Seasonal variations in the total content of hydrogen fluoride in the atmosphere

The results of ground-based measurements of the total content (TC) of hydrogen fluoride in the atmosphere in Peterhof near St. Petersburg for one year (from April 2009 through April 2010) using a Bruker IFS125 Fourier spectrometer with a high spectral resolution (0.005 cm^?1) are presented. The well-known computer code SFIT2 (Zephyr-2) was used for the radiation data inversion. Random measurement errors were 1–5% and the systematic error was 5–10%. The seasonal trend of the HF TC in Peterhof is characterized by a minimum in summer and a maximum in winter through early spring and is very close to the seasonal HF TC trend obtained at the Harestua Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) station located at about the same latitude. A comparison of the St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU) ground-based measurements with the data of satellite HF TC measurements (with an ACE-FTS instrument) showed a good quantitative agreement of the results for the entire period of observations. According to our ground-based measurements and the satellite measurements with the ACE-FTS instrument, the mean values of the HF TC and its rms variations during the period under investigation are 1.77 × 10¹⁵ and 1.80 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 (difference 1.5%) and 21 and 18%, respectively.     

Intercomparison of satellite and ground-based ozone total column measurements

Ozone total column (OTC) measurements made in 2009–2012 near St. Petersburg by a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer (Peterhof, St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU)), an M-124 filter ozonometer, and a Dobson spectrophotometer (Voeikovo, MGO), as well as measurements made by a spectrometer ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) (onboard the AURA satellite) have been analyzed and compared. Comparisons have been performed both between ensembles of ground-based measurement data, as well as between ground-based and satellite data. It has been shown that the standard deviation for all devices is 2.5–4.5%; here, the FTIR and Dobson instruments measuring the direct sun are in better agreement with OMI than the M-124 ozonometer measuring the zenith-scattered solar radiation as well. A seasonal cycle in discrepancy with amplitude of 1.5% has been detected between two series of OTC measurements made by M-124 and OMI instruments for a total of 850 days. In fall and winter, the ground-based measurements underestimate the OTC values in comparison with satellite data; in spring and summer, the situation is reversed: ground-based data overestimate the OTC values. Also, it has been revealed that FTIR measurements systematically overestimate the OTC values in comparison with other instruments: from 1.4% (for Dobson) to 3.4% (for OMI). Taking into account the spatial and temporal discrepancy of independent ensembles of measurements and an analysis of standard deviations between ground-based and satellite measurement data, the FTIR spectrometer (SPbSU) can be recommended for OTC satellite data validation.     

Ground-based measurements of total column of hydrogen chloride in the atmosphere near St. Petersburg

We present ground-based spectroscopic measurements of the total hydrogen chloride in the atmosphere of Peterhof near St. Petersburg from April 2009 to March 2012. The well-known computer code SFIT-2 (Zephyr-2) was used to interpret the spectra of the solar IR radiation. The random and systematic errors of total column (TC) HCl measurements did not exceed 3.8 and 4.5%. The seasonal behavior of TC HCl in Peterhof is characterized by the presence of a maximum in March–April and a minimum in October–November. There are also extremely small TC HCl values in January–February. The time behavior obtained for Peterhof agrees well with data from nearest stations in the NDACC international network. The ground-based measurements of the TC HCl were compared with satellite measurements with the help of ACE-FTS and MLS instruments. The direct comparisons of coincident (within a day) and collocated (within 500 km) satellite and ground-based measurements showed a correspondence of results within their total errors.     

Ground-Based Measurements of the Total Column of Freons in the Atmosphere near St. Petersburg (2009–2017)

The results of the first long-term (2009–2017) ground-based spectroscopic measurements of the total content (TC) of a number of freons in Russia are presented. According to measurements in Peterhof, TCs of CFC-11 and CFC-12 decrease at a rate of ~0.6% per year and TC of HCFC-22 grows at a rate of ~2.7% per year, which is in good agreement with independent measurements. The seasonal course of freon TC in the area of St. Petersburg is registered: highs of CFC-11 and CFC-12 are observed in summer and lows are in late winter and spring. For the HCFC-22 TC, the opposite seasonal course is observed, with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer.     

