ALBERT

Description: Accurate representation of ozone in the extratropical upper troposphere (UT) remains a challenge. However, the implementation of hyper-spectral remote sensing using satellite instruments such as the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) provides an avenue for mapping ozone in this region, from 500 to 300 hPa. As a polar orbiting satellite TES observations are limited, but in this paper they are combined with geostationary satellite observations of water vapor. This paper describes a validation of the Multi-sensor UT Ozone Product (MUTOP). MUTOP is statistical retrieval method, a derived product image based on the correlation of two remotely sensed quantities, TES ozone, against geostationary (GOES) specific humidity and modeled potential vorticity, a dynamical tracer in the UT. These TES-derived UT ozone mixing ratios are compared to coincident ozonesonde measurements of layer-average UT ozone mixing ratios made during the NASA INTEX/B field campaign in the spring of 2006; the region for this study is effectively the GOES west domain covering the Eastern North Pacific Ocean and the Western United States. This intercomparison evaluates MUTOP skill at representing ozone magnitude and variability in this region of complex dynamics. In total, 11 ozonesonde launch sites were available for this study, providing 127 individual sondes for comparison; the overall mean ozone of the 500–300 hPa layer for these sondes was 78.0 ppbv. MUTOP reproduces in-situ measurements reasonably well, producing an UT mean of 82.3 ppbv, with a mean absolute error of 12.2 ppbv and a root mean square error of 16.4 ppbv relative to ozonesondes across all sites. An overall UT mean bias of 4.3 ppbv relative to sondes was determined for MUTOP. Considered in the context of past TES validation studies, these results illustrate that MUTOP is able to maintain accuracy similar to TES while expanding coverage to the entire GOES-West satellite domain. In addition MUTOP provides six-hour temporal resolution throughout the INTEX-B study period, making the visualization of UT ozone dynamics possible. This paper presents the overall statistical validation as well as a selection of ozonesonde case studies. The case studies illustrate that error may not always represent a lack of TES-derived product skill, but often results from discrepancies driven by observations made in the presence of strong meteorological gradients.

Description: The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), a hyperspectral infrared instrument on the Aura satellite, retrieves a vertical profile of tropospheric ozone. However, polar-orbiting instruments like TES provide limited nadir-view coverage. This work illustrates the value of these observations when taken in context with geostationary imagery describing synoptic-scale weather patterns. The goal of this study is to create map-view products of upper troposphere (UT) ozone through the integration of TES ozone measurements with two synoptic dynamic tracers of stratospheric influence: specific humidity derived from the GOES Imager water vapor absorption channel, and potential vorticity (PV) from an operational forecast model. As a mixing zone between tropospheric and stratospheric reservoirs, the upper troposphere (UT) exhibits a complex chemical makeup. Determination of ozone mixing ratios in this layer is especially difficult without direct in situ measurement. However, it is well understood that UT ozone is correlated with dynamical tracers like low specific humidity and high potential vorticity. Blending the advantages of two remotely sensed quantities (GOES water vapor and TES ozone) is at the core of the Multi-sensor Upper Tropospheric Ozone Product (MUTOP). Our results suggest that 72 % of TES-observed UT ozone variability can be explained by its correlation with dry air and high PV. MUTOP reproduces TES retrievals across the GOES-West domain with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 18 ppbv (part per billion by volume). There are several advantages to this multi-sensor derived product approach: (1) it is calculated from two operational fields (GOES specific humidity and GFS PV), so maps of layer-average ozone can be created and used in near real-time; (2) the product provides the spatial resolution and coverage of a geostationary image as it depicts the variable distribution of ozone in the UT; and (3) the 6 h temporal resolution of the derived product imagery allows for the visualization of rapid movement of this dynamically-driven ozone, as illustrated in the animation Supplement. This paper presents the scientific basis and methodology behind the creation of this unique ozone product, as well as a statistical comparison of the derived product to an evaluation dataset of coincident TES observations.

