Evaluation of stratospheric NO 2 retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument: Intercomparison, diurnal cycle, and trending

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Dirksen, Ruud J., Boersma, K. Folkert, Eskes, Henk J., Ionov, Dmitry V., Bucsela, Eric J., Levelt, Pieternel F., Kelder, Hennie M.
• Other Authors: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Institut für Weltraumwissenschaften Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Applied Physics Eindhoven, Eindhoven University of Technology Eindhoven (TU/e), STRATO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), SRI International
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: Middle atmosphere; Atmospheric Composition; Atmospheric Structure; stratosphere; NO 2; remote sensing; Troposphere; [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04115811; https://hal.science/hal-04115811/document; https://hal.science/hal-04115811/file/Journal%20of%20Geophysical%20Research%20Atmospheres%20-%202011%20-%20Dirksen%20-%20Evaluation%20of%20stratospheric%20NO2%20retrieved%20from%20the%20Ozone.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014943

International audience A 5+ year record of satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide columns from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is evaluated to establish the quality of the OMI retrievals and to test our understanding of stratospheric NO 2 . The use of assimilation techniques to retrieve stratospheric vertical columns of NO 2 from OMI slant column observations is described in detail. Over remote areas the forecast model state is generally within 0.15 × 10 15 molecules/cm 2 of the analysis. Dutch OMI NO 2 (DOMINO) and Standard Product (SP) stratospheric NO 2 columns agree within 0.3 × 10 15 molecules/cm 2 (13%) with independent, ground-based measurements. This is comparable to the level of consistency (15-20%) among ground-based techniques. On average, DOMINO stratospheric NO 2 is higher than SP by 0.2 × 10 15 molecules/cm 2 , but larger differences occur on the synoptic scale. Overlapping OMI orbits poleward of 30° enabled us to extract information on the diurnal variation in stratospheric NO 2 . We find that in the Arctic, the daytime increase of NO 2 has a distinct seasonal dependence that peaks in spring and fall. Daytime increase rates inside the denoxified Arctic polar vortex are low, but we find high rates (>0.4 × 10 15 molecules/cm 2 /h) outside the vortex. A multilinear regression to the DOMINO record shows a distinct quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) signal in stratospheric NO 2 columns over the tropics. The QBO's amplitude is comparable to the annual cycle and stronger over the Southern Hemisphere than over the Northern Hemisphere. We infer near-identical trends from DOMINO observations (+0.4%/decade) as from ground-based instrumentation over Lauder (+0.6%/decade) in the 2004-2010 period.