CRISTA-NF measurements during the AMMA-SCOUT-O3 aircraft campaign

Abstract

The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere – New Frontiers (CRISTA-NF) instrument participated in the AMMA-SCOUT-O3 measurement campaign in July and August 2006. The instrument is mounted on the high-flying Russian research aircraft M55-Geophysica and measures limb-emissions in the mid-infrared region in the tangent altitude range of about 6 to 21 km. We present a new retrieval setup which is based on 9 integrated spectral windows allowing to retrieve an extended set of trace gases and temperature fields with high vertical resolution (up to 500 m). Retrieval results are shown for temperature, water vapor (H₂O), ozone (O₃), nitric acid (HNO₃), peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), and aerosol extinction. Comparisons of temperature, O₃, and H₂O observations with corresponding in situ measurements on-board M55-Geophysica show reasonable agreement. In particular, CRISTA-NF observations in the vicinity of the aircraft resemble horizontal variations found in the in situ measurements better than corresponding ECMWF fields.