scholarly journals Large XCH<sub>4</sub> anomaly in summer 2013 over Northeast Asia observed by GOSAT

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (17) ◽  
pp. 24995-25020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ishizawa ◽  
O. Uchino ◽  
I. Morino ◽  
M. Inoue ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
East China ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Comparable Accuracy

Abstract. Extremely high levels of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric methane (XCH4) were detected in August and September 2013 over Northeast Asia (~ 20 ppb above the averaged summertime XCH4 over 2009–2012, after removing a long-term trend), as being retrieved from the Short-Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR) spectral data observed with the Thermal And Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) onboard Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). Similar enhancements of XCH4 were also observed by the ground-based measurements at two Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) sites in Japan. The analysis of surface CH4 concentrations observed at three monitoring sites around the Japan islands suggest that the extreme increase of XCH4 has occurred in a limited area. The model analysis was conducted to investigate this anomalously high XCH4 event, using an atmospheric transport model. The results indicate that the extreme increase of XCH4 is attributed to the anomalous atmospheric pressure pattern over East Asia during the summer of 2013, which effectively transported the CH4-rich air to Japan from the strong CH4 source areas in East China. The two Japanese TCCON sites, ~ 1000 km east-west apart each other, coincidentally located along the substantially CH4-rich air flow from East China. The GOSAT orbiting with three-day recurrence successfully observed the synoptic-scale XCH4 enhancement in the comparable accuracy to the TCCON data. This analysis demonstrates the capability of GOSAT to monitor an XCH4 event on a synoptic scale.

scholarly journals Large XCH<sub>4</sub> anomaly in summer 2013 over northeast Asia observed by GOSAT

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 9149-9161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misa Ishizawa ◽  
Osamu Uchino ◽  
Isamu Morino ◽  
Makoto Inoue ◽  
Yukio Yoshida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
East China ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Flux Estimation

Abstract. Extremely high levels of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric methane (XCH4) were detected in August and September 2013 over northeast Asia (∼  20 ppb above the averaged summertime XCH4 over 2009–2012, after removing a long-term trend), as being retrieved from the Short-Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR) spectral data observed with the Thermal And Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation – Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) onboard Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). Similar enhancements of XCH4 were also observed by the ground-based measurements at two Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) sites in Japan. The analysis of surface CH4 concentrations observed at three monitoring sites around the Japan archipelago suggest that the extreme increase of XCH4 has occurred in a limited area. The model analysis was conducted to investigate this anomalously high XCH4 event, using an atmospheric transport model. The results indicate that the extreme increase of XCH4 is attributed to the anomalous atmospheric pressure pattern over East Asia during the summer of 2013, which effectively transported the CH4-rich air to Japan from the strong CH4 source areas in east China. The two Japanese TCCON sites, ∼  1000 km east–west apart each other, coincidentally located along the substantially CH4-rich air flow from east China. This analysis demonstrates the capability of GOSAT to monitor an XCH4 event on a synoptic scale. We anticipate that the synoptic information of XCH4 from GOSAT data contributes to improve our understanding of regional carbon cycle and the regional flux estimation.

scholarly journals Study of the footprints of short-term variation in XCO<sub>2</sub> observed by TCCON sites using NIES and FLEXPART atmospheric transport models

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Belikov ◽  
S. Maksyutov ◽  
A. Ganshin ◽  
R. Zhuravlev ◽  
N. M. Deutscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Bias Reduction ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Short Term

Abstract. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a network of ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) that record near-infrared (NIR) spectra of the Sun. From these spectra, accurate and precise observations of CO2 column-averaged dry-air mole fraction (denoted XCO2) are retrieved. TCCON FTS observations have previously been used to validate satellite estimations of XCO2; however, our knowledge of the short-term spatial and temporal variations in XCO2 surrounding the TCCON sites is limited. In this work, we use the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) Eulerian three-dimensional transport model and the FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle) Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM) to determine the footprints of short-term variations in XCO2 observed by operational, past, future, and possible TCCON sites. We propose a footprint-based method for the colocation of satellite and TCCON XCO2 observations, and estimate the performance of the method using the NIES model and five GOSAT XCO2 product datasets. Comparison of the proposed approach with a standard geographic method shows higher number of colocation points and average bias reduction up to 0.15 ppm for a subset of 16 stations for the period from January 2010 to January 2014. Case studies of the Darwin and La Réunion sites reveal that when the footprint area is rather curved, non-uniform and significantly different from a geographical rectangular area, the differences between these approaches are more noticeable. This emphasizes that the colocation is sensitive to local meteorological conditions and flux distributions.

