV) measurements from GUVI on TIMED, to study the geomagnetic storm of April 2002. These all give a consistent measure of auroral energy input into the lower thermosphere at high latitudes. Emission in yet another SABER channel, near 2.0 μm, correlates well with enhanced electron energy deposition. We also have, in the 5.3-μm emissions from the long-lived population of aurorally produced NO, a tracer of how this energy is transported equatorward and released over an extended period of time, a few days. In this paper, we discuss the global patterns of energy deposition into the expanded auroral oval, its transport to lower latitudes, and its loss as revealed by the NO 5.3-μm emissions.
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| 13. |
- Bender, Stefan, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of nitric oxide measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere from ACE-FTS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY, and SMR
- 2015
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In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 8:10, s. 4171-4195
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We compare the nitric oxide measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (60 to 150 km) from four instruments: the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment–Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY), and the Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR). We use the daily zonal mean data in that altitude range for the years 2004–2010 (ACE-FTS), 2005–2012 (MIPAS), 2008–2012 (SCIAMACHY), and 2003–2012 (SMR).We first compare the data qualitatively with respect to the morphology, focussing on the major features, and then compare the time series directly and quantitatively. In three geographical regions, we compare the vertical density profiles on coincident measurement days. Since none of the instruments delivers continuous daily measurements in this altitude region, we carried out a multi-linear regression analysis. This regression analysis considers annual and semi-annual variability in the form of harmonic terms and inter-annual variability by responding linearly to the solar Lyman-α radiation index and the geomagnetic Kp index. This analysis helps to find similarities and differences in the individual data sets with respect to the inter-annual variations caused by geomagnetic and solar variability.
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| 14. |
- Manuilova, R.O., et al.
(author)
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Modelling of non-LTE limb spectra of i.r. ozone bands for the MIPAS space experiment
- 1998
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In: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. - 0022-4073 .- 1879-1352. ; 59:3-5, s. 405-422
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new model for calculating the populations of the ozone vibrational states under non-LTE (Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium) conditions is presented. In the model, 23 vibrational levels of the O3 molecule, as well as three vibrational levels of the O2 molecule and two vibrational levels of the N2 molecule, are considered. The radiative transfer at the break-down of LTE was treated explicitly for 150 000 ro-vibrational transitions. The populations obtained were used to calculate limb radiances in various spectral regions of the 4.8 and 9.6 μm bands. Test retrievals of O3 vertical volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles with a radiance model disregarding non-LTE were performed in order to assess the potential impact of non-LTE effects on the retrieval of the O3 abundances from MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) measurements.
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| 15. |
- Sedaghati, Elyar, et al.
(author)
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A spectral survey of WASP-19b with ESPRESSO
- 2021
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 505:1, s. 435-458
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- High-resolution precision spectroscopy provides a multitude of robust techniques for probing exoplanetary atmospheres. We present multiple VLT/ESPRESSO transit observations of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet WASP-19b with previously published but disputed atmospheric features from lowresolution studies. Through spectral synthesis and modelling of the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect we calculate stellar, orbital and physical parameters for the system. From narrow-band spectroscopy we do not detect any of HI, FeI, MgI, CaI, NaI, and KI neutral species, placing upper limits on their line contrasts. Through cross-correlation analyses with atmospheric models, we do not detect Fe I and place a 3σ upper limit of log (XFe/X⊙) ≈ -1.83 ± 0.11 on its mass fraction, from injection and retrieval. We show the inability to detect the presence of H2O for known abundances, owing to lack of strong absorption bands, as well as relatively low S/N ratio. We detect a barely significant peak (3.02±0.15 σ) in the cross-correlation map for TiO, consistent with the sub-solar abundance previously reported. This is merely a hint for the presence of TiO and does not constitute a confirmation. However, we do confirm the presence of previously observed enhanced scattering towards blue wavelengths, through chromatic RM measurements, pointing to a hazy atmosphere. We finally present a reanalysis of low-resolution transmission spectra of this exoplanet, concluding that unocculted starspots alone cannot explain previously detected features. Our reanalysis of the FORS2 spectra of WASP-19b finds a ~100× sub-solar TiO abundance, precisely constrained to log XTiO ≈ -7.52 ± 0.38, consistent with the TiO hint from ESPRESSO. We present plausible paths to reconciliation with other seemingly contradicting results.
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| 16. |
- Stiller, G.P., et al.
(author)
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Global distribution of mean age of stratospheric air from MIPAS SF6 measurements
- 2008
-
In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 8:3, s. 677-695
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global distributions of profiles of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) have been retrieved from limb emission spectra recorded by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on Envisat covering the period September 2002 to March 2004. Individual SF6 profiles have a precision of 0.5 pptv below 25 km altitude and a vertical resolution of 4–6 km up to 35 km altitude. These data have been validated versus in situ observations obtained during balloon flights of a cryogenic whole-air sampler. For the tropical troposphere a trend of 0.230±0.008 pptv/yr has been derived from the MIPAS data, which is in excellent agreement with the trend from ground-based flask and in situ measurements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory, Global Monitoring Division. For the data set currently available, based on at least three days of data per month, monthly 5° latitude mean values have a 1σ standard error of 1%. From the global SF6 distributions, global daily and monthly distributions of the apparent mean age of air are inferred by application of the tropical tropospheric trend derived from MIPAS data. The inferred mean ages are provided for the full globe up to 90° N/S, and have a 1σ standard error of 0.25 yr. They range between 0 (near the tropical tropopause) and 7 years (except for situations of mesospheric intrusions) and agree well with earlier observations. The seasonal variation of the mean age of stratospheric air indicates episodes of severe intrusion of mesospheric air during each Northern and Southern polar winter observed, long-lasting remnants of old, subsided polar winter air over the spring and summer poles, and a rather short period of mixing with midlatitude air and/or upward transport during fall in October/November (NH) and April/May (SH), respectively, with small latitudinal gradients, immediately before the new polar vortex starts to form. The mean age distributions further confirm that SF6 is destroyed in the mesosphere to a considerable degree. Model calculations with the Karlsruhe simulation model of the middle atmosphere (KASIMA) chemical transport model agree well with observed global distributions of the mean age only if the SF6 sink reactions in the mesosphere are included in the model.
