Open AccessDetection of a tropospheric ozone anomaly using a newly developed ozone retrieval algorithm for an up‐looking infrared interferometer
Author(s) -
Lightner K. J.,
McMillan W. W.,
McCann K. J.,
Hoff R. M.,
Newchurch M. J.,
Hintsa E. J.,
Barnet C. D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2008jd010270
Subject(s) - radiance , atmospheric infrared sounder , troposphere , environmental science , tropopause , trace gas , ozone , remote sensing , tropospheric ozone , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , radiative transfer , meteorology , geology , physics , quantum mechanics
On 2 June 2003, the Baltimore Bomem Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (BBAERI) recorded an infrared spectral time series indicating the presence of a tropospheric ozone anomaly. The measurements were collected during an Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) validation campaign called the 2003 AIRS BBAERI Ocean Validation Experiment (ABOVE03) conducted at the United States Coast Guard Chesapeake Light station located 14 miles due east of Virginia Beach, Virginia (36.91°N, 75.71°W). Ozone retrievals were performed with the Kurt Lightner Ozone BBAERI Retrieval (KLOBBER) algorithm, which retrieves tropospheric column ozone, surface to 300 mbar, from zenith‐viewing atmospheric thermal emission spectra. KLOBBER is modeled after the AIRS retrieval algorithm consisting of a synthetic statistical regression followed by a physical retrieval. The physical retrieval is implemented using the k‐Compressed Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Algorithm (kCARTA) to compute spectra. The time series of retrieved integrated ozone column on 2 June 2003 displays spikes of about 10 Dobson units, well above the error of the KLOBBER algorithm. Using instrumentation at Chesapeake Light, satellite imaging, trace gas retrievals from satellites, and Potential Vorticity (PV) computations, it was determined that these sudden increases in column ozone likely were caused by a combination of midtropospheric biomass burning products from forest fires in Siberia, Russia, and stratospheric intrusion by a tropopause fold occurring over central Canada and the midwestern United States.