The importance of using dynamical a-priori profiles for infrared O3 retrievals : the case of IASI.
Abstract
Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a trace gas involved in the global greenhouse effect. To quantify its contribution to global warming, an accurate determination of O3 profiles is necessary. The instrument IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer), on board satellite MetOP-A, is the more sensitive sensor to tropospheric O3 with a high spatio-temporal coverage. Satellite retrievals are often based on the inversion of the measured radiance data with a variational approach. This requires an a priori profile and the correspondent error covariance matrix (COV) as ancillary input. Previous studies have shown some biases ( 20%) in IASI retrievals for tropospheric column in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). A possible source of errors is caused by the a priori profile. This study aims to i) build a dynamical a priori profile O3 with a Chemistry Transport Model (CTM), ii) integrate and to demonstrate the interest of this a priori profile in IASI retrievals.Global O3 profiles are retrieved from IASI radiances with the SOFRID (Software for a fast Retrieval of IASI Data) algorithm. It is based on the RTTOV (Radiative Transfer for TOVS) code and a 1D-Var retrieval scheme. Until now, a constant a priori profile was based on a combination of MOZAIC, WOUDC-SHADOZ and Aura/MLS data named here CLIM PR. The global CTM MOCAGE (Modèle de Chimie Atmosphérique à Grande Echelle) has been used with a linear O3 chemistry scheme to assimilate Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) data. The model resolution of 2°x2°, with 60 sigma-hybrid vertical levels covering the stratosphere has been used. MLS level 2 products have been assimilated with a 4D-VAR variational algorithm to constrain stratospheric O3 and obtain high quality a priori profiles O3 above the tropopause. From this reanalysis, we built these profiles at a 6h frequency on a coarser resolution grid 10°x20° named MOCAGE+MLS PR.Statistical comparisons between retrievals and ozonesondes have shown better correlations and smaller biases for MOCAGE+MLS PR than CLIM PR. We found biases of 6% instead of 33% in SH showing that the a priori plays an important role within O3 infrared-retrievals. Improvements of IASI retrievals have been obtained in the free troposphere and low stratosphere, inserting dynamical a priori profiles from a CTM in SOFRID. Possible advancements would be to insert dynamical COV in SOFRID.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.A41A0019P
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 3360 Remote sensing;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES