Absolute quality of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument ozone columns and ozone profiles

Abstract

We will present an absolute quality assessment of the total ozone column and vertical ozone profile data products from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard the NASA EOS-Aura satellite obtained by validation. OMI is an imaging UV-visible spectrometer mapping global ozone on a daily basis. Total ozone data have been derived using two algorithms; OMI-TOMS based on the TOMS version 8 algorithm and OMI- DOAS using the hyperspectral features of OMI. Vertical ozone profiles are derived from OMI nadir observation by optimal estimation. Column ozone was validated against a network of Dobson and Brewer ground stations, with airborne data gathered during NASA AVE campaigns and through comparisons of both ozone data products yielding absolute differences in DU. Most discovered instrumental shortcomings and algorithmic errors have been corrected in the collection 3 level-1B and ozone data sets and are publicly available. OMI ozone profiles have been validated against ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), also onboard NASA EOS-Aura, yielding absolute differences in VMR. The primary OMI mission goal of continuing the NASA TOMS ozone record is achievable with either total column ozone data product. Daily global OMI ozone column and ozone profile data are well suited for estimating tropospheric ozone columns. Performing ozone trend studies and air quality studies requires the essential information presented here.