scholarly journals Global estimates of CO sources with high resolution by adjoint inversion of multiple satellite datasets (MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, TES)

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kopacz ◽  
D. J. Jacob ◽  
J. A. Fisher ◽  
J. A. Logan ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
A Priori ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Global Consistency ◽  
Priori Information ◽  
Cold Starts

Abstract. We combine CO column measurements from the MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, and TES satellite instruments in a full-year (May 2004–April 2005) global inversion of CO sources at 4°×5° spatial resolution and monthly temporal resolution. The inversion uses the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) and its adjoint applied to MOPITT, AIRS, and SCIAMACHY. Observations from TES, surface sites (NOAA/GMD), and aircraft (MOZAIC) are used for evaluation of the a posteriori solution. Using GEOS-Chem as a common intercomparison platform shows global consistency between the different satellite datasets and with the in situ data. Differences can be largely explained by different averaging kernels and a priori information. The global CO emission from combustion as constrained in the inversion is 1350 Tg a−1. This is much higher than current bottom-up emission inventories. A large fraction of the correction results from a seasonal underestimate of CO sources at northern mid-latitudes in winter and suggests a larger-than-expected CO source from vehicle cold starts and residential heating. Implementing this seasonal variation of emissions solves the long-standing problem of models underestimating CO in the northern extratropics in winter-spring. A posteriori emissions also indicate a general underestimation of biomass burning in the GFED2 inventory. However, the tropical biomass burning constraints are not quantitatively consistent across the different datasets.

scholarly journals Global estimates of CO sources with high resolution by adjoint inversion of multiple satellite datasets (MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, TES)

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 19967-20018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kopacz ◽  
D. J. Jacob ◽  
J. A. Fisher ◽  
J. A. Logan ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
A Priori ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
Cold Starts

Abstract. We combine CO column measurements from the MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, and TES satellite instruments in a full-year (May 2004–April 2005) global inversion of CO sources at 4°×5° spatial resolution and monthly temporal resolution. The inversion uses the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) and its adjoint applied to MOPITT, AIRS, and SCIAMACHY. Observations from TES, surface sites (NOAA/GMD), and aircraft (MOZAIC) are used for evaluation of the a posteriori solution. Global intercomparison of the different satellite datasets using GEOS-Chem as a common intercomparison platform shows consistency between the satellite datasets and with the in situ data. The majority of the differences between the datasets can be explained by different averaging kernels and a priori information. The global CO emission from combustion as constrained in the inversion is 1350 Tg a−1, with an additional 217 Tg a−1 from oxidation of co-emitted VOCs. This is much higher than current bottom-up emission inventories. Consistent with both the satellite and in situ data, a large fraction of the correction results from a seasonal underestimate of CO sources at northern mid-latitudes and suggests a larger-than-expected CO source from vehicle cold starts and residential heating. A posteriori emissions also indicate a general underestimation of biomass burning relative to the GFED2 inventory. However, the tropical biomass burning constraints are not consistent across the different datasets. Although the datasets reveal regional inconsistencies over tropical biomass burning regions, we find the global emission estimates to be a balance of information from all three instruments.

scholarly journals Top-down estimates of black carbon emissions at high latitudes using an atmospheric transport model and a Bayesian inversion framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 15307-15327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Evangeliou ◽  
Rona L. Thompson ◽  
Sabine Eckhardt ◽  
Andreas Stohl
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Northern Latitudes

Abstract. This paper presents the results of BC inversions at high northern latitudes (> 50° N) for the 2013–2015 period. A sensitivity analysis was performed to select the best representative species for BC and the best a priori emission dataset. The same model ensemble was used to assess the uncertainty of the a posteriori emissions of BC due to scavenging and removal and due to the use of different a priori emission inventory. A posteriori concentrations of BC simulated over Arctic regions were compared with independent observations from flight and ship campaigns showing, in all cases, smaller bias, which in turn witnesses the success of the inversion. The annual a posteriori emissions of BC at latitudes above 50° N were estimated as 560±171 kt yr−1, significantly smaller than in ECLIPSEv5 (745 kt yr−1), which was used and the a priori information in the inversions of BC. The average relative uncertainty of the inversions was estimated to be 30 %.A posteriori emissions of BC in North America are driven by anthropogenic sources, while biomass burning appeared to be less significant as it is also confirmed by satellite products. In northern Europe, a posteriori emissions were estimated to be half compared to the a priori ones, with the highest releases to be in megacities and due to biomass burning in eastern Europe. The largest emissions of BC in Siberia were calculated along the transect between Yekaterinsburg and Chelyabinsk. The optimised emissions of BC were high close to the gas flaring regions in Russia and in western Canada (Alberta), where numerous power and oil and gas production industries operate. Flaring emissions in Nenets–Komi oblast (Russia) were estimated to be much lower than in the a priori emissions, while in Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia) they remained the same after the inversions of BC. Increased emissions at the borders between Russia and Mongolia are probably due to biomass burning in villages along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The maximum BC emissions in high northern latitudes (> 50° N) were calculated for summer months due to biomass burning and they are controlled by seasonal variations in Europe and Asia, while North America showed a much smaller variability.

