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As a consequence of dynamically variable meteorological conditions, springtime Arctic ozone levels exhibit significant interannual variability in the lower stratosphere. In winter 2011, the polar vortex was strong and cold for an unusually long time. Our research site, located at Eureka, Nunavut, Canada (80.05° N, 86.42° W), was mostly inside the vortex from October 2010 until late March 2011. The Bruker 125HR Fourier transform infrared spectrometer in- stalled at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Lab- oratory at Eureka acquired measurements from 23 February to 6 April during the 2011 Canadian Arctic Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Validation Campaign. These measurements showed unusually low ozone, HCl, and HNO3 total columns compared to the previous 14 yr. To remove dynamical effects, we normalized these total columns by the HF total column. The normalized values of the ozone, HCl, and HNO3 total columns were smaller than those from previous years, and confirmed the occurrence of chlorine activation and chemical ozone depletion. To quantify the chemical ozone loss, a three-dimensional chemical transport model, SLIMCAT, and the passive subtraction method were used. The chemical ozone depletion was calculated as the mean percentage difference between the measured ozone and the SLIMCAT passive ozone, and was found to be 35%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The authors report the results of an intercomparison of vertical column amounts of hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric acid (HNO3), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen (N2) derived from the spectra recorded by two ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers operated side-by-side using the sun as a source. The procedure used to record spectra and derive vertical column amounts follows the format of previous instrument intercomparisons organized by the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), formerly known as the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). For most gases the differences were typically around 3%, and in about half of the results the error bars given by the standard deviation of the measurements from each instrument did not overlap. The worst level of agreement was for HF where differences of over 5% were typical. The level of agreement achieved during this intercomparison is a little worse than that achieved in previous intercomparisons between ground-based FTIR spectrometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total column amounts of CO, CH4, CO2 and N2O retrieved from SCIAMACHY nadir observations in its near-infrared channels have been compared to data from a ground-based quasi-global network of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. The SCIAMACHY data considered here have been produced by three different retrieval algorithms, WFM-DOAS (version 0.5 for CO and CH4 and version 0.4 for CH2 and N2O), IMAP-DOAS (version 1.1 and 0.9 (for CO)) and IMLM (version 6.3) and cover the January to December 2003 time period. Comparisons have been made for individual data, as well as for monthly averages. To maximize the number of reliable coincidences that satisfy the temporal and spatial collocation criteria, the SCIAMACHY data have been compared with a temporal 3rd order polynomial interpolation of the ground-based data. Particular attention has been given to the question whether SCIAMACHY observes correctly the seasonal and latitudinal variability of the target species. The present results indicate that the individual SCIAMACHY data obtained with the actual versions of the algorithms have been significantly improved, but that the quality requirements, for estimating emissions on regional scales, are not yet met. Nevertheless, possible directions for further algorithm upgrades have been identified which should result in more reliable data products in a near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]