Ground-based measurements of total ozone content by the infrared method

To interpret the ground-based measurements of the spectra of direct solar infrared radiation with the help of a Brucker Fourier-spectrometer, a technique for determining the total ozone content (TOC) was developed and implemented. The TOC was determined using six spectral intervals of an ozone-absorption band of 9.6 μm and the shortwave panel of a carbon-dioxide-absorption band of 15 μm, where the impact of other atmospheric parameters on the measured solar radiation was reduced to a minimum. The potential errors of the infrared method for determining the TOC for the chosen spectral scheme with the influence of measurement errors and vertical profiles of temperature are less than 1% for different signal-to-noise ratios and zenith angles of the sun. We analyzed 269 high-resolution (0.005–0.008 cm^?1) spectra of solar infrared radiation measured in Peterhof over 52 days from March to November, 2009. The resulting values of TOC were compared with the results of independent ground-based TOC measurements in Voeikovo (Main Geophysical Observatory) using a Dobson spectrophotometer and an M-124 ozonometer, as well as with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data. The mean errors between the results of TOC measurements with the help of the three ground-based probes constitute no more than 0.4%. The rms errors between data obtained by the Brucker spectrometer and the given satellite and ground-based probes constitute 3–4%. A comparison between different series of measurements indicated that the upper estimate for the error of TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer was 2.5–3% (when the possible spatial and temporal errors in measurements are disregarded). An analysis of the diurnal variations in the TOC measurements for stable atmospheric conditions yields an upper estimate of ～3 DU (around 1%) for the random component of error in TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer.     

Observation of the Soya Warm Current using HF ocean radar

Three High Frequency (HF) ocean radar stations were installed around the Soya/La Perouse Strait in the Sea of Okhotsk in order to monitor the Soya Warm Current (SWC). The frequency of the HF radar is 13.9 MHz, and the range and azimuth resolutions are 3 km and 5 deg., respectively. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. The surface current velocity observed by the HF radars was compared with data from drifting buoys and shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs). The current velocity derived from the HF radars shows good agreement with that observed using the drifting buoys. The root-mean-square (rms) differences were found to be less than 20 cm s⁻¹ for the zonal and meridional components in the buoy comparison. The observed current velocity was also found to exhibit reasonable agreement with the shipboard ADCP data. It was shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and short-term variations of the SWC. The velocity of the Soya Warm Current reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m s⁻¹, in summer and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately 40 km. The surface transport by the SWC shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as derived from coastal tide gauge records at Wakkanai and Abashiri. Deceased.     

Determination of the total ozone content from data of satellite IR Fourier-spectrometer

Examples of retrieval of the total ozone content (TOC) from the spectra of outgoing thermal radiation measured by the IRFS-2 device on the Meteor-M no. 2 meteorological satellite are presented. The technique, developed by the authors and based on an artificial neural network (ANN) approach with the use of TOC measurements by the satellite OMI device, is applied. A comparison of the results with the data of independent TOC measurements has shown their agreement within 2–5% for global ensemble and within 3–6% for separate latitudes and seasons. The errors estimated for IRFS-2 TOC measurements are close to the errors in measurements by a similar IASI device from the MetOp (EUMETSAT) satellite.     

Validating NO<Subscript>2</Subscript> measurements in the vertical atmospheric column with the OMI instrument aboard the EOS Aura satellite against ground-based measurements at the Zvenigorod Scientific Station

Data on the NO₂ content in the vertical column of the atmosphere obtained with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the EOS Aura satellite (United States) in the period from October 2004 to October 2007 are compared with the results of ground-based measurements at the Zvenigorod Scientific Station (55.7° N, 36.8° E). The “unpolluted”; part of the total NO₂ content in the atmospheric column, which mostly represents the stratosphere, and the NO₂ contents in the vertical column of the troposphere, including the lower layer, which is subject to pollution, are included in the comparison. The correlation coefficient between the results of ground-based and satellite measurements of the “unpolluted” total NO₂ content is ∼0.9. The content values measured with the OMI instrument are smaller than the results of ground-based measurements (on average, by (0.30 ± 0.03) × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² or by (11 ± 1)%). Therms discrepancy between the satellite and ground-based data is 0.6 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻². The NO₂ content in the vertical column of the troposphere from the results of satellite measurements is, on average, (1.4 ± 0.5) × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², (or about 35%) smaller than from the results of ground-based measurements, and the rms discrepancy between them is about 200%. The correlation coefficient between these data is ∼0.4. This considerable discrepancy is evidently caused by the strong spatial (horizontal) inhomogeneity and the temporal variability of the NO₂ field during episodes of pollution, which leads to different (and often uncorrelated) estimates of the NO₂ content in the lower troposphere due to different spatial resolutions of ground-based and satellite measurements.     

