Trace gas column retrieval from IR nadir spectra – a model study for SCIAMACHY Original Research Article

The SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) is part of the European satellite ENVISAT launched at 1st March 2002. It is a follow-on instrument of the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) flying on ERS-2 and, compared to GOME, has extended capabilities. Using measurements of the direct extra-terrestrial solar spectrum and sun-light reflected and scattered by the earth atmosphere or surface SCIAMACHY detects atmospheric absorption of several trace species absorbing in spectral regions from the ultraviolet to the near infrared (240–2380 nm). Vertical columns of H2O, N2O, CO, and CH4 can be retrieved using SCIAMACHY Channel 8 near-infrared nadir measurements. In this study, selected atmospheric and instrument specific errors relevant for the retrieval are analysed. Spectral windows of Channel 8 are considered, which are currently used for the operational near-real-time processing. For this purpose, spectral error patterns have been simulated as well as sun-normalised model radiances for nadir scanning mode, the latter using the radiative transfer model SCIATRAN. Focus are the polarisation sensitivity and dark signals of the instrument. Further on, accuracy estimates for a number of different atmospheric scenarios are presented.