scholarly journals Influence of low spatial resolution a priori data on tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> satellite retrievals

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 1805-1820 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Heckel ◽  
S.-W. Kim ◽  
G. J. Frost ◽  
A. Richter ◽  
M. Trainer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Under Sampling ◽  
Priori Information

Abstract. The retrieval of tropospheric columns of NO2 and other trace gases from satellite observations of backscattered solar radiation relies on the use of accurate a priori information. The spatial resolution of current space sensors is often significantly higher than that of the a priori datasets used, introducing uncertainties from spatial misrepresentation. In this study, the effect of spatial under-sampling of a priori data on the retrieval of NO2 columns was studied for a typical coastal area (around San Francisco). High-resolution (15 × 15 km2) NO2 a priori data from the WRF-Chem model in combination with high-resolution MODIS surface reflectance and aerosol data were used to investigate the uncertainty introduced by applying a priori data at typical global chemical transport model resolution. The results show that the relative uncertainties can be large (more than a factor of 2 if all a priori data used is at the coarsest resolution) for individual measurements, mainly due to spatial variations in NO2 profile and surface albedo, with smaller contributions from aerosols and surface height changes. Similar sensitivities are expected for other coastal regions and localised sources such as power plants, highlighting the need for high-resolution a priori data in quantitative analysis of the spatial patterns retrieved from satellite observations of tropospheric pollution.

scholarly journals Potential sources of a priori ozone profiles for TEMPO tropospheric ozone retrievals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Johnson ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
Peter Zoogman ◽  
John Sullivan ◽  
Michael J. Newchurch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Diurnal Variability ◽  
Earth Observing System ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
Tropospheric O3 ◽  
Priori Information ◽  
Lidar Observations

Abstract. Potential sources of a priori ozone (O3) profiles for use in Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite tropospheric O3 retrievals are evaluated with observations from multiple Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) systems in North America. An O3 profile climatology (tropopause-based O3 climatology (TB-Clim), currently proposed for use in TEMPO O3 retrieval algorithms) based on ozonesonde observations and O3 profiles from 3 separate models (operational Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Forward Processing (FP) product, reanalysis product from Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA2), and the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM)) were: 1) evaluated with TOLNet measurements on various temporal scales (seasonally, daily, hourly) and 2) implemented as a priori information in theoretical TEMPO tropospheric O3 retrievals in order to determine how each a priori impacts the accuracy of retrieved tropospheric (0–10 km) and lowermost tropospheric (LMT, 0–2 km) O3 columns. We found that all potential sources of a priori profiles evaluated in this study generally reproduced the vertical structure of summer-averaged observations of O3 profiles. However, larger differences between the a priori profiles and lidar observations were observed when evaluating inter-daily and diurnal variability of tropospheric O3. The TB-Clim O3 profile climatology was unable to replicate observed inter-daily and diurnal variability of O3 while model products, in particular GEOS-Chem simulations, displayed more skill in reproducing these features. Due to the ability of models, primarily the CTM used in this study, on average to capture the inter-daily and diurnal variability of tropospheric and LMT O3 columns, using a priori profiles from these model simulations resulted in TEMPO retrievals with the best statistical comparison with lidar observations. Furthermore, important from an air quality perspective, when high LMT O3 values are observed, using GEOS-Chem a priori profiles resulted in TEMPO LMT O3 retrievals with the least bias.

scholarly journals Top-down estimates of biomass burning emissions of black carbon in the Western United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 7195-7211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Mao ◽  
Q. B. Li ◽  
D. Chen ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
W.-M. Hao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Carbon ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Active Fire ◽  
Skill Scores

