Eleftheratos et al. (2026) Evaluation of variability in GOME-2 total water vapor and nitrogen dioxide columns associated with natural oscillations

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Climate
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-03-25
• Authors: K. Eleftheratos, Charilaos Benetatos, Pieter Valks, Patrick Jöckel, Luca Lelli, Christos Zerefos
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-24-0730.1

Research Groups

Information not available in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates the variability of total water vapor (H₂O) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) columns in association with natural oscillations (QBO, ENSO, NAO) using GOME-2 satellite data. It finds that GOME-2 data effectively captures these variabilities, with NO₂ showing QBO-type periodicity in the tropics and H₂O responding to ENSO in the tropics and NAO in northern mid-latitudes, demonstrating good agreement with reanalysis and model results.

Objective

• To analyze the variability of total H₂O and NO₂ columns associated with natural oscillations (QBO, ENSO, NAO) using GOME-2 satellite data.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with specific focus on tropics and northern mid-latitudes.
• Temporal Scale: Monthly data from 01/2007-12/2018 (GOME-2A), 01/2013-05/2025 (GOME-2B), and 01/2019-05/2025 (GOME-2C).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model, CAMS reanalysis.
• Data sources: Monthly GOME-2 Level-3 trace gas column data (H₂O, NO₂) produced under the ACSAF project (GOME-2A, GOME-2B, GOME-2C).

Main Results

• QBO-type periodicity in total NO₂ is strongest in the tropics with a measurable amplitude of a few percent.
• A phase shift in the QBO impact on total NO₂ is observed from low to mid-latitudes.
• Variability of total H₂O is not significantly correlated with the QBO.
• The effects of ENSO on total H₂O are clearly seen in the tropics.
• The effect of NAO on total H₂O is evident in the northern mid-latitudes.
• Good agreement is found between GOME-2 total H₂O variability and CAMS reanalysis/EMAC model results in regions affected by ENSO and NAO.
• GOME-2 total column NO₂ and H₂O data effectively capture variability associated with large-scale natural fluctuations.

Contributions

• Demonstrates the capability of GOME-2 satellite data to accurately capture the variability of total column NO₂ and H₂O associated with major natural oscillations (QBO, ENSO, NAO).
• Supports the use of QBO/ENSO/NAO–tracer correlations as a diagnostic tool for evaluating atmospheric models and reanalysis datasets.
• Provides confidence in the utility of data from newer GOME-2 instrument versions (GOME-2B, GOME-2C) for future monitoring of NO₂ and H₂O responses to climate anomalies and for evaluating natural cycle representation in climate model simulations.

Funding

Information not available in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Eleftheratos2026Evaluation,
  author = {Eleftheratos, K. and Benetatos, Charilaos and Valks, Pieter and Jöckel, Patrick and Lelli, Luca and Zerefos, Christos},
  title = {Evaluation of variability in GOME-2 total water vapor and nitrogen dioxide columns associated with natural oscillations},
  journal = {Journal of Climate},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jcli-d-24-0730.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-24-0730.1}
}