Early results and Validation of SAGE III-ISS Ozone Profile Measurements from Onboard the International Space Station

Abstract. The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) instrument, was launched on February 19, 2017 from the NASA Kennedy Space Center, and integrated aboard the International Space Station (ISS). SAGE III-ISS has been providing ozone profile measurements since June, 2017. This paper presents an early validation of the Level 2 solar and lunar occultation ozone data products using ground-based lidar and ozonesondes from Hohenpeissenberg and Lauder, and satellite ozone vertical products from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier-Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) instrument. The Hohenpeissenberg one-year lidar results show that the average difference of ozone concentration measured by SAGE III-ISS is less than 10 % between 15 and 45 km and less than 5 % between 20 and 40 km. Hohenpeissenberg ozonesonde comparisons are mostly within 10 % between 15 and 30 km. The Lauder lidar comparison results were less than 10 % between 17 and 40 km, and less than 10 % between 10 km and 30 km for Lauder ozonesondes. The seasonal average difference of ozone concentration between SAGE III-ISS and ACE-FTS was mostly less than 5 % between 20 and 45 km for both the northern and southern hemispheres. All results from these comparisons show that the SAGE III-ISS ozone solar data have exceptional accuracy between 20 and 30 km, and believable accuracy throughout the stratosphere. With few comparisons available, the percentage difference between the SAGE III-ISS lunar ozone data and the ozonesonde data is less than 10 % between 20 and 30 km. The percentage difference between the SAGE III-ISS lunar ozone data and the ACE-FTS ozone data is less than 10 % between 20 and 40 km.