Abstract
A new method is employed for retrieving the profiles of trace gas number
densities from satellite-based ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra of scattered
sunlight, which are recorded from the limb atmosphere over a range of tangent
heights. The slant column abundances of trace gas along the lines of sight (LOSs)
are obtained by differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), and the
tomographic technique is applied to such column abundances to retrieve
two-dimensional (2D) concentration profiles. For validation of the tomographic
technique, the slant column abundances are simulated by a tested 2D NO2 profile set
with latitudes from 90?S to 90?N between altitudes of 0 and 100 km, and the
retrieval of number density profiles on 1-km grids is performed. The results suggest
that between +(-)80?, the retrieved structure is almost the same as the test data.
According to the comparison of the selected cross sections of the vertical profiles
between retrieved and true concentrations, the NO2 number densities have been
retrieved with an accuracy of 15% or better and 5% for altitudes between 25 and 40
km. The validation of the retrieved data shows good agreement between the retrieved
and true profiles.
© 2011 Chinese Optics Letters
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