Analysis of solutions to the inverse problem on the retrieval of the microstructure of stratospheric aerosol from satellite measurements

A statistical ensemble of microphysical parameters of the background stratospheric aerosol at altitudes of 15 to 30 km is modeled on the basis of experimental data. The aerosol attenuation coefficients (AACs) in the wavelength range 0.38–16.3 μm are calculated for all realizations of the ensemble by algorithms of the Mie theory. Analysis of correlations between the AACs and the microphysical parameters indicate that the AAC correlates most strongly with the total volume V and area S of all particles. The errors of determining the microphysical parameters from AAC measurements are analyzed via the method of linear regression. It is shown that, if the AAC is measured with an error of 5%, the errors of determining both the particle size distribution (PSD) for particles with sizes of 0.4 to 4 μm and the parameter S are an order of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty, whereas the error of determining V is two orders of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty. Schemes of AAC measurements with the SAGE III, ISAMS, CLAES, HALOE instruments and an IR interferometer in the visible and IR regions are discussed. It is shown that combining the schemes makes it possible to extend the range of particle sizes for which the PSD is retrieved with a satisfactory accuracy and to increase the accuracy of determining S and V substantially and the accuracy of determining the total number of particles N _opt to a lesser extent. Examples of interpreting AAC measurements carried out simultaneously with the SAGE III and HALOE instruments within the same spatial region are presented. A systematic discrepancy between vertical profiles of S and V obtained from SAGE III and HALOE measurements is revealed.     

Determination of the Total Ozone Content in Cloudy Conditions based on Data from the IKFS-2 Spectrometer onboard the Meteor-M no. 2 Satellite

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - A new technique has been developed to obtain the total ozone content (TOC) under cloudy conditions from the spectra of outgoing thermal IR radiation...     

Polar stratospheric clouds from satellite observational data

The spectral aerosol-extinction coefficients (SAECs) obtained from SAGE III measurements are used to study the physical and integral microphysical characteristics of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Different criteria for PSC identification from SAEC measurements are considered and analyzed based on model and field measurements. An intercomparison of them is performed, and the agreement and difference of the results obtained with the use of different criteria are shown. A new criterion is proposed for PSC identification, which is based on the estimate of how close the measured vector of the spectral attenuation coefficient is to a model distribution of the PSC ensemble. On the basis of different criteria, cases of PSCs are isolated from all SAGE III observations (over 30000). All selection criteria lead to a qualitatively and quantitatively similar space-time distribution of the regions of PSC localization. The PSCs observed in the region accessible to SAGE III measurements are localized in the latitudinal zones 65°–80° in the Northern Hemisphere and 45°–60° in the Southern Hemisphere during the winter-spring period. In the Northern Hemisphere, PSCs are observed within the longitudinal zone 120° W–100° E with the maximum frequency of PSC observation in the vicinity of the Greenwich meridian. In the Southern Hemisphere, the region of PSC observation is almost the same in longitude but with a certain shift in the maximum frequency of PSC observation to the west. This maximum is observed in the vicinity of 40°W, and the region of usual PSC observation is the neighborhood of 60° of the maximum’s longitude. The physical parameters of PSCs are estimated: the mean heights of the lower and upper boundaries of PSCs are 19.5 and 21.9 km, respectively, and the mean cloud temperature is 191.8 K. The integral microphysical parameters of PSCs are estimated: the total surface of NAT particles S _NAT = 0.41 μm²/cm³; the total volume of NAT particles V _NAT = 1.1 μm³/cm³; and, for all aerosol and cloud particles together, S is 2.9 ± 1.5 at a standard deviation of 2.7 μm²/cm³ and V is 2.8 ± 1.5 at a standard deviation of 4.2 μm³/cm³. A high frequency of PSC occurrence and high values of S and V in PSCs both for all particles and for NAT particles have been noted in January–February 2005 as compared to the rest of the period of SAGE III measurements for 2002–2005.     

Study of Ozone Layer Variability near St. Petersburg on the Basis of SBUV Satellite Measurements and Numerical Simulation (2000–2014)

A comparison between the numerical simulation results of ozone fields with different experimental data makes it possible to estimate the quality of models for their further use in reliable forecasts of ozone layer evolution. We analyze time series of satellite (SBUV) measurements of the total ozone column (TOC) and the ozone partial columns in two atmospheric layers (0–25 and 25–60 km) and compare them with the results of numerical simulation in the chemistry transport model (CTM) for the low and middle atmosphere and the chemistry climate model EMAC. The daily and monthly average ozone values, short-term periods of ozone depletion, and long-term trends of ozone columns are considered; all data sets relate to St. Petersburg and the period between 2000 and 2014. The statistical parameters (means, standard deviations, variations, medians, asymmetry parameter, etc.) of the ozone time series are quite similar for all datasets. However, the EMAC model systematically underestimates the ozone columns in all layers considered. The corresponding differences between satellite measurements and EMAC numerical simulations are (5 ± 5)% and (7 ± 7)% and (1 ± 4)% for the ozone column in the 0–25 and 25–60 km layers, respectively. The correspondent differences between SBUV measurements and CTM results amount to (0 ± 7)%, (1 ± 9)%, and (–2 ± 8)%. Both models describe the sudden episodes of the ozone minimum well, but the EMAC accuracy is much higher than that of the CTM, which often underestimates the ozone minima. Assessments of the long-term linear trends show that they are close to zero for all datasets for the period under study.     