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| 17. |
- Von Clarmann, T., et al.
(author)
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A blind test retrieval experiment for infrared limb emission spectrometry
- 2003
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. - 2169-897X .- 2169-8996. ; 108:D23
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The functionality and characteristics of six different data processors (i.e., retrieval codes in their actual software and hardware environment) for analysis of high-resolution limb emission infrared spectra recorded by the space-borne Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) have been validated by means of a blind test retrieval experiment based on synthetic spectra. For this purpose a self-consistent set of atmospheric state parameters, including pressure, temperature, vibrational temperatures, and abundances of trace gases and aerosols, has been generated and used as input for radiative transfer calculations for MIPAS measurement geometry and configuration. These spectra were convolved with the MIPAS field of view, spectrally degraded by the MIPAS instrument line shape, and, finally, superimposed with synthetic measurement noise. These synthetic MIPAS measurements were distributed among the participants of the project “Advanced MIPAS level-2 data analysis” (AMIL2DA), who performed temperature and species abundance profile retrievals by inverse radiative transfer calculations. While the retrieved profiles of atmospheric state parameters reflect some characteristics of the individual data processors, it was shown that all the data processors under investigation are capable of producing reliable results in the sense that deviations of retrieved results from the reference profiles are within the margin that is consistent with analytical error estimation.
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| 18. |
- Funke, Bernd, et al.
(author)
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New non-LTE retrieval method for atmospheric parameters from MIPAS/ENVISAT emission spectra at 5.3 μm
- 2002
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In: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 4539, s. 396-405
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atmospheric emissions at 5.3 μm will be measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), a high-resolution limb sounder on board the European polar platform ENVISAT, scheduled to be launched in 2001. Measured spectra at 5.3 μm contain information on important atmospheric quantities such as NO volume mixing ratio, thermospheric temperature, and chemical NO production rates. However, the scientific analysis of this spectral region has to deal with complex non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) effects. A conventional non-LTE retrieval approach using ab initio vibrational temperatures cannot be applied due to rotational and spin-orbit non-LTE of NO in the thermosphere, and the dependence of NO state populations on the NO abundance itself caused by chemical excitations. An innovative non-LTE retrieval method enabling the treatment of vibrational, rotational, and spin non-LTE as well as a dependence of the non-LTE state distribution on the retrieval target quantities has thus been developed for the MIPAS data analysis. The ability of the developed non-LTE inversion tool to retrieve NO abundance profiles, thermospheric temperature profiles, and NO mean production rates by NO2 photolysis in the stratosphere and N+O2 combination in the thermosphere is demonstrated by means of a feasibility study.
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| 19. |
- Mlynczak, Martin G., et al.
(author)
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Energy transport in the thermosphere during the solar storms of April 2002
- 2005
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 110:A12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The dramatic solar storm events of April 2002 deposited a large amount of energy into the Earth's upper atmosphere, substantially altering the thermal structure, the chemical composition, the dynamics, and the radiative environment. We examine the flow of energy within the thermosphere during this storm period from the perspective of infrared radiation transport and heat conduction. Observations from the SABER instrument on the TIMED satellite are coupled with computations based on the ASPEN thermospheric general circulation model to assess the energy flow. The dominant radiative response is associated with dramatically enhanced infrared emission from nitric oxide at 5.3 μm from which a total of ∼7.7 × 1023 ergs of energy are radiated during the storm. Energy loss rates due to NO emission exceed 2200 Kelvin per day. In contrast, energy loss from carbon dioxide emission at 15 μm is only ∼2.3% that of nitric oxide. Atomic oxygen emission at 63 μm is essentially constant during the storm. Energy loss from molecular heat conduction may be as large as 3.8% of the NO emission. These results confirm the “natural thermostat” effect of nitric oxide emission as the primary mechanism by which storm energy is lost from the thermosphere below 210 km.
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| 20. |
- Mlynczak, Martin G., et al.
(author)
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Observations of infrared radiative cooling in the thermosphere on daily to multiyear timescales from the TIMED/SABER instrument
- 2010
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 115:A3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present observations of the infrared radiative cooling by carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitric oxide (NO) in Earth's thermosphere. These data have been taken over a period of 7 years by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on the NASA Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite and are the dominant radiative cooling mechanisms for the thermosphere. From the SABER observations we derive vertical profiles of radiative cooling rates (W m−3), radiative fluxes (W m−2), and radiated power (W). In the period from January 2002 through January 2009, we observe a large decrease in the cooling rates, fluxes, and power consistent with the declining phase of solar cycle 23. The power radiated by NO during 2008 when the Sun exhibited few sunspots was nearly one order of magnitude smaller than the peak power observed shortly after the mission began. Substantial short-term variability in the infrared emissions is also observed throughout the entire mission duration. Radiative cooling rates and radiative fluxes from NO exhibit fundamentally different latitude dependence than do those from CO2, with the NO fluxes and cooling rates being largest at high latitudes and polar regions. The cooling rates are shown to be derived relatively independent of the collisional and radiative processes that drive the departure from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) in the CO2 15 μm and the NO 5.3 μm vibration-rotation bands. The observed NO and CO2 cooling rates have been compiled into a separate data set and represent a climate data record that is available for use in assessments of radiative cooling in upper atmosphere general circulation models.
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