Validation of temperature measurements from the airborne Raman ozone temperature and aerosol lidar during SOLVE

The Airborne Raman Ozone, Temperature, and Aerosol Lidar (AROTEL) participated in the recent SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) by providing profiles of aerosols, polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), ozone, and temperature with high vertical and horizontal resolution. Temperatures were derived from just above the aircraft to ∼60 km geometric altitude with a reported vertical resolution of ∼0.6 km. The horizontal footprint varied from 4 to 70 km. This paper explores the measurement uncertainties associated with the temperature retrievals and makes comparisons with independent, coincident measurements of temperature. Measurement uncertainties range from 0.1 to ∼4 K depending on altitude and integration time. Comparisons between AROTEL and balloon sonde temperatures retrieved under clear sky conditions using both Rayleigh and Raman scattered data showed AROTEL ∼1 K colder than sonde values. Comparisons between AROTEL and the Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) on NASA's ER‐2 show AROTEL being from 2 to 3 K colder for altitudes ranging from 14 to 18 km. Temperature comparisons between AROTEL and the UK Met Office's model showed differences of ∼1 K below ∼25 km and a very strong cold bias of ∼12 K at altitudes between 30 and 35 km.