Comparison of tropospheric NO2 columns from MAX-DOAS retrievals and regional air quality model simulations

Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) tropospheric NO2 column retrievals from four European measurement stations are compared to simulations from five regional air quality models which contribute to the European regional ensemble forecasts and reanalyses of the operational Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service ...

Full-azimuthal imaging-DOAS observations of NO2 and O4 during CINDI-2

A novel imaging-DOAS (differential optical absorption spectroscopy) instrument IMPACT (Imaging MaPper for AtmospheriC observaTions) is presented combining full-azimuthal pointing (360◦) with a large vertical coverage (∼41◦). Complete panoramic scans are acquired at a temporal resolution of ∼15min, enabling the retrieval of NO2 vertical profiles...

The New SCIAMACHY Reference Solar Spectral Irradiance and Its Validation

This paper describes a new reference solar spectrum retrieved from measurements of the satellite instrument SCIAMACHY in the wavelength region from 0.24μm to 2.4μm and its comparison with several other established solar reference spectra. The SCIAMACHY reference spectrum was recorded early in the mission before substantial optical degradation...

In-flight calibration of SCIAMACHY’s polarization sensitivity

This paper describes the in-flight calibration of the polarization response of the SCIAMACHY polarization measurement devices (PMDs) and a selected region of its science channels. With the lack of polarized calibration sources it is not possible to obtain such a calibration from dedicated calibration measurements. Instead, the earthshine itself,...

BOREAS - A new MAX-DOAS profile retrieval algorithm for aerosols and trace gases

We present a new MAX-DOAS profiling algorithm for aerosols and trace gases, BOREAS, which utilizes an iterative solution method including Tikhonov regularization and the optimal estimation technique. The aerosol profile retrieval is based on a novel approach in which the absorption depth of O4 is directly used in order to retrieve extinction...

Aerosol optical depth retrieval over snow using AATSR data

Aerosol observations over the Arctic are important because of the effects of aerosols on Arctic climate, such as their direct and indirect effects on the Earth's radiation balance and on snow albedo. Although information on aerosol properties is available from ground-based measurements, passive remote sensing using satellite measurements would...

Aerosol optical depth retrieval in the Arctic region using MODIS data over snow

The Arctic is vulnerable to the long-term transport of aerosols because they affect the surface albedo when particles are deposited on snow and ice. However, aerosol observations for this area are sparse and hence there is considerable uncertainty in the knowledge on the properties of the Arctic aerosol. Atmospheric remote sensing using...

Impact of forest fires, biogenic emissions and high temperatures on the elevated Eastern Mediterranean ozone levels during the hot summer of 2007

The hot summer of 2007 in southeast Europe has been studied using two regional atmospheric chemistry models; WRF-Chem and EMEP MSC-W. The region was struck by three heat waves and a number of forest fire episodes, greatly affecting air pollution levels. We have focused on ozone and its precursors using state-of-the-art inventories for...

The sensitivity of Western European NO2 columns to interannual variability of meteorology and emissions: A model - GOME study

Interannual variability (IAV) in tropospheric species concentrations can be driven by variability in emissions, chemistry, transport and UV radiation. In a 3D CTM study we have found good agreement between the IAV of NO2 columns observed by the GOME satellite instrument and model simulations over Western Europe from 1996 to 2000. We find that...

AMARSI: Aerosol modeling and retrieval from multi-spectral imagers

The AMARSI project aims at the development and validation of aerosol retrieval algorithms over ocean. One algorithm will be developed for application with data from the Multi Spectral Imager (MSI) on EarthCARE. A second algorithm will be developed using the combined information from AATSR and MERIS, for application to similar instruments on...

Observations of the moon by the global ozone monitoring experiment: Radiometric calibration and lunar albedo

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) is a new instrument, which was launched aboard the second European Remoting Sensing satellite ESA-ERS2 in 1995. For its long-term radiometric and spectral calibration the GOME observes the sun and less frequently the moon on a regular basis. These measurements of the lunar radiance and solar...

Sciamachy instrument design

The primary scientific objective of SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) is the global measurement of trace gases in the troposphere and the stratosphere. SCIAMACHY comprises two high resolution optical spectrometers scanning the atmosphere simultaneously in nadir and in limb. It retrieves the...