Comparison of Near Coastal Significant Wave Height Measurements from SARAL/AltiKa with Wave Rider Buoys in the Indian Region

Significant Wave Height (SWH) measurement data from the AltiKa Radar Altimeter (RA) for the first 13 cycles of satellite coverage are compared with the SWH from Wave Rider Buoys (WRB) located at nine stations along the Indian coast to assess the performance of the altimeter over the coastal region. AltiKa SWH observations within a 30-minute interval and 50 km distance from WRBs are found to be over estimated by 6%, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is 0.36 m, the Scatter Index (SI) is 26%, and the correlation coefficient (r) is 0.91. Relaxing the distance criteria by 50 km leads to increase in RMSE and deterioration of r to 0.89. There is a marked difference in the statistics on the comparison pairs pooled separately for the buoys near west and east coasts, with the latter showing RMSE error 26% more than the former. The method of Cressman weights adopted to correct for the errors arising out of the temporal and spatial differences in altimeter and buoy data comparison pairs resulted in reduction of RMSE by 5% and 25%, respectively, for the 30-minute and 50 km criteria and 4% and 56% for the 30-minute and 100 km criteria.     

Carbon monoxide emissions in summer 2010 in the central part of the Russian Plain and estimation of their uncertainties with the use of different land-cover maps

This study is devoted to estimation of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions during the wildfires of the anomalously hot 2010 summer in the central part of the Russian Plain. CO emissions from the forest wildfires have been estimated with use of the Active Fires (AF) (MODIS MCD14ML) and Burned Areas (BA) (MODIS MCD45) methods for AVHRR/UDM, Global Land Cover 2000 (GLC 2000), GlobCover, and MCD12Q1 vegetation maps. A comparison of the vegetation maps and investigation of forest structure dynamics for the period from 2005 to 2009 have been carried out. It is shown that the major uncertainties during the estimation of CO in decreasing order are the following: distinctions in emission-calculation methods, differences in the vegetation maps used, differences in satellite data from Terra and Aqua, and the insufficient registration of forest structure dynamics. For additional comparison of estimations obtained by an independent method with the use of orbital (MOPITT, AIRS, and IASI) and ground-based (Moscow and Zvenigorod) spectroscopic measurements of CO content were presented.     

Seasonal features of quasi-biennial variations of NO<Subscript>2</Subscript> stratospheric content derived from ground-based measurements

Seasonal and latitudinal distributions of amplitudes of quasi-biennial variations in total NO₂ content (NO₂ TC), total ozone content (TOC), and stratospheric temperature are obtained. NO₂ TC data from ground-based spectrometric measurements within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), TOC data from satellite measurements, and stratospheric temperature data from ERA-Interim reanalysis are used for the analysis. The differences in the NO₂ TC diurnal cycles are identified between the westerly and easterly phases of the quasi-biennial oscillations (QBO) of equatorial stratospheric wind. The QBO effects in the NO₂ TC, TOC, and stratospheric temperature in the Northern (NH) and Southern (SH) hemispheres are most significant in the winter–spring periods, with essential differences between the NH and SH. The NO₂ TC in the Antarctic is less for the westerly phase of the QBO than that for the easterly phase, and the NO₂ TC quasi-biennial variations in the SH mid-latitudes are opposite of the variations in the Antarctic. In the NH, the winter values of the NO₂ TC are generally less during the westerly QBO phase than during the easterly phase, whereas in spring, on the contrary, the values for the westerly QBO phase exceed those for the easterly phase. Along with NO₂, the features of the quasi-biennial variations of TOC and stratospheric temperature are discussed. Possible mechanisms of the quasi-biennial variations of the analyzed parameters are considered for the different latitudinal zones.     

Stratospheric NO2 content according to data from ground-based measurements of solar IR radiation

Atmospheric NO₂ content data obtained from regular ground-based measurements of solar IR radiation in the St. Petersburg region using a spectrometer with a high spectral resolution are analyzed. The absorption spectra of the NO₂ multiplet in the vicinity of ～2915 cm^?1 allow one to obtain data on variations in the stratospheric total content of NO₂ in 2009–2011. The accuracy of these data is estimated from their comparison with data obtained from independent ground-based and satellite measurements. The parameters of the seasonal cycle of the stratospheric content of NO₂ are estimated. The body of data accumulated during these measurements in the IR region made it possible to isolate the component of a daytime photochemical increase in the stratospheric content of NO₂ and estimate its rate.     

