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Assessment of the SAGE II version 6.2 water vapor data set through intercomparison with ATMOS/ATLAS‐3 measurements
Author(s) -
Chiou ErWoon,
Thomason Larry W.,
Burton Sharon P.,
Michelsen Hope A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl020071
Subject(s) - stratosphere , water vapor , aerosol , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , altitude (triangle) , meteorology , sage , mixing ratio , climatology , physics , nuclear physics , geology , mathematics , geometry
Based on the intercomparisons with ATMOS/ATLAS‐3 measurements, the SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II) version 6.2 water vapor profiles exhibit significant improvements over earlier versions of data products. A previously reported SAGE II dry bias in the lower stratosphere relative to ATMOS version 3 data set has been effectively eliminated. In the new version, the agreement between SAGE II and ATMOS is generally within 15% with no systematic biases throughout the entire altitude range of 12 km to 40 km. The only exception is the situation for which 1020‐nm aerosol extinctions exceed the recommended upper limit of 3 × 10 −4 km −1 . Based on the comparisons, the reported uncertainties for SAGE II water vapor mixing ratios appear to be over‐estimated by a factor of 2 to 3 for the lower stratosphere.