E. Beach

Performance of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) products

NOAA, through the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program, in partnership with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, launched the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite, a risk reduction and data continuity mission, on 28 October 2011. The JPSS program is executing the S-NPP Calibration and Validation program to ensure that the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) consists of two telescopes feeding three detectors measuring solar radiance scattered by the Earths atmosphere directly and solar irradiance by using diffusers. The measurements are used to generate estimates of total column ozone and vertical ozone profiles for use in near-real-time applications and extension of ozone climate data records. The calibration and validation efforts are progressing well, and both Level 1 (Sensor Data Records) and Level 2 (Ozone Environmental Data Records) have advanced to release at Provisional Maturity. This paper provides information on the product performance over the first 22 months of the mission. The products are evaluated through the use of internal consistency analysis techniques and comparisons to other satellite instrument and ground-based products. The initial performance finds total ozone showing negative bias of 2 to 4% with respect to correlative products and ozone profiles often within ±5% in the middle and upper stratosphere of current operational products. Potential improvements in the measurements and algorithms are identified. These will be implemented in coming months to reduce the differences further.

Measurements and products from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV/2) and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instruments

This paper presents an overview of the state of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite ozone programme including assessments of the current Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV/2) and the future Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instruments and products. It provides evaluation of the quality of the NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Satellites (POES) SBUV/2 measurements and the Version 8 algorithm products, both for operational and reprocessed data records. The presentation summarizes work on the instrument calibration and characterization; the algorithm theory and implementation; and the information content, quality and validation of the ozone estimates. This is followed by similar information on the measurements and products expected from the OMPS on the National Polar Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) beginning in 2011.

Vertical Structure of the Anomalous 2002 Antarctic Ozone Hole

Abstract Ozone estimates from observations by the NOAA-16 Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet (SBUV/2) instrument and Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-N) Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) are used to describe the vertical structure of ozone in the anomalous 2002 polar vortex. The SBUV/2 total ozone maps show that the ozone hole was pushed off the Pole and split into two halves due to a split in the midstratospheric polar vortex in late September. The vortex split and the associated transport of high ozone from midlatitudes to the polar region reduced the ozone hole area from 18 × 106 km2 on 20 September to 3 × 106 km2 on 27 September 2002. A 23-yr time series of SBUV/2 daily zonal mean total ozone amounts between 70° and 80°S shows record high values [385 Dobson units (DU)] during the late-September 2002 warming event. The transport and descent of high ozone from low latitudes to high latitudes between 60 and 15 mb contributed to the unusual increase in total column ozone and a small ozone h...

Evaluation of the Sensor Data Record from the nadir instruments of the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS)

This paper evaluates the first 15 months of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Sensor Data Record (SDR) acquired by the nadir sensors and processed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Interface Data Processing Segment. The evaluation consists of an inter-comparison with a similar satellite instrument, an analysis using a radiative transfer model, and an assessment of product stability. This is in addition to the evaluation of sensor calibration and the Environment Data Record product that are also reported in this Special Issue. All these are parts of synergetic effort to provide comprehensive assessment at every level of the products to ensure its quality. It is found that the OMPS nadir SDR quality is satisfactory for the current Provisional maturity. Methods used in the evaluation are being further refined, developed, and expanded, in collaboration with international community through the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System, to support the upcoming long-term monitoring.

NPOESS preparatory project validation plans for the ozone mapping and profiler suite

NOAA, through the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program, in partnership with National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational JPSS launch. The JPSS program will execute the NPP Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies.

Post-launch performance evaluation of the OMPS Nadir Mapper and Nadir Profiler

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) represents the latest generation of polar-orbiting satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The first in the JPSS series of satellites, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) spacecraft was launched in November 2011 to bridge the gap between the current Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the future JPSS-1. The Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) is a suite of hyperspectral instruments onboard the Suomi NPP spacecraft designed to continue atmospheric ozone records through both atmospheric profiles and global distribution mapping. OMPS will also be included on the future JPSS payloads. In order to properly extend measurements from previous ozone instruments, including the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument on POES, proper OMPS calibration is necessary. In this study, the postlaunch performance of the OMPS Nadir Mapper (NM) and Nadir Profiler (NP) are evaluated through their Sensor Data Records (SDRs), which validates their end-to-end calibration. This is achieved through stability monitoring and intercomparison.

Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership: Verification and early operations for the Ozone Mapping and Profile Suite

A new suite of instruments to estimate atmospheric ozone by measuring scattered solar irradiance began operating in January 2012. The measurements will be used to continue existing records of atmospheric ozone profiles as part of the NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System. This paper presents preliminary evaluations of these new products.

Computing differential air mass factor lookup tables using DISORT radiative transfer model

NOAA/NESDIS is implementing its own data processing for MetOP-A/GOME-2 observation. The retrieval method used for Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Bromine monoxide (BrO) is the heritage EOS/OMI differential optical absorption spectroscopic (DOAS) method. To covert the slant column density (SCD) to the vertical column density (VCD) a differential air mass factor (dAmf) lookup table (LUT) is necessary. For the practical need, a NOAA version dAmf lookup table has been generated using a discrete ordinates radiative transfer model (DISORT). A thorough study of the algorithm, which computes air mass factor, has been conducted. It will be discussed in detail in this presentation. In this work, we first set up a DISORT model to simulate a real measurement, and then compute a six-dimensional table of dAmf for DOAS method. The computed LUT has been investigated and compared to that used in the OMI NO2B algorithm.