scholarly journals Study of the footprints of short-term variation in XCO<sub>2</sub> observed by TCCON sites using NIES and FLEXPART atmospheric transport models

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry A. Belikov ◽  
Shamil Maksyutov ◽  
Alexander Ganshin ◽  
Ruslan Zhuravlev ◽  
Nicholas M. Deutscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Bias Reduction ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Short Term

Abstract. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a network of ground-based Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs) that record near-infrared (NIR) spectra of the sun. From these spectra, accurate and precise observations of CO2 column-averaged dry-air mole fractions (denoted XCO2) are retrieved. TCCON FTS observations have previously been used to validate satellite estimations of XCO2; however, our knowledge of the short-term spatial and temporal variations in XCO2 surrounding the TCCON sites is limited. In this work, we use the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) Eulerian three-dimensional transport model and the FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model) Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM) to determine the footprints of short-term variations in XCO2 observed by operational, past, future and possible TCCON sites. We propose a footprint-based method for the collocation of satellite and TCCON XCO2 observations and estimate the performance of the method using the NIES model and five GOSAT (Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite) XCO2 product data sets. Comparison of the proposed approach with a standard geographic method shows a higher number of collocation points and an average bias reduction up to 0.15 ppm for a subset of 16 stations for the period from January 2010 to January 2014. Case studies of the Darwin and Reunion Island sites reveal that when the footprint area is rather curved, non-uniform and significantly different from a geographical rectangular area, the differences between these approaches are more noticeable. This emphasises that the collocation is sensitive to local meteorological conditions and flux distributions.

scholarly journals Attribution of recent increases in atmospheric methane through 3-D inverse modelling

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe McNorton ◽  
Chris Wilson ◽  
Manuel Gloor ◽  
Rob Parker ◽  
Hartmut Boesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Source And Sink

Abstract. The atmospheric methane (CH4) growth rate has varied considerably in recent decades. Unexplained renewed growth after 2006 followed seven years of stagnation and coincided with an isotopic trend toward CH4 more depleted in 13C, suggesting changes in sources and/or sinks. Using surface observations of both CH4 and the isotopologue ratio value (δ13CH4) to constrain a global 3D chemical transport model (CTM), we have performed a synthesis inversion for source and sink attribution. Our method extends on previous studies by providing monthly and regional attribution of emissions from 6 different sectors and changes in atmospheric sinks for the extended 2003–2015 period. Regional evaluation of the model CH4 tracer with independent column observations from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) shows improved performance when using posterior fluxes (R = 0.94–0.96, RMSE = 8.3–16.5 ppb), relative to prior fluxes (R = 0.60–0.92, RMSE = 48.6–64.6 ppb). Further independent validation with data from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) shows a similar improvement in the posterior fluxes (R = 0.90, RMSE = 21.4 ppb) compared to the prior (R = 0.71, RMSE = 55.3 ppb). Based on these improved posterior fluxes, the inversion results suggest the most likely cause of the renewed methane growth is a post-2006 1.8 ± 0.4 % decrease in mean OH, a 12.9 ± 2.7 % increase in energy sector emissions, mainly from Africa/Middle East and Southern Asia/Oceania, and a 2.6 ± 1.8 % increase in wetland emissions, mainly from Northern Eurasia. The posterior wetland increases are in general agreement with bottom-up estimates, but the energy sector growth is greater than estimated by bottom-up methods. The model results are consistent across a range of sensitivity analyses performed. When forced to assume a constant (annually repeating) OH distribution, the inversion requires a greater increase in energy sector (13.6 ± 2.7 %) and wetland (3.6 ± 1.8 %) emissions but also introduces an 11.5 ± 3.8 % decrease in biomass burning emissions. Assuming no prior trend in sources and sinks slightly reduces the posterior growth rate in energy sector and wetland emissions and further increases the amplitude of the negative OH trend. We find that possible tropospheric Cl variations do not to influence δ13CH4 and CH4 trends, although we suggest further work on Cl variability is required to fully diagnose this contribution. While the study provides quantitative insight into possible emissions variations which may explain the observed trends, uncertainty in prior source and sink estimates and a paucity of δ13CH4 observations limit the accuracy of the posterior estimates.

scholarly journals An Eulerian Limited-Area Atmospheric Transport Model

1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Robertson ◽  
Joakim Langner ◽  
Magnuz Engardt
Keyword(s):  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Atmospheric Transport Model

