Reading notes-12

AIUS( Atmospheric Infrared Ultraspectral Sounder) is an infrared occultation spectrometer onboard the Chinese GaoFen-5 satellite, which covers a spectral range of 2.4-13.3 um(750-4100cm-1) with a spectral resolution of about 0.02cm-1.

AIUS was designed to measure and to study the chemical processes of ozone and other trace gases in the upper troppsphere and stratosphere over the Antarctic.

In this study, the AUSretrieval methodology is described. A comparison between AIUS measurements and simulated spectra illustrates that AIUS measurements agree well with the simulated spectra.

To first evaluate the reliability of the AIUS retrieval algorithm, three retrieval O3 experiments were performed based on ACE-FTS(Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer) observed spectra.

A comparison with the ACE-FTS official products shows that the relative difference of these three retrieval experiments was mostly within 10% between 20 and 70 km. These retrieval experiments demonstrate that the retrieval algorithm described in this study provided reliable results and reliably.

Furthermore, O3, H2O and HCl profiles were retrieved from 24 orbits of AIUS measurements and compared with the official Aura/MLS （Microwave Limb Sounder) level-2 v4.2 profiles. The relative difference was mostly within 10%(about 0.02-0.4 ppm) between 18 and 58 km for the O3 retrieval, within 10%(0-0.5 ppm) between 15 and 80 km for the H2O retrieval, and within 10%(about 0.1ppb) between 30 and 60km for the HCl retrieval. A good agreement in the retrieved trace gas profiles was reached between AIUS and MLS.

The annual occurrence of the Antarctic ozone hole has been well documented. For studying ozone recovery, many efforts have been made to understand the chemical and dynamical processes around the Antarctic.

Occultation and limb sounding techniques have provided important ways to remotely observe the Earth’s middle atmosphere. These measurements have greatly improved our understanding of the chemical processes in the upper troposphere and stratosphere by providing profile information.

As compared to nadir-viewing measurements, occultation/limb sounding measurements have a higher vertical resolution, which can be used to derive the vertical distribution of atmospheric components.

Furthermore, high-resolution atmospheric mid-infrared spectra are suitable for the detection of many trace species, since a wide variety of vibrational-rotational absorption bands are found within this spectral range. Recently, many occultation observation/limb sounding sensors have been developed and have provided abundant profiles of trace gases, such as O3, CO, H2O, NO,etc.

AIUS is one of six payloads onboard the Chinese GaoFen-5 satellite that was launched successfully on May 9, 2018.

AIUS is the first occultation spectrometer developed in China, with the aim of detecting the trace gases over the Antarctic. AIUS operates in a solar synchronous orbit, with a nominal height of 705km. The instrument is a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and its main objective is to measure O3 and other species in the stratosphere and upper troposphere in order to study the ozone temporal variations over the Antarctic.

The main objective of this paper is to introduce the trace gas retrieval algorithm developed for AIUS and to discuss the first results of O3, H2O and HCl retrieval from AIUS. In Section2, the AIUS instrument and the corresponding measurement characteristics are presented. Section 3 details the retrieval methodology, including the employed inversion algorithm, selection of fitting windows, and the integrated atmospheric profiles. In Section 4, ACE-FTS measurements are used to retrieve O3 profiles to assess the retrieval algorithm. Then, O3, H2O and HCl profiles retrieved from AIUS measurements are compared with the MLS products.

引自文章《Monitoring trace gases over the Antarctic using Atmospheric Infrared Ultraspectral Sounder onboard GgaoFen-5: Algorithm description and first retrieval results of O3 H2O and HCl》