Description: Accurate representation of ozone in the extratropical upper troposphere (UT) remains a challenge. However, the implementation of hyper-spectral remote sensing using satellite instruments such as the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) provides an avenue for mapping ozone in this region, from 500 to 300 hPa. As a polar orbiting satellite TES observations are limited, but in this paper they are combined with geostationary satellite observations of water vapor. This paper describes a validation of the Multi-sensor UT Ozone Product (MUTOP). MUTOP, based on a statistical retrieval method, is an image product derived from the multiple regression of remotely sensed TES ozone, against geostationary (GOES) specific humidity (remotely sensed) and potential vorticity (a modeled dynamical tracer in the UT). These TES-derived UT ozone mixing ratios are compared to coincident ozonesonde measurements of layer-average UT ozone mixing ratios made during the NASA INTEX/B field campaign in the spring of 2006; the region for this study is effectively the GOES west domain covering the eastern North Pacific Ocean and the western United States. This intercomparison evaluates MUTOP skill at representing ozone magnitude and variability in this region of complex dynamics. In total, 11 ozonesonde launch sites were available for this study, providing 127 individual sondes for comparison; the overall mean ozone of the 500–300 hPa layer for these sondes was 78.0 ppbv. MUTOP reproduces in~situ measurements reasonably well, producing an UT mean of 82.3 ppbv, with a mean absolute error of 12.2 ppbv and a root mean square error of 16.4 ppbv relative to ozonesondes across all sites. An overall UT mean bias of 4.3 ppbv relative to sondes was determined for MUTOP. Considered in the context of past TES validation studies, these results illustrate that MUTOP is able to maintain accuracy similar to TES while expanding coverage to the entire GOES-West satellite domain. In addition MUTOP provides six-hour temporal resolution throughout the INTEX-B study period, making the visualization of UT ozone dynamics possible. This paper presents the overall statistical validation as well as a selection of ozonesonde case studies. The case studies illustrate that error may not always represent a lack of TES-derived product skill, but often results from discrepancies driven by observations made in the presence of strong meteorological gradients.

Description: The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), a hyperspectral infrared instrument on the Aura satellite, retrieves a vertical profile of tropospheric ozone. However, polar-orbiting instruments like TES provide limited nadir-view coverage. This work illustrates the value of these observations when taken in context with information about synoptic-scale weather patterns. The goal of this study is to create map-view products of upper troposphere (UT) ozone through the integration of TES ozone measurements with two synoptic dynamical tracers of stratospheric influence: specific humidity derived from the GOES Imager, and potential vorticity from an operational forecast model. As a mixing zone between tropospheric and stratospheric reservoirs, the upper troposphere (UT) exhibits a complex chemical makeup. Determination of ozone mixing ratios in this layer is especially difficult without direct in-situ measurement. However, it is well understood that UT ozone is correlated with dynamical tracers like low specific humidity and high potential vorticity. Blending the advantages of two remotely sensed quantities (GOES water vapor and TES ozone) is at the core of the Multi-sensor Upper Tropospheric Ozone Product (MUTOP). Our approach results in the temporal and spatial coverage of a geostationary platform, a major improvement over individual polar overpasses, while retaining TES's ability to characterize UT ozone. Results suggest that over 70% of TES-observed UT ozone variability can be explained by correlation with the two dynamical tracers. MUTOP reproduces TES retrievals across the GOES-West domain with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 19.2 ppbv. There are several advantages to this multi-sensor derived product approach: (1) it is calculated from 2 operational fields (GOES specific humidity and GFS PV), so the layer-average ozone can be created and used in near real-time; (2) the product provides the spatial resolution and coverage of a geostationary platform as it depicts the distribution of dynamically driven ozone in the UT; and (3) the 6 h temporal resolution of the imagery allows for the visualization of rapid movement of this dynamically-driven ozone in the UT. This paper presents the scientific basis and methodology behind the creation of this unique ozone product, as well as a statistical comparison of the derived product to a set of coincident TES observations.