Data processing and trace gas retrievals for the GLORIA limb sounder

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The chemical composition of the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) significantly influences radiative forcing and surface climate. A limited understanding of the tropopause region and the exchange of trace constituents between the stratosphere and troposphere hampers the predictive power of current climate models. Enhanced, high-resolution observations are essential to address this gap. To facilitate this, the Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) was developed through collaboration between German research institutions. GLORIA builds on the success of previous instruments like MIPAS and CRISTA, focusing on both chemical and dynamical analyses of the UTLS. Its advanced imaging technology and high data rate offer unique opportunities for data analysis, while also posing challenges for processing the collected measurements. This work introduces a new integrated data processing system tailored for GLORIA, along with innovative calibration and diagnostic techniques. An application of this processing chain is demonstrated through a polar flight from the TACTS/ESMVal campaign conducted on September 23, 2012, primarily over the Scandinavian peninsula.