Irie, H., Kanaya, Y., Akimoto, H., Tanimoto, H., Wang, Z., Gleason, J. F., and Bucsela, E. J.: Validation of OMI tropospheric NO2 column data using MAX-DOAS measurements deep inside the North China Plain in June 2006: Mount Tai Experiment 2006, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 6577–6586, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-6577-2008, 2008.
Abstract
A challenge for the quantitative analysis of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) column data from satellite observations is posed partly by the lack of satellite-independent observations for validation. We performed such observations of the tropospheric NO2 column using the ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) technique in the North China Plain (NCP) from 29 May to 29 June, 2006. Comparisons between tropospheric NO2 columns measured by MAX-DOAS and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard the Aura satellite indicate that OMI data (the standard product, version 3) over NCP may have a positive bias of 1.6×1015 molecules cm−2 (20%), yet within the uncertainty of the OMI data. Combining these results with literature validation results for the US, Europe, and Pacific Ocean suggests that a bias of +20%/−30% is a reasonable estimate, accounting for different regions.