MIPAS Level 2 Processor Prototype: from validation to operation

In the research field of atmospheric chemistry a central question for acquired data sets is about validation. Have the data been validated to be useful for science? Has the data set been compared to other data sets? If deviations occur, which cause could be identified? Ultimately, two causes are possible when the same scene is observed: either the acquired raw data set is erroneous (hardware problem) or the data processing infers erroneous information (software problem). In order to make sure that the software works as expected, software validation plays a key role in the overall data set validation campaigns. This paper deals with operational software validation, which is an important component of the entire scientific validation chain. [...]