Retrieval of ozone profile from ground-based measurements with polarization

We perform a physical retrieval based on optimal estimation theory to retrieve the vertical distribution of ozone from simulated spectra in the Huggins bands. The virtual instrument is ground-based and zenith-viewing. Using this algorithm, we show that it is possible to retrieve the ozone profile provided that the spectral resolution is at least 0.2 nm and the signal to noise ratio is greater than 500. Our synthetic retrievals suggest that if we are able to measure other Stokes parameters with accuracy comparable to that of the intensity, the information contained in the measurements, and therefore the inversion, will improve. Furthermore, we find that the measurement of the full Stokes vector from the ground-based instrument will especially enhance the retrieval of tropospheric ozone. Utilizing concepts from information theory, our arguments are confirmed by increases in the degree of freedom and the Shannon information content in the simulated measurements.