N2O and O3 arctic column amounts from PARIS-IR observations: Retrievals, characterization and error analysis

Ground-based solar absorption infrared spectra were recorded in the Canadian Arctic during the early spring of 2004 using a moderate-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer, the Portable Atmospheric Research Interferometric Spectrometer for the Infrared (PARIS-IR). As part of the Canadian Arctic Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) validation campaign, the PARIS-IR instrument recorded solar absorption spectra of the atmosphere from February to March 2004 as the Sun returned to the Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Observatory (AStrO) near Eureka, Nunavut, Canada (80.05°N, 86.42°W). In this paper, we briefly outline the PARIS-IR instrument configuration and data acquisition in the high Arctic. We discuss the retrieval methodology, characterization and error analysis associated with total and partial column retrievals. We compare the PARIS-IR measurements of N2O and O3 column amounts with those from the Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) onboard the Canadian SCISAT-1 satellite and the ozonesonde data obtained at Eureka during the validation campaign.