Research Activities at IUP

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment is a nadir viewing UV/VIS spectrometer which was launched in April 1995 aboard the European ERS-2 satellite. The broad spectral range (240-790 nm) across the UV/VIS/NIR spectral range permits the global retrieval of ozone and several other trace gase distribution from the spectral information. In addition other geophysical quanitities such as as macrophysical cloud parameters (cloud cover, cloud top height), surface reflectivity (spectral albedo), and aerosol optical parameters can be derived from GOME. The various scientific projects encompass: inversion theory, radiative transfer modelling, retrieval algorithm development, validation of GOME trace gas data products, and scientific case studies (tropospheric pollution events, Arctic ozone loss, ozone dynamics, boundary layer studies). Prof. Burrows, the head of the group, is the lead scientist of the ESA GOME project.

The research activities can be summarized as followed:

  • Trace gas column retrieval of tropospheric O3, BrO (Arctic boundary layer), OClO (twilight polar region), SO2 (tropospheric emission from volcano and coal burning), NO2 (global tropospheric distribution), formaldehyde (biogenic emission and biomass burning), and H2O vapor.

  • Ozone profile retrieval based upon an advanced Optimal Estimation inversion algorithm

    • Development of an optimized algorithm including calibration and cloud correction
    • Neural network approach for fast profile retrieval (collaboration with ZSW Stuttgart)
    • Validation of ozone profiles with independent measurements
    • Estimation of late Arctic winter/spring chemical ozone loss using height-resolved ozone data (1997-2000) and comparison with 3D chemical transport models
    • Investigation of ozone in the tropopause region (ozone dynamics, miniholes, filamentation)

  • GOME near-real-time Arctic winter campaign support during the European THESEO2000 winter/spring field campaign

  • Cloud parameter retrieval using combined O2 and O4 absorption and the Ring-effect and its implication on trace gas retrieval

  • Aerosol retrieval from GOME (aerosol index)

  • Observations of solar activity by GOME

  • Modelling of biological active UV surface radiation using ozone, cloud, and aerosol information from GOME

Collaborations

AWI Potsdam, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen, ESA, FZ Juelich, Institut d'Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique Belgium, NASA/GSFC USA, NILU Norway, RAL UK, SRON Netherlands, U. Leicester UK, U. Heidelberg, U. Wuppertal, ZSW Stuttgart, EORCU UK.

Financial Support

Funding by the State Bremen, The German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), European Union, and European Space Agency is gratefully acknowledged.



Author: M. Weber
Last change: 12/16/2000
Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen