Limb observations of the middle atmosphere by space- and airborne instruments (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI)(ACP/AMT inter-journal SI)
Limb observations of the middle atmosphere by space- and airborne instruments (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI)(ACP/AMT inter-journal SI)
Editor(s): C. von Savigny, G. Stiller, E.Kyrölä, F. Khosrawi, P. Liebing, and S. Buehler Special issue jointly organized between Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

Spaceborne and airborne remote sensing measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere in limb geometry provide vertical profile information of atmospheric minor constituents and background parameters with generally good vertical resolution. These measurements include solar, lunar and stellar occultation measurements, measurements of thermal emissions in the microwave and infrared spectral regions, observations of limb-scattered solar radiation as well as measurements of non-thermal airglow emissions in the optical spectral range. Over the last decade Limb measurements in the different spectral regions have greatly improved our understanding of many physical and chemical processes in the Earth’s middle atmosphere, comprising the stratosphere and mesosphere.

The 7th atmospheric limb conference, held at Bremen, Germany, in June 2013 was dedicated to all scientific aspects related to middle atmospheric limb measurements, including current and future missions, instrument monitoring, algorithm development and implementation, radiative transfer modeling, validation of data products and scientific analyses based on the retrieved data products. This special issue is an outcome of the 7th atmospheric limb conference, and contributions on all aspects mentioned are welcome. Note that attendance of the conference is not a prerequisite for submitting manuscripts to this special issue.

