Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net
1680-7367
1680-7375
9
3
2009
10.5194/acpd-9-13199-2009
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/13199/2009/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/13199/2009/acpd-9-13199-2009.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/13199/2009/acpd-9-13199-2009.pdf
13199
13233
2009-06-16
Technical Note: New trends in column-integrated atmospheric water vapor – Method to harmonize and match long-term records from the FTIR network to radiosonde characteristics
R. Sussmann
ralf.sussmann@imk.fzk.de
T. Borsdorff
M. Rettinger
C. Camy-Peyret
P. Demoulin
P. Duchatelet
E. Mahieu
C. Servais
Research Center Karlsruhe, IMK-IFU, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Laboratoire de Physique Moléculaire pour l'Atmosphère et l'Astrophysique (LPMAA), CNRS/UPMC/IPSL, Paris, France
Institute of Astrophysics and Geophysics, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
We present a method for harmonized retrieval of integrated water vapor
(IWV) trends from existing, long-term, measurement records at the
ground-based mid-infrared solar FTIR spectrometry stations of the
Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change
(NDACC). Correlation of IWV from FTIR with radiosondes shows an ideal
slope of 1.00(3). This optimum matching is achieved via tuning one
FTIR retrieval parameter, i.e., the strength of a Tikhonov
regularization constraining the derivative (with respect to height) of
retrieved water profiles given in per cent difference relative to an
a priori profile. All other FTIR-sonde correlation parameters
(intercept =0.02(12) mm, bias =0.02(5) mm,
standard deviation of coincident IWV differences
(<i>stdv</i>)=0.27 mm, <i>R</i>=0.99) are
comparable to or better than results for all other ground-based IWV
sounding techniques given in the literature. An FTIR-FTIR side-by-side
intercomparison reveals a strong exponential increase in <i>stdv</i>
as a function of increasing temporal mismatch starting at Δ<i>t</i>
~1 min. This is due to atmospheric water vapor
variability. Based on this result we derive an upper limit for the
precision of the FTIR IWV retrieval for the smallest Δ<i>t</i>(=3.75 min) still giving a statistically sufficient sample (32
coincidences), i.e., precision (IWV<sub>FTIR</sub>)<0.05 mm
(or 2.2% of the mean IWV). The bias of the IWV retrievals from the
two different FTIR instruments is nearly negligible
(0.02(1) mm). The optimized FTIR IWV retrieval is set up in
the standard NDACC algorithm SFIT 2 without changes to the
code. A concept for harmonized transfer of the retrieval between
different stations deals with all relevant control parameters; it
includes correction for differing spectral point spacings (via
regularization strength), and final quality selection of the
retrievals (excluding the highest residuals (measurement minus model),
5% of the total).
<br><br>
The method is demonstrated via IWV trend analysis from the FTIR
records at the Zugspitze (47.4° N, 11.0° E,
2964 m a.s.l.) and Jungfraujoch (46.5° N,
8.0° E, 3580 m a.s.l.) NDACC stations. Trend
analysis comprises a linear fit after subtracting an intra-annual
model (3 Fourier components) and constructing an uncertainty interval
(95% confidence) via bootstrap resampling. For the Zugspitze
a significant trend of 0.79 (0.65, 0.92) mm/decade is found
for the time interval (1996–2008). There is a significantly increased
trend of 1.41 (1.14, 1.69) mm/decade in the second part of the
time series (2003–2008) compared to 0.63 (0.20,
1.06) mm/decade in the first part (1996–2002). For the
Jungfraujoch no significant trend is found in any of the periods
(1988–2008), (1996–2008), (1996–2002), or (2003–2008). The results
imply either an altitude dependency with a significantly higher trend
below 3.58 km than above, and/or strong, regional variations
of IWV trends on the scale of ~250 km. This is in
line with a widespread, complex, IWV trend picture over Eurasia during
the last decades. Our paper provides a basis for future exploitation
of more than a dozen existing, multi-decadal FTIR measurement records
around the globe for joint IWV trend studies within NDACC that
complement existing trend data sets which are based primarily on
radiosondes.
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