Abstract. We estimate biomass burning and anthropogenic emissions of black carbon (BC) in the western US for May–October 2006 by inverting surface BC concentrations from the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) network using a global chemical transport model. We first use active fire counts from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to improve the spatiotemporal distributions of the biomass burning BC emissions from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFEDv2). The adjustment primarily shifts emissions from late to middle and early summer (a 33% decrease in September–October and a 56% increase in June–August) and leads to appreciable increases in modeled surface BC concentrations in early and middle summer, especially at the 1–2 and 2–3 km altitude ranges. We then conduct analytical inversions at both 2° × 2.5° and 0.5° × 0.667° (nested over North America) horizontal resolutions. The a posteriori biomass burning BC emissions for July–September are 31.7 Gg at 2° × 2.5° (an increase by a factor of 4.7) and 19.2 Gg at 0.5° × 0.667° (an increase by a factor of 2.8). The inversion results are rather sensitive to model resolution. The a posteriori biomass burning emissions at the two model resolutions differ by a factor of ~6 in California and the Southwest and by a factor of 2 in the Pacific Northwest. The corresponding a posteriori anthropogenic BC emissions are 9.1 Gg at 2° × 2.5° (a decrease of 48%) and 11.2 Gg at 0.5° × 0.667° (a decrease of 36%). Simulated surface BC concentrations with the a posteriori emissions capture the observed major fire episodes at most sites and the substantial enhancements at the 1–2 and 2–3 km altitude ranges. The a posteriori emissions also lead to large bias reductions (by ~30% on average at both model resolutions) in modeled surface BC concentrations and significantly better agreement with observations (increases in Taylor skill scores of 95% at 2° × 2.5° and 42 % at 0.5° × 0.667°).

scholarly journals The zonal structure of tropical O<sub>3</sub> and CO as observed by the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer in November 2004 – Part 1: Inverse modeling of CO emissions

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 3547-3562 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. A. Jones ◽  
K. W. Bowman ◽  
J. A. Logan ◽  
C. L. Heald ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inverse Modeling ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Systematic Errors ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Australian Region ◽  
Equatorial Africa ◽  
Modeling Analysis ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. We conduct an inverse modeling analysis of measurements of atmospheric CO from the TES and MOPITT satellite instruments using the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model to quantify emissions of CO in the tropics in November 2004. We also assess the consistency of the information provided by TES and MOPITT on surface emissions of CO. We focus on the tropics in November 2004, during the biomass burning season, because TES observations of CO and O3 and MOPITT observations of CO reveal significantly greater abundances of these gases than simulated by the GEOS-Chem model during that period. We find that both datasets suggest substantially greater emissions of CO from sub-equatorial Africa and the Indonesian/Australian region than in the climatological emissions in the model. The a posteriori emissions from sub-equatorial Africa based on TES and MOPITT data were 173 Tg CO/yr and 184 Tg CO/yr, respectively, compared to the a priori of 95 Tg CO/yr. In the Indonesian/Australian region, the a posteriori emissions inferred from TES and MOPITT data were 155 Tg CO/yr and 185 Tg CO/yr, respectively, whereas the a priori was 69 Tg CO/yr. The differences between the a posteriori emission estimates obtained from the two datasets are generally less than 20%. The a posteriori emissions significantly improve the simulated distribution of CO, however, large regional residuals remain, and are likely due to systematic errors in the analysis. Reducing these residuals and improving the accuracy of top-down emission estimates will require better characterization of systematic errors in the observations and the model (chemistry and transport).

scholarly journals Estimates of black carbon emissions in the western United States using the GEOS-Chem adjoint model

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7685-7702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Mao ◽  
Q. B. Li ◽  
D. K. Henze ◽  
Z. Jiang ◽  
D. B. A. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Global Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Substantial Bias

Abstract. We estimate black carbon (BC) emissions in the western United States for July–September 2006 by inverting surface BC concentrations from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) network using a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and its adjoint. Our best estimate of the BC emissions is 49.9 Gg at 2° × 2.5° (a factor of 2.1 increase) and 47.3 Gg at 0.5° × 0.667° (1.9 times increase). Model results now capture the observed major fire episodes with substantial bias reductions (~ 35 % at 2° × 2.5° and ~ 15 % at 0.5° × 0.667°). The emissions are ~ 20–50 % larger than those from our earlier analytical inversions (Mao et al., 2014). The discrepancy is especially drastic in the partitioning of anthropogenic versus biomass burning emissions. The August biomass burning BC emissions are 4.6–6.5 Gg and anthropogenic BC emissions 8.6–12.8 Gg, varying with the model resolution, error specifications, and subsets of observations used. On average both anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions in the adjoint inversions increase 2-fold relative to the respective {a priori} emissions, in distinct contrast to the halving of the anthropogenic and tripling of the biomass burning emissions in the analytical inversions. We attribute these discrepancies to the inability of the adjoint inversion system, with limited spatiotemporal coverage of the IMPROVE observations, to effectively distinguish collocated anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions on model grid scales. This calls for concurrent measurements of other tracers of biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion (e.g., carbon monoxide and carbon isotopes). We find that the adjoint inversion system as is has sufficient information content to constrain the total emissions of BC on the model grid scales.