Winds and Waves in the Yellow and East China Seas: A Comparison of Spaceborne Altimeter Measurements and Model Results

Wind speed and wave height measured by satellite altimeters represent a good data source to the study of global and regional wind and wave conditions. In this paper, the TOPEX altimeter wind and wave measurements in the Yellow and East China Seas are analyzed. The results provide a glimpse on the statistical properties and the spatial distributions of the regional wind and wave conditions. These data are excellent for use in the validation and verification of numerical simulations on global and regional scales. The altimeter measurements are compared with model output of temporal statistics and spatial distributions. The results show that the model simulations are in good agreement with TOPEX measurements in terms of the local mean and standard deviation of the variables (wave height and wind speed). For the comparison of spatial distributions, the quality of agreement between numerical simulations and altimeter measurements varies significantly from cycle to cycle of altimeter passes. In many cases, trends in the spatial distributions of wave heights and wind speeds between simulations and measurements are opposite. The statistics of biases, rms differences, linear regression coefficients and correlation coefficients are presented. A rather large percentage (∼50%) of cases show poor agreement based on a combination of low correlation, large rms difference or bias, and poor regression coefficient. There are indications that wave age is a factor affecting the performance of wave modeling skills. Generally speaking, the error statistics in the wave field is correlated to the corresponding error statistics in the wind field under the condition of active wind-wave generation. The error statistics between the wave field and the wind field become less correlated for large wave ages. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Diurnal SST warming in the Bay of Biscay: satellite measurements and model prediction

INTRODUCTIONIt has long been recognized that a diurnal thermal cycle occurs in the upper layer of the ocean(Stommel et al., 1969; Price and Weller, 1986). Interest in the subject has revived in recentyears due to the importance of resolving the diurnal cycle for correctly coupling the ocean and atmosphere (Lukas, 1991 ). While the study of the diurnal cycle is of intrinsic scientific interest, italso offers the benefit to remote sensing scientists of identifying the bias caused by the di…     

Altitude-latitude structure of the vertical wind component of the migrating diurnal tide in the range of heights from 80 to 100 km

Based on empirical monthly data on the parameters of oscillations in the horizontal wind component of the diurnal migrating tide, we calculated the altitude-latitude distributions of the parameters of oscillations in the vertical wind component of the diurnal tide in the region of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (80–100 km). The initial data were obtained from satellite observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at altitudes from 90 to 120 km and from data of ground-based sounding of this region using the radio meteor method and the method of partial reflections in the altitude range from 80 to 100 km. We compare the resulting distributions with the results of numerical modeling for the migrating diurnal tide using a global circulation model for the middle and upper atmosphere. It is shown that, accurate to measurement errors, there is a good agreement between the distributions of parameters of the migrating diurnal tide obtained by the models. One specific feature of the empirical distributions of the amplitude of the vertical wind oscillations is that there are three regions of increased amplitude values—in the vicinity of the equator and at 30° N and 30° S latitudes—which were observed for all seasons. The maximum value of the amplitude of the vertical wind oscillations is approximately 0.1 m/s. The divergence of the Eliassen-Palm flux was estimated to be on the order of 10 m s⁻¹ day⁻¹.     

Ozone Temporal Variability in the Subarctic Region: Comparison of Satellite Measurements with Numerical Simulations

Fourier and wavelet spectra of time series for the ozone column abundance in the atmospheric 0–25 and 25–60 km layers are analyzed from SBUV satellite observations and from numerical simulations based on the RSHU and EMAC models. The analysis uses datasets for three subarctic locations (St. Petersburg, Harestua, and Kiruna) for 2000–2014. The Fourier and wavelet spectra show periodicities in the range from ~10 days to ~10 years and from ~1 day to ~2 years, respectively. The comparison of the spectra shows overall agreement between the observational and modeled datasets. However, the analysis has revealed differences both between the measurements and the models and between the models themselves. The differences primarily concern the Rossby wave period region and the 11-year and semiannual periodicities. Possible reasons are given for the differences between the models and the measurements.     

