Wavelength calibration of spectra measured by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment by use of a high-resolution reference spectrum

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Abstract
Earthshine spectra measured by the nadir-viewing Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) spectrometer aboard the second European Remote Sensing (ERS-2) Satellite in the range of 240–790 nm are widely used for the retrieval of concentrations and vertical profiles of atmospheric trace gases. For the near-real-time delivery of ozone columns and profiles at the Royal Netherlands Meterological Institute, a tailor-made wavelength calibration method was developed. The method uses a high-resolution (0.01-nm) solar spectrum as the reference spectrum and applies both a shift and a squeeze to the wavelengths in selected windows to find the optimal wavelength grid per window. This method provides a calibration accuracy of 0.002 nm below and 0.001 nm above 290 nm. The new wavelength calibration method can be used on any wavelength window, for example, to improve the calibration of spectra from the GOME Data Processor. A software package, GomeCal, which performs this recalibration, along with an improved polarization and radiometric correction, has been made and has been released via the World Wide Web. The method can be used for any high-resolution (ir)radiance spectrometer, such as the satellite instruments SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography), Ozone Monitoring Instrument, and GOME-2.