[1] We describe a new inversion algorithm developed for the retrieval of atmospheric constituents from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) solar occultation measurements. The methodology differs from the operational (NASA) algorithm in several important ways. Our algorithm takes account of the finite altitude and spectral resolution of the measurements by integrating over the viewing window spectrally and spatially. We solve the problem nonlinearly by using optimal estimation theory, and we use an aerosol parameterization scheme based on eigenvectors derived from existing empirical and modeled information about their microphysical properties. The first four of these eigenvectors are employed in the retrieval algorithm to describe the spectral variation of the aerosol extinction. We retrieve ozone and nitrogen dioxide number densities and aerosol extinction from transmission measurements at 41 channels from 0.29 to 1.55 mm. In this paper we describe the results of the gas retrievals. Numerical simulations test the accuracy of the scheme, and subsequent retrievals from SAGE III transmission data for the period between May and October 2002 produce profiles of O 3 and NO 2 . Comparisons of the O 3 and NO 2 profiles with those obtained using the SAGE III operational algorithm and with those from independent measurements made by satellites, ozonesondes, and lidar indicate agreement in ozone measurements in the middle and upper stratosphere significantly closer than the natural variability and agreement in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere approximately equal to the natural variability.
We compared two datasets of the total content of atmospheric water vapor received near St. Petersburg in 2009-2012 from ground based Fourier transform spectroscopy measurements at the Peter hof station and from radio sounding at Voyeykovo station. Despite a good correlation of daily measurements in Peterhof and Voyeykovo, the standard mismatch is significant, 20% or more, for most subsets taken for the comparison. The high mismatch is mainly due to the natural spatial variability of the total content of water vapor, accounting for the 50 km distance between Peterhof and Voyeykovo. This variability needs to be con sidered when validating the satellite measurements of water vapor content by ground based measurements.
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