Assessment of the quality of ACE-FTS stratospheric ozone data

Abstract

Abstract. For the past 17 years, the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) instrument on the Canadian SCISAT satellite has been measuring profiles of atmospheric ozone. The latest operational versions of the level 2 ozone data are versions 3.6 and 4.1. This study characterizes how both products compare with correlative data from other limb-sounding satellite instruments, namely MAESTRO, MLS, OSIRIS, SABER, and SMR. In general, v3.6, with respect to the other instruments, exhibits a smaller bias (which is on the order of ∼ 3 %) in the middle stratosphere than v4.1 (∼ 2 %–9 %); however, the bias exhibited in the v4.1 data tends to be more stable, i.e. not changing significantly over time in any altitude region. In the lower stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias of about 3 %–5 % that is stable to within ±1 % per decade, and v4.1 has a bias on the order of −1 % to +5 % and is also stable to within ±1 % per decade. In the middle stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias of ∼ 3 % with a significant negative drift on the order of 0.5 %–2.5 % per decade, and v4.1 has a positive bias of 2 %–9 % that is stable to within ±0.5 % per decade. In the upper stratosphere, v3.6 has a positive bias that increases with altitude up to ∼ 16 % and a significant negative drift on the order of 2 %–3 % per decade, and v4.1 has a positive bias that increases with altitude up to ∼ 15 % and is stable to within ±1 % per decade. Estimates indicate that both versions 3.6 and 4.1 have precision values on the order of 0.1–0.2 ppmv below 20 km and above 45 km (∼ 5 %–10 %, depending on altitude). Between 20 and 45 km, the estimated v3.6 precision of ∼ 4 %–6 % is better than the estimated v4.1 precision of ∼ 6 %–10 %.