Study of Ozone Layer Variability near St. Petersburg on the Basis of SBUV Satellite Measurements and Numerical Simulation (2000–2014)

A comparison between the numerical simulation results of ozone fields with different experimental data makes it possible to estimate the quality of models for their further use in reliable forecasts of ozone layer evolution. We analyze time series of satellite (SBUV) measurements of the total ozone column (TOC) and the ozone partial columns in two atmospheric layers (0–25 and 25–60 km) and compare them with the results of numerical simulation in the chemistry transport model (CTM) for the low and middle atmosphere and the chemistry climate model EMAC. The daily and monthly average ozone values, short-term periods of ozone depletion, and long-term trends of ozone columns are considered; all data sets relate to St. Petersburg and the period between 2000 and 2014. The statistical parameters (means, standard deviations, variations, medians, asymmetry parameter, etc.) of the ozone time series are quite similar for all datasets. However, the EMAC model systematically underestimates the ozone columns in all layers considered. The corresponding differences between satellite measurements and EMAC numerical simulations are (5 ± 5)% and (7 ± 7)% and (1 ± 4)% for the ozone column in the 0–25 and 25–60 km layers, respectively. The correspondent differences between SBUV measurements and CTM results amount to (0 ± 7)%, (1 ± 9)%, and (–2 ± 8)%. Both models describe the sudden episodes of the ozone minimum well, but the EMAC accuracy is much higher than that of the CTM, which often underestimates the ozone minima. Assessments of the long-term linear trends show that they are close to zero for all datasets for the period under study.     

Study of long-term variability of Black Sea dynamics on the basis of circulation model assimilation of remote measurements

The Black Sea dynamics for two decades (1993–2012) is analyzed. The study is carried out in numerical simulation with the use of a circulation model and assimilation of satellite measurements of free surface elevations and sea-surface temperatures (SSTs). The Black Sea circulation model has a spatial resolution of 4.8 km and 35 vertical levels, which thicken toward the surface. Arrays of ERA-Interim data are used for simulating the atmospheric forcing. A set of 3D arrays of the Black Sea hydrophysical fields is calculated on a regular grid with a time resolution of 24 h. The results are analyzed and compared with available contact measurements of temperature and salinity. This comparison shows a quite good quality of the resulted hydrophysical fields of the Black Sea.     

High-frequency radar measurements of the ocean wave-directionalspectrum

Measurements of the ocean wave directional spectrum using a dual, high-frequency (HF) radar system are presented. A model-fitting technique is used to obtain wave measurements from the radar Doppler spectra. Over 100 h of data, collected NURWEC2 (Netherlands-UK Radar Wavebuoy Experimental Comparison), have been compared with measurements using a WAVEC directional wave buoy. The amplitude and directional characteristics of long-wave components at frequencies of 0.07-0.1 Hz in general show good agreement. Reasonable estimates of the directional spectrum across the whole frequency range are obtained when the assumptions of the model-fitting technique are appropriate. Remaining problems in radar measurement and difficulties in assessing accuracy are discussed     

Effect of the 11-year cycle of solar activity on characteristics of the total ozone annual variation

The goal of the paper is an analysis of changes in the amplitude and phase characteristics of the annual variation (AC) of total ozone (TO) from ground-based and satellite (TOMS) measurements and their interpretation with a two-dimensional photochemical model. According to ground-based TO measurements, two characteristic types of quasi-decadal variations in the phase of the annual harmonic (AH) of total ozone have been noted: variations in phase and antiphase with solar activity (SA). Changes in the TO AH phase opposite to solar activity variation are noted the high latitudes of the North Atlantic region and in the tropical belt, and in-phase changes are observed in the middle and subtropical latitudes of both hemispheres. Variations in the TO AH amplitude (hence, in the TO AV amplitude) and in the annual mean TO usually coincide in phase with the SA cycle. Analysis of satellite data shows that the 0-phase of the AV and the phase of the AH of the zonal mean TO at middle latitudes vary synchronously with the 11-year solar cycle. Model simulations have shown that the stratospheric ozone influx to the middle latitudes increases in the fall and winter period during a period of maximum solar activity. This dynamic mechanism accounts for up to 30% of the winter ozone increase in the ozone maximum layer in the Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes during the solar maximum as compared with the solar minimum. In the northern midlatitudes, the dynamic mechanism makes the main contribution to ozone changes during the latter half of winter under SA variations. The stratospheric ozone inflow change induced by SA variations affects the annual variation of ozone.