Retrieval of MetOp-A/IASI CO profiles and validation with MOZAIC data

The IASI nadir looking thermal infrared sounder onboard MetOp-A enables the monitoring of atmospheric constituents on a global scale. This paper presents a quality assessment of IASI CO profiles retrieved by the two different retrieval algorithms SOFRID and FORLI, by an intercomparison with airborne in-situ CO profiles from the MOZAIC program. A statistical analysis shows a very good agreement between the two retrieval algorithms and smoothed MOZAIC data for the lower troposphere (surface-480 hPa) with correlation coefficients r ~ 0.8, and a good agreement in the upper troposphere (480-225 hPa) with r ~ 0.7. Closer investigation of the temporal variation of the CO profiles at the airports of Frankfurt and Windhoek demonstrates that on the overall a very good agreement is found between the IASI products and smoothed MOZAIC data in terms of seasonal variability. At Frankfurt SOFRID (resp. FORLI) is positively biased by 10.5% (resp. 13.0%) compared to smoothed MOZAIC in the upper (resp. lower) troposphere, and the limited sensitivity of the IASI instrument to the boundary layer when thermal contrast is low is identified. At Windhoek, we find a good reproduction of the impact of the vegetation fires in Southern Africa from July to November by both SOFRID and FORLI, with an overestimation of the CO background values (resp. fire maxima) by SOFRID (resp. FORLI) by 12.8% (resp. ~10%). Profile comparisons at Frankfurt and Windhoek identify a reduced performance of the nighttime retrievals of both products compared to daytime retrievals