We review the main factors driving the calculation of the tangent height of spaceborne limb measurements: the ray-tracing method, the refractive index model and the assumed atmosphere. We find that commonly used ray tracing and refraction models are very accurate, at least in the mid-infrared. The factor with largest effect in the tangent height calculation is the assumed atmosphere. Using a climatological model in place of the real atmosphere may cause tangent height errors up to ± 200 m. Depending on the adopted retrieval scheme, these errors may have a significant impact on the derived profiles.
Characterization of model errors in the calculation of tangent heights for atmospheric infrared limb measurements / M. Ridolfi;L. Sgheri. - In: ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES. - ISSN 1867-1381. - STAMPA. - 7:(2014), pp. 4117-4122. [10.5194/amt-7-4117-2014]
Characterization of model errors in the calculation of tangent heights for atmospheric infrared limb measurements
RIDOLFI, MARCO;
2014
Abstract
We review the main factors driving the calculation of the tangent height of spaceborne limb measurements: the ray-tracing method, the refractive index model and the assumed atmosphere. We find that commonly used ray tracing and refraction models are very accurate, at least in the mid-infrared. The factor with largest effect in the tangent height calculation is the assumed atmosphere. Using a climatological model in place of the real atmosphere may cause tangent height errors up to ± 200 m. Depending on the adopted retrieval scheme, these errors may have a significant impact on the derived profiles.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.