Spatial–Temporal CO2 Variations near St. Petersburg Based on Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The results of studying spatial–temporal CO2 variations near St. Petersburg in 2014–2017 based on satellite measurements (OCO-2 satellite)...     

Analysis of the Variability of Stratospheric Gases Near St. Petersburg Using Ground-Based Spectroscopic Measurements

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Ozone anomalies that occur in the winter–spring period in the Northern Hemisphere have been increasingly observed in recent decades not only in...     

Validation of Atmospheric Numerical Models Based on Satellite Measurements of Ozone Columns

The time series of ozone columns measured with the SBUV satellite instrument over three subarctic stations (Saint Petersburg, Harestua, and Kiruna) are analyzed. The daily and monthly mean ozone values in the layers of 0–25, 25–60, and 0–60 km are compared with the results of simulations with RSHU and EMAC numerical models for the period of 2000–2015. Model data are in good agreement with satellite data both in general and in the cases of rapid short-term ozone loss. However, there are some differences between the models and measurements as well as between the two considered models. These differences require the more detailed analysis in order to modify model parameters. Experimental data demonstrate the increase in ozone columns in the layer of 25–60 km which amounts to 2.1 ± 0.7, 2.4 ± 0.7, and 1.5 ± 0.8% per decade for Saint Petersburg, Harestua, and Kiruna stations, respectively. The results of numerical simulations do not contradict these estimates.     

The comparison of IR and MW ground-based measurements of total precipitable water

Water vapor is one of the basic climate gases playing a key role in various processes at different altitudes of the Earth’s atmosphere. An intercomparison and validation of different total precipitable water (TPW) measurement methods are important for determining the true accuracy of these methods, the shared use of data from multiple sources, the creation of data archives of different measurements, etc. In this paper, the TPW values obtained from measurements of solar IR spectral radiation (~8–9 μm absorption band) and thermal MW radiation of the atmosphere (1.35 cm absorption line) for 138 days of observation are compared. Measurements have been carried out from March 2013 to June 2014 at Peterhof station of the St. Petersburg State University in (59.88° N, 29.82° E). It is shown that MW measurements usually give higher TPW values than IR measurements. The bias between the two methods varies from 1 to 8% for small and large TPW values, respectively. With increasing TPW values, the bias reduces and for TPW > 1 cm it is ~1%. Standard deviation (SD) between the two methods reaches 7% for TPW < 0.4 cm and 3–5% for TPW > 1 cm. These data show the high quality of both remote sensing methods. Moreover, the IR measurements have a higher accuracy than MW measurements for small TPW values.     

Ground-based measurements of total ozone content by the infrared method

To interpret the ground-based measurements of the spectra of direct solar infrared radiation with the help of a Brucker Fourier-spectrometer, a technique for determining the total ozone content (TOC) was developed and implemented. The TOC was determined using six spectral intervals of an ozone-absorption band of 9.6 μm and the shortwave panel of a carbon-dioxide-absorption band of 15 μm, where the impact of other atmospheric parameters on the measured solar radiation was reduced to a minimum. The potential errors of the infrared method for determining the TOC for the chosen spectral scheme with the influence of measurement errors and vertical profiles of temperature are less than 1% for different signal-to-noise ratios and zenith angles of the sun. We analyzed 269 high-resolution (0.005–0.008 cm^?1) spectra of solar infrared radiation measured in Peterhof over 52 days from March to November, 2009. The resulting values of TOC were compared with the results of independent ground-based TOC measurements in Voeikovo (Main Geophysical Observatory) using a Dobson spectrophotometer and an M-124 ozonometer, as well as with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data. The mean errors between the results of TOC measurements with the help of the three ground-based probes constitute no more than 0.4%. The rms errors between data obtained by the Brucker spectrometer and the given satellite and ground-based probes constitute 3–4%. A comparison between different series of measurements indicated that the upper estimate for the error of TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer was 2.5–3% (when the possible spatial and temporal errors in measurements are disregarded). An analysis of the diurnal variations in the TOC measurements for stable atmospheric conditions yields an upper estimate of ～3 DU (around 1%) for the random component of error in TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer.     

Interannual and seasonal variations in ozone in different atmospheric layers over St. Petersburg based on observational data and numerical modeling

This paper analyzes atmospheric ozone variability at different altitudes over St. Petersburg for the period 2009–2014 on the basis of surface observations at the Peterhof station, satellite measurements with an SBUV instrument, and numerical simulations. Simulation data on temperature, wind velocity, humidity, and surface pressure are taken from the MERRA reanalysis database. Based on ozone measurements, numerical modeling, and reanalysis data, characteristics of ozone seasonal and interannual changes are identified; the role of photochemical and dynamic factors in ozone variations is estimated.