Quantifying methane emissions from fossil fuel sources using a Bayesian inverse model and observations of ethane with an uncertain emissions ratio

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Ramsden ◽  
Anita Ganesan ◽  
Luke Western ◽  
Alistair Manning ◽  
Matthew Rigby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Inverse Model ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Emission Ratio

&lt;p&gt;Methane is an important greenhouse gas with a range of anthropogenic sources, including livestock farming and fossil fuel production. It is important that methane emissions can be correctly attributed to their source, to aid climate change policy and emissions mitigation efforts. For source attribution, many &amp;#8216;top-down&amp;#8217; models of atmospheric methane use spatial maps of sources from emissions inventory data coupled with an atmospheric transport model. However, this can cause difficulties if sources are co-located or if there is uncertainty in the sources&amp;#8217; spatial distributions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To help with this issue and reduce overall uncertainty in estimates of methane emissions, recent methods have used observations of a secondary trace gas and its correlation with methane to infer methane emissions from a target sector. Most previous work has assumed a fixed emissions ratio between the two gases, which often does not reflect the true range of possible emission ratios. In this work, measurements of atmospheric ethane and its emissions ratio relative to methane are used to infer emissions of methane from fossil fuel sources. Instead of assuming a fixed emission ratio, our method allows for uncertainty in the emission ratio to be statistically propagated through the inverse model and incorporated into the sectoral estimates of methane emissions. We further demonstrate the inaccuracies that can result in an assessment of fossil fuel methane emissions if this uncertainty is not considered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We present this novel method for modelling sectoral methane emissions with examples from a synthetic data experiment and give results from a case study of UK methane emissions. Methane and ethane observations from a tall tower network across the UK were used with this model to produce monthly estimates of UK fossil fuel methane emissions with improved uncertainty characterisation.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of low-Earth orbit (TROPOMI) and geostationary (GeoCARB, GEO-CAPE) satellite instruments for constraining methane emissions on fine regional scales: application to the Southeast US

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 6379-6388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Xiong Sheng ◽  
Daniel J. Jacob ◽  
Joannes D. Maasakkers ◽  
Yuzhong Zhang ◽  
Melissa P. Sulprizio
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Pixel Resolution ◽  
Error Correlation ◽  
Southeast Us

Abstract. We conduct Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) to compare the ability of future satellite measurements of atmospheric methane columns (TROPOMI, GeoCARB, GEO-CAPE) for constraining methane emissions down to the 25 km scale through inverse analyses. The OSSE uses the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (0.25∘×0.3125∘ grid resolution) in a 1-week simulation for the Southeast US with 216 emission elements to be optimized through inversion of synthetic satellite observations. Clouds contaminate 73 %–91 % of the viewing scenes depending on pixel size. Comparison of GEOS-Chem to Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) surface-based methane column observations indicates a model transport error standard deviation of 12 ppb, larger than the instrument errors when aggregated on the 25 km model grid scale, and with a temporal error correlation of 6 h. We find that TROPOMI (7×7 km2 pixels, daily return time) can provide a coarse regional optimization of methane emissions, comparable to results from an aircraft campaign (SEAC4RS), and is highly sensitive to cloud cover. The geostationary instruments can do much better and are less sensitive to cloud cover, reflecting both their finer pixel resolution and more frequent observations. The information content from GeoCARB toward constraining methane emissions increases by 20 %–25 % for each doubling of the GeoCARB measurement frequency. Temporal error correlation in the transport model moderates but does not cancel the benefit of more frequent measurements for geostationary instruments. We find that GeoCARB observing twice a day would provide 70 % of the information from the nominal GEO-CAPE mission preformulated by NASA in response to the Decadal Survey of the US National Research Council.

scholarly journals Coastal upwelling fluxes of O<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>O, and CO<sub>2</sub> assessed from continuous atmospheric observations at Trinidad, California

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Lueker
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Coastal Margin ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Plankton Bloom ◽  
Upwelling Intensity

Abstract. Continuous atmospheric records of O2/N2, CO2 and N2O obtained at Trinidad, California document the effects of air-sea exchange during coastal upwelling and plankton bloom events. The atmospheric records provide continuous observations of air-sea fluxes related to synoptic scale upwelling events over several upwelling seasons. Combined with satellite, buoy and local meteorology data, calculated anomalies in O2/N2 and N2O were utilized in a simple atmospheric transport model to compute air-sea fluxes during coastal upwelling. CO2 fluxes were linked to the oceanic component of the O2 fluxes through local hydrographic data and estimated as a function of upwelling intensity (surface ocean temperature and wind speed). Regional air-sea fluxes of O2/N2, N2O, and CO2 during coastal upwelling were estimated with the aid of satellite wind and SST data. Upwelling CO2 fluxes were found to represent ~10% of export production along the northwest coast of North America. Synoptic scale upwelling events impact the net exchange of atmospheric CO2 along the coastal margin, and will vary in response to the frequency and duration of alongshore winds that are subject to climate change.

scholarly journals Inverse modelling of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions for 2010–2011 using different satellite retrieval products from GOSAT and SCIAMACHY

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alexe ◽  
P. Bergamaschi ◽  
A. Segers ◽  
R. Detmers ◽  
A. Butz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Inverse Modelling ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Ch4 Emissions ◽  
North East ◽  
South Central

Abstract. At the beginning of 2009 new space-borne observations of dry-air column-averaged mole fractions of atmospheric methane (XCH4) became available from the Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observations–Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) instrument on board the Greenhouse Gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). Until April 2012 concurrent {methane (CH4) retrievals} were provided by the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY (SCIAMACHY) instrument on board the ENVironmental SATellite (ENVISAT). The GOSAT and SCIAMACHY XCH4 retrievals can be compared during the period of overlap. We estimate monthly average CH4 emissions between January 2010 and December 2011, using the TM5-4DVAR inverse modelling system. In addition to satellite data, high-accuracy measurements from the Cooperative Air Sampling Network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA ESRL) are used, providing strong constraints on the remote surface atmosphere. We discuss five inversion scenarios that make use of different GOSAT and SCIAMACHY XCH4 retrieval products, including two sets of GOSAT proxy retrievals processed independently by the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON)/Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and the University of Leicester (UL), and the RemoTeC "Full-Physics" (FP) XCH4 retrievals available from SRON/KIT. The GOSAT-based inversions show significant reductions in the root mean square (rms) difference between retrieved and modelled XCH4, and require much smaller bias corrections compared to the inversion using SCIAMACHY retrievals, reflecting the higher precision and relative accuracy of the GOSAT XCH4. Despite the large differences between the GOSAT and SCIAMACHY retrievals, 2-year average emission maps show overall good agreement among all satellite-based inversions, with consistent flux adjustment patterns, particularly across equatorial Africa and North America. Over North America, the satellite inversions result in a significant redistribution of CH4 emissions from North-East to South-Central United States. This result is consistent with recent independent studies suggesting a systematic underestimation of CH4 emissions from North American fossil fuel sources in bottom-up inventories, likely related to natural gas production facilities. Furthermore, all four satellite inversions yield lower CH4 fluxes across the Congo basin compared to the NOAA-only scenario, but higher emissions across tropical East Africa. The GOSAT and SCIAMACHY inversions show similar performance when validated against independent shipboard and aircraft observations, and XCH4 retrievals available from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON).

scholarly journals Role of OH variability in the stalling of the global atmospheric CH<sub>4</sub> growth rate from 1999 to 2006

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 7943-7956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe McNorton ◽  
Martyn P. Chipperfield ◽  
Manuel Gloor ◽  
Chris Wilson ◽  
Wuhu Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Model Driven ◽  
Stagnation Period ◽  
Global Mean

Abstract. The growth in atmospheric methane (CH4) concentrations over the past 2 decades has shown large variability on a timescale of several years. Prior to 1999 the globally averaged CH4 concentration was increasing at a rate of 6.0 ppb yr−1, but during a stagnation period from 1999 to 2006 this growth rate slowed to 0.6 ppb yr−1. From 2007 to 2009 the growth rate again increased to 4.9 ppb yr−1. These changes in growth rate are usually ascribed to variations in CH4 emissions. We have used a 3-D global chemical transport model, driven by meteorological reanalyses and variations in global mean hydroxyl (OH) concentrations derived from CH3CCl3 observations from two independent networks, to investigate these CH4 growth variations. The model shows that between 1999 and 2006 changes in the CH4 atmospheric loss contributed significantly to the suppression in global CH4 concentrations relative to the pre-1999 trend. The largest factor in this is relatively small variations in global mean OH on a timescale of a few years, with minor contributions of atmospheric transport of CH4 to its sink region and of atmospheric temperature. Although changes in emissions may be important during the stagnation period, these results imply a smaller variation is required to explain the observed CH4 trends. The contribution of OH variations to the renewed CH4 growth after 2007 cannot be determined with data currently available.

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