OMI Global Tropospheric Bromine Oxide (BrO) Column Densities: Algorithm, Retrieval and Initial Validation

Abstract:

We present and discuss a detailed description of the retrieval algorithms for the OMI BrO product. The BrO algorithms are based on direct fitting of radiances from 319.0-347.5 nm. Radiances are modeled from the solar irradiance, attenuated and adjusted by contributions from the target gas and interfering gases, rotational Raman scattering, undersampling, additive and multiplicative closure polynomials and a common mode spectrum. The version of the algorithm used for both BrO includes relevant changes with respect to the operational code, including the fit of the O₂-O₂ collisional complex, updates in the high resolution solar reference spectrum, updates in spectroscopy, an updated Air Mass Factor (AMF) calculation scheme, and the inclusion of scattering weights and vertical profiles in the level 2 products. Updates to the algorithms include accurate scattering weights and air mass factor calculations, scattering weights and profiles in outputs and available cross sections. We include retrieval parameter and window optimization to reduce the interference from O₃, HCHO, O₂-O₂, SO₂, improve fitting accuracy and uncertainty, reduce striping, and improve the long-term stability.

We validate OMI BrO with ground-based measurements from Harestua and with chemical transport model simulations. We analyze the global distribution and seasonal variation of BrO and investigate BrO emissions from volcanoes and salt lakes.