scholarly journals Top-down estimates of biomass burning emissions of black carbon in the Western United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 28067-28115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Mao ◽  
Q. B. Li ◽  
J. T. Randerson ◽  
D. Chen ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Western United States ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Skill Scores ◽  
Simulated Surface

Abstract. We estimate biomass burning emissions of black carbon (BC) in the western United States (WUS) for May–October 2006 by inverting surface BC concentrations from the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) network using a global chemical transport model. We first improve the spatiotemporal distributions of the BC emissions from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFEDv2) using 8-day active fire counts from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from a 3 yr period (2005–2007). The resulting emissions are then used as the a priori for the inversion analyses. The adjustment primarily shifts emissions from late to early and middle summer (33% decrease in September-October and 56% increase in June–August). The adjusted emissions lead to non-negligible increases in the simulated surface BC concentrations in early and middle summer at sites below 2 km. We conduct analytical inversions at both 2° × 2.5° and 0.5° × 0.667° (nested over North America) horizontal resolutions. Simulated surface BC concentrations with the a posteriori emissions capture the observed major fire episodes at many sites and substantial enhancements at the 1–2 and 2–3 km altitude ranges. The a posteriori emissions lead to substantial bias reductions in the simulated surface BC concentrations (~ 50% on average) at both resolutions and significant increases in the Taylor skill scores (86% at 2° × 2.5° and 132% at 0.5° × 0.667°). We find that the inversion is rather sensitive to the model resolution. The a posteriori biomass burning emissions increase by factors of 4.7 from the inversion at 2° × 2.5° and 2.8 at 0.5° × 0.667°, while as the a posteriori anthropogenic emissions decrease by 48% and 36%, respectively, relative to their corresponding a priori emissions. The two a posteriori estimates differ largest in biomass burning emissions in California and the Southwest (a factor of 5.9) and in the Pacific Northwest (a factor of 2).

scholarly journals Influence of under-sampled a priori data on tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> satellite retrievals

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1893-1934 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Heckel ◽  
S.-W. Kim ◽  
G. J. Frost ◽  
A. Richter ◽  
M. Trainer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Under Sampling ◽  
Global Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Priori Information

Abstract. The retrieval of tropospheric columns of NO2 and other trace gases from satellite observations of backscattered solar radiation relies on the use of accurate a priori information. The spatial resolution of current space sensors is often significantly higher than that of the a priori datasets used, introducing uncertainties from spatial misrepresentation. In this study, the effect of spatial under-sampling of a priori data on the retrieval of NO2 columns was studied for a typical coastal area (around San Francisco). High-resolution (15 × 15 km2) NO2 a priori data from the WRF-Chem model in combination with high-resolution MODIS surface reflectance and aerosol data were used to investigate the uncertainty introduced by applying a priori data at typical global chemical transport model resolution. The results show that the relative uncertainties can be large (more than a factor of 2) for individual measurements, mainly due to spatial variations in NO2 profile and surface albedo, with smaller contributions from aerosols and surface height changes. Similar sensitivities are expected for other coastal regions and localised sources such as power plants, highlighting the need for high-resolution a priori data in quantitative analysis of the spatial patterns retrieved from satellite observations of tropospheric pollution.

scholarly journals Variational estimates of black carbon emissions in the western United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 21865-21916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Mao ◽  
Q. B. Li ◽  
D. K. Henze ◽  
Z. Jiang ◽  
D. B. A. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Global Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Substantial Bias

Abstract. We estimate black carbon (BC) emissions in the Western United States (WUS) for July–September 2006 by inverting surface BC concentrations from the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) network using a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and its adjoint. Our best estimate of the BC emissions is 49.9 Gg at 2° × 2.5° (a factor of 2.1 increase) and 47.3 Gg at 0.5° × 0.667° (1.9 times increase). Model results now capture the observed major fire episodes with substantial bias reductions (∼35% at 2° × 2.5° and ∼15% at 0.5° × 0.667°). The emissions are ∼20–50% larger than those from our earlier analytical inversions (Mao et al., 2014). The discrepancy is especially drastic in the partitioning of anthropogenic vs. biomass burning emissions. The August biomass burning BC emissions are 4.6–6.5 Gg and anthropogenic BC emissions 8.6–12.8 Gg, varying with the model resolution, error specifications, and subsets of observations used. On average both increase twofold relative to the respective a priori emissions, in distinct contrast to the halving of the anthropogenic and tripling of the biomass burning emissions in the analytical inversions. We attribute these discrepancies to the inability of the inversion system, with limited spatiotemporal coverage of the IMPROVE observations, to effectively distinguish collocated anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions on model grid scales. This calls for concurrent measurements of other tracers of biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion (e.g., carbon monoxide and carbon isotopes). We find that the inversion system as is has sufficient information content to constrain the total emissions of BC on the model grid scales.

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