Validation of optimal estimation method retrievals of middle atmospheric temperature

OEM (Optimal Estimation Method) retrievals of temperature from lidar measurements are robust and practical (Sica and Haefele, 2015). They offer significant improvements over traditional methods. We will show a climatology of +360 nights of measurements from the Purple Crow Lidar and the improvements offered using an OEM, including the quantitative determination of the top altitude of the retrieval and the evaluation of the various systematic and random uncertainties due to measurement noise.