ALBERT

Description: Volcanic emissions from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on the Southern fringe of Iceland were detected at different places in Germany by means of in-situ measurements, ozone sondes and a dense network of ceilometers of the German Meteorological Service (DWD). In-situ measurements of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter were performed at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station Zugspitze/Hohenpeissenberg. At Hohenpeissenberg, a number of reactive gases, e.g. sulphuric acid, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides were additionally measured during the period of interest. Also ozone sondes were launched at Hohenpeissenberg in the pre-alpine area. A newly established network of ceilometers (Jenoptik CHM15K) at currently 36 meteorological stations in Germany provided the temporal evolution of emissions over Germany. The sensitivity of these instruments with respect to atmospheric aerosols further allowed the inversion of gathered backscatter profiles, and aerosol extinction coefficients and particle mass concentration were finally obtained.

Description: Volcanic emissions from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption on the Southern fringe of Iceland in April 2010 were detected at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station Zugspitze/Hohenpeissenberg (Germany) by means of in-situ measurements, ozone sondes and ceilometers. Information from the German Meteorological Service (DWD) ceilometer network (Flentje et al., 2010) aided identifying the air mass origin. We discuss ground level in-situ measurements of sulphur dioxide (SO2), sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and particulate matter as well as ozone sonde profiles and column measurements of SO2 by a Brewer spectrometer. At Hohenpeissenberg, a number of reactive gases, e.g. carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and particle properties, e.g. size distribution and ionic composition, were additionally measured during this period. Our results describe the arrival of the volcanic plume at Zugspitze and Hohenpeissenberg during 16 and 17 April 2010 and its residence in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) for several days thereafter. The ash plume was first seen in the ceilometer backscatter profiles at Hohenpeissenberg in about 6–7 km altitude. After entrainment into the PBL at noon of 17 April, largely enhanced values of sulphur dioxide, sulphuric acid and super-micron-particle number concentration were recorded at Zugspitze/Hohenpeissenberg till 21 April.

Description: The primary ground-based instruments used to report total column ozone (TOC) are Brewer and Dobson Spectrophotometers, in separate networks. These instruments make measurements of the UV irradiances, and through a well-defined process a TOC value is produced. Inherent in the algorithm is the use of a laboratory determined cross-section data set. We used five ozone cross section data sets: three Bass and Paur, Daumont, Malicet and Brion (DMB) and a new Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, set. The three Bass and Paur (1985) sets are: quadratic temperature coefficients from IGACO web page (IGQ4), the Brewer network operational calibration set (BOp), and the set used by Bernhard et al. (2005), in the reanalysis of the Dobson absorption coefficient values (B05). The ozone absorption coefficients for Brewer and Dobson are then calculated using the normal Brewer operative method which is essentially the same as used on Dobson. Considering the standard TOC algorithm for the Brewer instruments and comparing to the Brewer standard operational calibration data set, using the slit functions for the individual instruments: we find the UIP data set changes the calculated TOC by −0.5%, the DBM data set changes the calculate TOC by −3.2%, and the IGQ4 data set at −45 °C changes the calculated TOC by +1.3%. Considering the standard algorithm for the Dobson instruments, and comparing to results using the official 1992 ozone absorption coefficients values and the single set of slit functions defined for all Dobson instruments, the calculated TOC changes by +1%, with little variation depending on which data set is used We applied the changes to the European Dobson and Brewer reference instruments during the Izaña 2012 Absolute Calibration Campaign. The application of a common Langley calibration and the IUP cross section the differences between Brewer and Dobson vanish whereas using Bass and Paur and DBM produce differences of 1.5% and 2% respectively. A study of temperature dependence of these cross section (XS) data sets is presented using the Arosa, Switzerland total ozone record of 2003–2006, obtained from two Brewer instrument types and a Dobson instrument, combined with the stratospheric ozone and temperature profiles from the Payerne soundings in the same period. The seasonal dependence of the differences between the results from the various instruments is greatly reduced with the application of temperature dependent absorption coefficients, with the greatest reduction obtained using the IUP data set.

Description: Comparisons with ground-based correlative measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite data on atmospheric composition. The error budget of these comparisons contains not only the measurement errors but also several terms related to differences in sampling and smoothing of the inhomogeneous and variable atmospheric field. A versatile system for Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), named OSSSMOSE, is used here to quantify these terms. Based on the application of pragmatic observation operators onto high-resolution atmospheric fields, it allows a simulation of each individual measurement, and consequently, also of the differences to be expected from spatial and temporal field variations between both measurements making up a comparison pair. As a topical case study, the system is used to evaluate the error budget of total ozone column (TOC) comparisons between GOME-type direct fitting (GODFITv3) satellite retrievals from GOME/ERS2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, and GOME-2/MetOp-A, and ground-based direct-sun and zenith–sky reference measurements such as those from Dobsons, Brewers, and zenith-scattered light (ZSL-)DOAS instruments, respectively. In particular, the focus is placed on the GODFITv3 reprocessed GOME-2A data record vs. the ground-based instruments contributing to the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The simulations are found to reproduce the actual measurements almost to within the measurement uncertainties, confirming that the OSSE approach and its technical implementation are appropriate. This work reveals that many features of the comparison spread and median difference can be understood as due to metrological differences, even when using strict co-location criteria. In particular, sampling difference errors exceed measurement uncertainties regularly at most mid- and high-latitude stations, with values up to 10 % and more in extreme cases. Smoothing difference errors only play a role in the comparisons with ZSL-DOAS instruments at high latitudes, especially in the presence of a polar vortex due to the strong TOC gradient it induces. At tropical latitudes, where TOC variability is lower, both types of errors remain below about 1 % and consequently do not contribute significantly to the comparison error budget. The detailed analysis of the comparison results, including the metrological errors, suggests that the published random measurement uncertainties for GODFITv3 reprocessed satellite data are potentially overestimated, and adjustments are proposed here. This successful application of the OSSSMOSE system to close for the first time the error budget of TOC comparisons, bodes well for potential future applications, which are briefly touched upon.

