Validation of Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) nadir ozone profiles

As a continuation of past TES validation efforts, we compare the latest nadir ozone profiles (V002) with ozonesonde measurements available from the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Data Center (WOUDC) and the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesonde (SHADOZ) archive. The comparisons were carried out by applying the TES averaging kernel and constraint to the ozonesonde data in order to account for the TES measurement sensitivity and vertical resolution. We look at seasonal and latitudinal differences in the TES retrievals relative to sonde data and find that biases and variability differ in 3 latitude zones (Northern midlatitudes, 35-52°N; Tropics, 26°S-26°N; and Antarctic, 69-71°S). We also make a brief comparison between the TES V002 results and earlier validation of TES ozone profiles. The V002 data incorporate improvements to the radiometric calibration and ozone retrieval relative the V001 data used in previous comparisons. Furthermore, the new comparisons extend the previous work by examining a wider range of latitudes and seasons, while also applying stricter coincidence criteria. In summary, the latest TES nadir ozone profiles still have a small overall positive bias, although it has decreased relative to the previous data version.