scholarly journals Validation of satellite SO<sub>2</sub> observations in northern Finland during the Icelandic Holuhraun fissure eruption

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 599-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Ialongo ◽  
J. Hakkarainen ◽  
R. Kivi ◽  
P. Anttila ◽  
N. A. Krotkov ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper shows the validation results of the satellite SO2 observations from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) and OMPS (Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite) during the Icelandic Holuhraun fissure eruption in September 2014. The volcanic plume reached Finland on several days during the month of September. The SO2 total columns from the Brewer direct sun (DS) measurements in Sodankylä (67.42° N, 26.59° E), northern Finland, are compared to the satellite data. Challenging retrieval conditions at high latitudes (like large solar zenith angle, SZA) are considered in the comparison. The results show that the best agreement can be found for small SZAs, close-to-nadir satellite pixels, cloud fraction below 0.3 and small distance between the station and the centre of the pixel. Under good retrieval conditions, the difference between satellite data and Brewer measurements remains mostly below the uncertainty on the satellite SO2 retrievals (up to about 2 DU at high latitudes). The satellite products assuming a priori profile with SO2 predominantly in the planetary boundary layer give total column values close to the ground-based data, suggesting that the volcanic SO2 plume was located at particularly low altitudes. This is connected to the fact that this was a fissure eruption and most of the SO2 was emitted into the troposphere. The analysis of the SO2 surface concentrations at four air quality stations in northern Finland supports the hypothesis that the volcanic plume coming from Iceland was located very close to the surface. The time evolution of the SO2 concentrations peaks during the same days when large SO2 total column values are measured by the Brewer in Sodankylä and enhanced SO2 signal is visible over northern Finland from the satellite maps. This is an exceptional case because the SO2 volcanic emission directly affect the air quality levels at surface in an otherwise pristine environment like northern Finland. OMI and OMPS SO2 retrievals from direct-broadcast measurements are validated for the first time in this paper.

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2279-2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Ialongo ◽  
J. Hakkarainen ◽  
R. Kivi ◽  
P. Anttila ◽  
N. A. