FEASIBILITY OF DETERMINING ATMOSPHERIC OZONE FROM OUTGOING INFRARED ENERGY

Abstract

The high resolution (5 cm?1) measurements of the outgoing infrared energy in the region of the 9.6µ ozone band offer a means of determining the vertical distribution and total amount of ozone in the earth's atmosphere. With the application of radiative transfer theory and perturbation technique a method is developed to deduce such information. The method hinges on a two-parametric representation of the ozone distribution in the earth's atmosphere. An error analysis based on four case studies is presented to show how well the atmospheric ozone could be determined. It is found that a small error in radiance value is magnified considerably in the inferred atmospheric ozone.