“A framework for accurate, long-term, global and high resolution observations of tropospheric H2O-δD pairs — a MUSICA review”, paper published in AMTD

In the lower/middle troposphere H2O-δD pairs are good proxies for moisture pathways, however their observation is challenging. The project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) addresses this challenge by integrating remote sensing with in-situ measurement techniques. The aim is to retrieve accurate tropospheric H2O-δD pairs from the middle infrared spectra measured from ground by the FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) spectrometers of the NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) and the thermal nadir spectra measured by IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) aboard the MetOp satellites. In this paper we review the MUSICA framework, present the final MUSICA products, and outline the NDACC/FTIR’s and METOP/IASI’s potential for observing accurate and consistent H2O-δD data pairs. First, we briefly resume the particularities of an H2O-δD pair retrieval. Second, we show that the remote sensing data of the final product version are absolutely calibrated with respect to H2O and δD in-situ profile references measured in the subtropics, between 0 and 7 km. Third, we empirically demonstrate that the calibrated remote sensing H2O-δD pairs can identify different lower/middle tropospheric moisture pathways and advert to the risk of misinterpretations caused by an incorrect processing of such remote sensing data. Fourth, we reveal that the different sensors (NDACC/FTIR instruments, MetOp/IASI-A, and MetOp/IASI-B) provide consistent H2O-δD pairs for very distinct atmospheric clear sky conditions. Fifth, we document the unique possibilities of the NDACC/FTIR instruments for providing long-term records (important for climatological studies) and of the MetOp/IASI sensors for observing diurnal signals on quasi global scale and with high horizontal resolution.

Figure 1. Morning overpass map with the MUSICA IASI-A and IASI-B retrievals results for 5 km altitude (example 16 February 2014). Left for H2O [ppmv] and right for δD [o/oo].

For more details, please, refer to: Schneider, M., Wiegele, A., Barthlott, S., González, Y., Christner, E., Dyroff, C., García, O. E., Hase, F., Blumenstock, T., Sepúlveda, E., Mengistu Tsidu, G., Takele Kenea, S., Rodríguez, S., and Andrey, J.: A framework for accurate, long-term, global and high resolution observations of tropospheric H2O-δD pairs – a MUSICA review, Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., doi:10.5194/amt-2015-330, in review, 2016. http://www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/amt-2015-330/amt-2015-330.pdf