Validation of the water vapor record from the Halogen Occultation Experiment's (HALOE) 4th public data release

The Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) operated essentially without flaw on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite since it was first turned on in orbit October 11, 1991, until it was turned off in November 2005. HALOE measured temperature and a suite of atmospheric constituent vertical profiles including O3, HCl, HF, CH4, H2O, NO, NO2 and aerosol extinction at four wavelengths. Measurements of some of these parameters, i.e. O3, H2O, NO and temperature versus pressure, extend from the upper troposphere to well into the mesosphere and/or lower thermosphere. This study focuses on the water vapor record of the HALOE 4th public data release (v20). This algorithm provides the first HALOE H2O vertical profile data in the mid-to-upper troposphere. We will present results of water vapor validation studies using mainly satellite correlative measurements and summary's of the inter-comparison's with the previous data version, highlighting the changes and improvements in the latest public release. The satellite correlative measurements used include the Atmosphere Infrared Sounder, the Fourier Transform Spectrometer on-board the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, the AURA Microwave Limb Sounder, and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II. In addition, we will show comparisons of zonal averages, coincident measurements, probability density functions, and climate patterns. The climate pattern analysis includes variances calculated for the seasonal cycles, quasi-biennial oscillations, and other inter-annual anomalies.