First satellite ozone distributions retrieved from nadir high-resolution infrared spectra

Abstract : The Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases (IMG) on board the Japanese ADEOS platform provided the first high resolution atmospheric spectra allowing the simultaneous measurement of several IR absorbing species, including ozone. The paper describes the retrieval of total column ozone fields from nadir radiances, using an inversion algorithm developed for the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). The accuracy and sensitivity of the retrieved concentrations are assessed. The global distributions obtained from the available IMG/ADEOS Level 1C data are shown to be in good agreement with the TOMS/ADEOS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) Level 2 measurements.