Description: The primary ground-based instruments used to report total column ozone (TOC) are Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometers in separate networks. These instruments make measurements of the UV irradiances, and through a well-defined process, a TOC value is produced. Inherent to the algorithm is the use of a laboratory-determined cross-section data set. We used five ozone cross-section data sets: three data sets that are based on measurements of Bass and Paur; one derived from Daumont, Brion and Malicet (DBM); and a new set determined by Institute of Experimental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen. The three Bass and Paur (1985) sets are as follows: quadratic temperature coefficients from the IGACO (a glossary is provided in Appendix A) web page (IGQ4), the Brewer network operational calibration set (BOp), and the set used by Bernhard et al. (2005) in the reanalysis of the Dobson absorption coefficient values (B05). The ozone absorption coefficients for Brewer and Dobson instruments are then calculated using the normal Brewer operative method, which is essentially the same as that used for Dobson instruments. Considering the standard TOC algorithm for the Brewer instruments and comparing to the Brewer standard operational calibration data set, using the slit functions for the individual instruments, we find the IUP data set changes the calculated TOC by −0.5%, the DBM data set changes the calculated TOC by −3.2%, and the IGQ4 data set at −45 °C changes the calculated TOC by +1.3%. Considering the standard algorithm for the Dobson instruments, and comparing to results using the official 1992 ozone absorption coefficients values and the single set of slit functions defined for all Dobson instruments, the calculated TOC changes by +1%, with little variation depending on which data set is used. We applied the changes to the European Dobson and Brewer reference instruments during the Izaña 2012 Absolute Calibration Campaign. With the application of a common Langley calibration and the IUP cross section, the differences between Brewer and Dobson data sets vanish, whereas using those of Bass and Paur and DBM produces differences of 1.5 and 2%, respectively. A study of the temperature dependence of these cross-section data sets is presented using the Arosa, Switzerland, total ozone record of 2003–2006, obtained from two Brewer-type instruments and one Dobson-type instrument, combined with the stratospheric ozone and temperature profiles from the Payerne soundings in the same period. The seasonal dependence of the differences between the results from the various instruments is greatly reduced with the application of temperature-dependent absorption coefficients, with the greatest reduction obtained using the IUP data set.

Description: Comparisons with ground-based correlative measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite data on atmospheric composition. The error budget of these comparisons contains not only the measurement uncertainties but also several terms related to differences in sampling and smoothing of the inhomogeneous and variable atmospheric field. A versatile system for Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), named OSSSMOSE, is used here to quantify these terms. Based on the application of pragmatic observation operators onto high-resolution atmospheric fields, it allows a simulation of each individual measurement, and consequently also of the differences to be expected from spatial and temporal field variations between both measurements making up a comparison pair. As a topical case study, the system is used to evaluate the error budget of total ozone column (TOC) comparisons between on the one hand GOME-type direct fitting (GODFITv3) satellite retrievals from GOME/ERS2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, and GOME-2/MetOp-A, and on the other hand direct-sun and zenith-sky reference measurements such as from Dobsons, Brewers, and zenith scattered light (ZSL-)DOAS instruments respectively. In particular, the focus is placed on the GODFITv3 reprocessed GOME-2A data record vs. the ground-based instruments contributing to the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The simulations are found to reproduce the actual measurements almost to within the measurement uncertainties, confirming that the OSSE approach and its technical implementation are appropriate. This work reveals that many features of the comparison spread and median difference can be understood as due to metrological differences, even when using strict co-location criteria. In particular, sampling difference errors exceed measurement uncertainties regularly at most mid- and high-latitude stations, with values up to 10 % and more in extreme cases. Smoothing difference errors only play a role in the comparisons with ZSL-DOAS instruments at high latitudes, especially in the presence of a polar vortex. At tropical latitudes, where TOC variability is lower, both types of errors remain below about 1 % and consequently do not contribute significantly to the comparison error budget. The detailed analysis of the comparison results, including now the metrological errors, suggests that the published random measurement uncertainties for GODFITv3 reprocessed satellite data are potentially overestimated, and adjustments are proposed here. This successful application of the OSSSMOSE sytem to close for the first time the error budget of TOC comparisons, bodes well for potential future applications, which are briefly touched upon.