ACPD Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ACPD 1680-7375 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acpd-5-4845-2005 Validation of IFE-1.6 SCIAMACHY limb ozone profiles Segers A. J. 1 van Savigny C. 2 Brinksma E. J. 1 Piters A. J. M. 1 Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI), P.O. Box 201, 3730 AE De Bilt, The Netherlands Institute of Environmental Physics and Remote Sensing (IUP/IFE), University of Bremen, Germany 14 07 2005 5 4 4845 4869 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/5/4845/2005/acpd-5-4845-2005.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/5/4845/2005/acpd-5-4845-2005.pdf

The IFE-1.6 scientific data set of SCIAMACHY limb ozone profiles is validated for the period August–December 2002. The data set provides ozone profiles over an altitude range of 15–45 km. The main uncertainty in the profiles is the imprecise knowledge of the pointing of the instrument, leading to retrieved profiles that are shifted in altitude direction. To obtain a first order correction for the pointing error and the remaining uncertainties, the retrieved profiles are compared to their a-priori value and ozone sondes based on absolute distance and equivalent latitude criteria. A vertical shift of the satellite profiles with 2 km downward is found to be an appropriate correction for the data set studied. A total root-mean-square difference between limb profiles and sondes of 10–15% remains for the stratospheric ozone profile after application of the correction. Small biases are left above and below the ozone maximum at mid latitudes, where the vertical gradients in the retrieved product are in general too strong.