Ozone profile retrieval from GOMOS limb scattering measurements

Abstract

We analyzed a set of Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) bright limb measurements with solar zenith angles less than 85° and within 150 km of Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) measurements. In order to perform any species retrieval, GOMOS measurements were first corrected for stray light contamination. GOMOS pointing was analyzed using scene-based tangent height algorithms, and the best results were achieved using ∼350 nm (Rayleigh) pixels that were consistent with GOMOS known accurate pointing. In order to demonstrate GOMOS bright limb capabilities, ozone profile retrievals were performed using GOMOS measurements of limb-scattered radiances with the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite limb profiler algorithm. The algorithm performs a simultaneous optimal estimation inversion of both Hartley-Huggins and Chappuis band radiances. We restricted our GOMOS ozone retrievals to the range 25-53 km, a region of relatively constant measurement uncertainty. In this first look at GOMOS limb data, the retrieved ozone profiles agree with collocated SAGE II measurements on average to within 10-15% and with a standard deviation of 10%. Retrieval results were consistent for both upper and lower GOMOS detector bands. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.