title: Analytical determination of the regularization parameter in the retrieval of atmospheric vertical profiles.
abstract: In the retrieval of vertical profiles of atmospheric constituents, regularization methods are frequently used to improve the conditioning of the solution. The regularization reduces the retrieval errors and causes the vertical resolution to deteriorate. One obtains a trade-off by tuning the strength of the regularization by way of a regularization parameter. A new analytical method for determining the regularization parameter is presented. This method is suitable for operational retrievals, for which an unattended procedure is required. The performance of the new method is compared with that of the L-curve method, and the results show that a better trade-off between retrieval errors and vertical resolution is obtained.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Panciatichi 64, 50127 Florence, Italy. s.ceccherini@ifac.cnr.it
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceccherini
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000465:Algorithms; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants