Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues
Abstract We review the current state of knowledge of ozonesonde uncertainty and bias, with reference to recent developments in laboratory and field experiments. In the past 20 years ozonesonde precision has improved by a factor of 2, primarily through the adoption of strict standard operating proced...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2021-03-01
|
| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000914 |
| _version_ | 1818717941176205312 |
|---|---|
| author | David W. Tarasick Herman G. J. Smit Anne M. Thompson Gary A. Morris Jacquelyn C. Witte Jonathan Davies Tatsumi Nakano Roeland Van Malderen Ryan M. Stauffer Bryan J. Johnson Rene Stübi Samuel J. Oltmans Holger Vömel |
| author_facet | David W. Tarasick Herman G. J. Smit Anne M. Thompson Gary A. Morris Jacquelyn C. Witte Jonathan Davies Tatsumi Nakano Roeland Van Malderen Ryan M. Stauffer Bryan J. Johnson Rene Stübi Samuel J. Oltmans Holger Vömel |
| author_sort | David W. Tarasick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We review the current state of knowledge of ozonesonde uncertainty and bias, with reference to recent developments in laboratory and field experiments. In the past 20 years ozonesonde precision has improved by a factor of 2, primarily through the adoption of strict standard operating procedures. The uncertainty budget for the ozone partial pressure reading has contributions from stoichiometry, cell background current, pump efficiency and temperature, sensing solution type, and volume. Corrections to historical data for known issues may reduce biases but simultaneously introduce additional uncertainties. This paper describes a systematic approach to quantifying these uncertainties by considering the physical and chemical processes involved and attempts to place our estimates on a firm theoretical or empirical footing. New equations or tables for ozone/iodine conversion efficiency, humidity and temperature corrections to pump flow rate, and altitude‐dependent pump flow corrections are presented, as well as detailed discussion of stoichiometry and conversion efficiencies. The nature of the so‐called “background current” is considered in detail. Two other factors particularly affecting past measurements, uncertainties and biases in the pressure measurement, and the comparison of sonde profiles to spectrophotometric measurements of total column ozone, are also discussed. Several quality assurance issues remain, but are tractable problems that can be addressed with further research. This will be required if the present goal of better than 5% overall uncertainty throughout the global ozonesonde network is to be achieved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:43:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fc676b8c580e4127ab5caf9ccf727adc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:43:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-fc676b8c580e4127ab5caf9ccf727adc2022-12-21T21:34:56ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842021-03-0183n/an/a10.1029/2019EA000914Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding IssuesDavid W. Tarasick0Herman G. J. Smit1Anne M. Thompson2Gary A. Morris3Jacquelyn C. Witte4Jonathan Davies5Tatsumi Nakano6Roeland Van Malderen7Ryan M. Stauffer8Bryan J. Johnson9Rene Stübi10Samuel J. Oltmans11Holger Vömel12Air Quality Research Division Environment and Climate Change Canada Downsview ON CanadaInstitute for Energy and Climate Research: Troposphere (IEK‐8) Research Centre Juelich (FZJ) Juelich GermanyNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USASt. Edward's University Austin TX USAEarth Observing Laboratory National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder CO USAAir Quality Research Division Environment and Climate Change Canada Downsview ON CanadaJapan Meteorological Agency Tokyo JapanRoyal Meteorological Institute of Belgium Brussels BelgiumNASA Goddard Space Flight Center and University of Maryland Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center MD USANOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Division Boulder CO USAMeteoSwiss Aerological Station Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss Payerne SwitzerlandNOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Division Boulder CO USANational Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder CO USAAbstract We review the current state of knowledge of ozonesonde uncertainty and bias, with reference to recent developments in laboratory and field experiments. In the past 20 years ozonesonde precision has improved by a factor of 2, primarily through the adoption of strict standard operating procedures. The uncertainty budget for the ozone partial pressure reading has contributions from stoichiometry, cell background current, pump efficiency and temperature, sensing solution type, and volume. Corrections to historical data for known issues may reduce biases but simultaneously introduce additional uncertainties. This paper describes a systematic approach to quantifying these uncertainties by considering the physical and chemical processes involved and attempts to place our estimates on a firm theoretical or empirical footing. New equations or tables for ozone/iodine conversion efficiency, humidity and temperature corrections to pump flow rate, and altitude‐dependent pump flow corrections are presented, as well as detailed discussion of stoichiometry and conversion efficiencies. The nature of the so‐called “background current” is considered in detail. Two other factors particularly affecting past measurements, uncertainties and biases in the pressure measurement, and the comparison of sonde profiles to spectrophotometric measurements of total column ozone, are also discussed. Several quality assurance issues remain, but are tractable problems that can be addressed with further research. This will be required if the present goal of better than 5% overall uncertainty throughout the global ozonesonde network is to be achieved.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000914data qualityozonesondetrendsuncertaintyvalidation |
| spellingShingle | David W. Tarasick Herman G. J. Smit Anne M. Thompson Gary A. Morris Jacquelyn C. Witte Jonathan Davies Tatsumi Nakano Roeland Van Malderen Ryan M. Stauffer Bryan J. Johnson Rene Stübi Samuel J. Oltmans Holger Vömel Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues Earth and Space Science data quality ozonesonde trends uncertainty validation |
| title | Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues |
| title_full | Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues |
| title_fullStr | Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues |
| title_short | Improving ECC Ozonesonde Data Quality: Assessment of Current Methods and Outstanding Issues |
| title_sort | improving ecc ozonesonde data quality assessment of current methods and outstanding issues |
| topic | data quality ozonesonde trends uncertainty validation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000914 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidwtarasick improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT hermangjsmit improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT annemthompson improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT garyamorris improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT jacquelyncwitte improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT jonathandavies improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT tatsuminakano improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT roelandvanmalderen improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT ryanmstauffer improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT bryanjjohnson improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT renestubi improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT samueljoltmans improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues AT holgervomel improvingeccozonesondedataqualityassessmentofcurrentmethodsandoutstandingissues |