Retrieving Stratospheric Ozone Profiles from OMPS Limb Profiler Measurements

Abstract. This study describes a retrieval algorithm combining wavelength pairing and the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) to process Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) limb observations for vertical ozone profiles. The retrieval algorithm employs scattered solar radiance measurements from the OMPS limb profiler, focusing on the visible spectral range, normalizes this radiance to that at the upper tangent height, and retrieves ozone concentrations between 12–40 km (∼ 1 km vertical resolution). Additionally, it enables the identification of cloud-contaminated measurements at specific altitudes within the instrument's field of view. The retrieval error in the upper troposphere attributed to the prior profile is estimated to be 10–25 %, while a 30 % uncertainty in the aerosol extinction coefficient causes ~ 5 % error at 15–25 km. OMPS data spanning the entire year of 2021 are processed, and the results are evaluated through comparisons with multiple independent datasets, including NASA official products, passive satellite observations, and in-situ measurements from balloon-borne ozonesondes. At 17–36 km, deviations from OMPS/LP v2.6 data are ≤5 %; at 18–35 km, consistency with Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) v5.0 data ranges from 5–10 %; at 20–35 km, most deviations from OSIRIS v7.3 data are ≤5 % (except near 23 km). Comparisons with ozonesonde measurements reveal that differences in the 13–30 km range over northern mid-to-high latitudes are mostly <10 % (with 10–15% differences at 22–25 km in polar regions). Over southern mid-latitudes, the consistency within the same altitude range is 2–10%. Notably, deviations between the retrieved profiles and comparison products increase significantly in low-altitude tropical regions.