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07 Sep 2016
Infrared limb emission measurements of aerosol in the troposphere and stratosphere
Sabine Griessbach, Lars Hoffmann, Reinhold Spang, Marc von Hobe, Rolf Müller, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4399–4423, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4399-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4399-2016, 2016
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15 Apr 2016
Interannual variability of temperature in the UTLS region over Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna river basin based on COSMIC GNSS RO data
Khandu, Joseph L. Awange, and Ehsan Forootan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1685–1699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1685-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1685-2016, 2016
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06 Apr 2016
Stratospheric CH4 and CO2 profiles derived from SCIAMACHY solar occultation measurements
Stefan Noël, Klaus Bramstedt, Michael Hilker, Patricia Liebing, Johannes Plieninger, Max Reuter, Alexei Rozanov, Christopher E. Sioris, Heinrich Bovensmann, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1485–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1485-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1485-2016, 2016
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15 Mar 2016
Global HCFC-22 measurements with MIPAS: retrieval, validation, global distribution and its evolution over 2005–2012
M. Chirkov, G. P. Stiller, A. Laeng, S. Kellmann, T. von Clarmann, C. D. Boone, J. W. Elkins, A. Engel, N. Glatthor, U. Grabowski, C. M. Harth, M. Kiefer, F. Kolonjari, P. B. Krummel, A. Linden, C. R. Lunder, B. R. Miller, S. A. Montzka, J. Mühle, S. O'Doherty, J. Orphal, R. G. Prinn, G. Toon, M. K. Vollmer, K. A. Walker, R. F. Weiss, A. Wiegele, and D. Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3345–3368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3345-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3345-2016, 2016
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14 Mar 2016
Long-term validation of ESA operational retrieval (version 6.0) of MIPAS Envisat vertical profiles of methane, nitrous oxide, CFC11, and CFC12 using balloon-borne observations and trajectory matching
Andreas Engel, Harald Bönisch, Tim Schwarzenberger, Hans-Peter Haase, Katja Grunow, Jana Abalichin, and Stephan Sala
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1051–1062, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1051-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1051-2016, 2016
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02 Mar 2016
Global cloud top height retrieval using SCIAMACHY limb spectra: model studies and first results
Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Luca Lelli, Christian von Savigny, Harjinder Sembhi, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 793–815, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-793-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-793-2016, 2016
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28 Jan 2016
Retrieval of sodium number density profiles in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere from SCIAMACHY limb emission measurements
M. P. Langowski, C. von Savigny, J. P. Burrows, V. V. Rozanov, T. Dunker, U.-P. Hoppe, M. Sinnhuber, and A. C. Aikin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 295–311, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-295-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-295-2016, 2016
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18 Jan 2016
UTLS water vapour from SCIAMACHY limb measurementsV3.01 (2002–2012)
K. Weigel, A. Rozanov, F. Azam, K. Bramstedt, R. Damadeo, K.-U. Eichmann, C. Gebhardt, D. Hurst, M. Kraemer, S. Lossow, W. Read, N. Spelten, G. P. Stiller, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, H. Bovensmann, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 133–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-133-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-133-2016, 2016
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15 Jan 2016
Sensitivity of polar stratospheric cloud formation to changes in water vapour and temperature
F. Khosrawi, J. Urban, S. Lossow, G. Stiller, K. Weigel, P. Braesicke, M. C. Pitts, A. Rozanov, J. P. Burrows, and D. Murtagh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 101–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-101-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-101-2016, 2016
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16 Dec 2015
Validation of MIPAS IMK/IAA methane profiles
A. Laeng, J. Plieninger, T. von Clarmann, U. Grabowski, G. Stiller, E. Eckert, N. Glatthor, F. Haenel, S. Kellmann, M. Kiefer, A. Linden, S. Lossow, L. Deaver, A. Engel, M. Hervig, I. Levin, M. McHugh, S. Noël, G. Toon, and K. Walker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5251–5261, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5251-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5251-2015, 2015
15 Dec 2015
Improved stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles from SCIAMACHY: validation and sample results
C. von Savigny, F. Ernst, A. Rozanov, R. Hommel, K.-U. Eichmann, V. Rozanov, J. P. Burrows, and L. W. Thomason
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5223–5235, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5223-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5223-2015, 2015
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16 Oct 2015
Relative drifts and biases between six ozone limb satellite measurements from the last decade
N. Rahpoe, M. Weber, A. V. Rozanov, K. Weigel, H. Bovensmann, J. P. Burrows, A. Laeng, G. Stiller, T. von Clarmann, E. Kyrölä, V. F. Sofieva, J. Tamminen, K. Walker, D. Degenstein, A. E. Bourassa, R. Hargreaves, P. Bernath, J. Urban, and D. P. Murtagh
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4369–4381, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4369-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4369-2015, 2015
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21 Aug 2015
Global validation of SCIAMACHY limb ozone data (versions 2.9 and 3.0, IUP Bremen) using ozonesonde measurements
J. Jia, A. Rozanov, A. Ladstätter-Weißenmayer, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3369–3383, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3369-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3369-2015, 2015
05 Aug 2015
GOMOS bright limb ozone data set
S. Tukiainen, E. Kyrölä, J. Tamminen, J. Kujanpää, and L. Blanot
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3107–3115, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3107-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3107-2015, 2015
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17 Mar 2015
Gauss–Seidel limb scattering (GSLS) radiative transfer model development in support of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) limb profiler mission
R. Loughman, D. Flittner, E. Nyaku, and P. K. Bhartia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3007–3020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3007-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3007-2015, 2015
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04 Mar 2015
Atomic oxygen retrievals in the MLT region from SCIAMACHY nightglow limb measurements
O. Lednyts'kyy, C. von Savigny, K.-U. Eichmann, and M. G. Mlynczak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1021–1041, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1021-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1021-2015, 2015
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12 Feb 2015
Detecting physically unrealistic outliers in ACE-FTS atmospheric measurements
P. E. Sheese, C. D. Boone, and K. A. Walker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 741–750, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-741-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-741-2015, 2015
12 Jan 2015
Global investigation of the Mg atom and ion layers using SCIAMACHY/Envisat observations between 70 and 150 km altitude and WACCM-Mg model results
M. P. Langowski, C. von Savigny, J. P. Burrows, W. Feng, J. M. C. Plane, D. R. Marsh, D. Janches, M. Sinnhuber, A. C. Aikin, and P. Liebing
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 273–295, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-273-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-273-2015, 2015
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12 Jan 2015
Observations of volcanic SO2 from MLS on Aura
H. C. Pumphrey, W. G. Read, N. J. Livesey, and K. Yang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 195–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-195-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-195-2015, 2015
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08 Dec 2014
The use of SMILES data to study ozone loss in the Arctic winter 2009/2010 and comparison with Odin/SMR data using assimilation techniques
K. Sagi, D. Murtagh, J. Urban, H. Sagawa, and Y. Kasai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12855–12869, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12855-2014,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12855-2014, 2014
12 Aug 2014
Unusually strong nitric oxide descent in the Arctic middle atmosphere in early 2013 as observed by Odin/SMR
K. Pérot, J. Urban, and D. P. Murtagh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8009–8015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8009-2014,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8009-2014, 2014
25 Jun 2014
Variable anisotropy of small-scale stratospheric irregularities retrieved from stellar scintillation measurements by GOMOS/Envisat
V. Kan, V. F. Sofieva, and F. Dalaudier
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1861–1872, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1861-2014,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1861-2014, 2014
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