Application of temperature dependent ozone absorption cross-sections in total ozone retrieval at Kunming and Hohenpeissenberg stations

Abstract We analyzed the temperature dependence of ozone absorption cross-sections in four data sets: the quadratic temperature data based on measurements of Bass and Paur (BPQ); data measured with the SCIAMACHY satellite spectrometer (SAC); data derived by Daumont, Brion, and Malicet (DBM); and data determined by Serdyuchenko et al. from the University of Bremen (SER). The ozone effective absorption coefficients of the Dobson and Brewer instruments at Kunming in the low-latitude stations and Hohenpeissenberg in the middle-latitude stations were calculated. The test of the total ozone column (TOC) from different ozone absorption cross-section data sets shows that in the Dobson and Brewer retrieval algorithms, the effect of temperature on the Brewer instrument is smaller than that for the Dobson instrument. The temperature sensitivity of the two instruments to the SAC is −0.005%°C−1 and 0.102%°C−1, respectively, indicating that the differences in the temperature sensitivity result in differences in the TOC measurements between the two instruments, as well as in systematic seasonal differences. Using BPQ, DBM and SER to retrieve TOC will increase the overall deviation of the two instruments by 2.5%, −2.77% and −1.89%, respectively. The consistency of the TOC retrieval in the two instruments is the best when using the SAC, which shows a deviation of only 0.03%. The systematic seasonal deviation can also be effectively improved. In addition, this work makes up for the lack of relevant research in low-latitude areas. The rangeability of the monthly mean value of the instrument system deviation at a low-latitude station is about one-half of that at the mid-latitude station (Kunming: 0.2%–1.1%, Hohenpeissenberg: 0.2%–2.0%). This is because the vertical distribution of the ozone and temperature varies in different latitudes, the seasonal variation in the middle and high latitudes is significant, and the effective temperature of ozone (Teff) in low latitudes changes little.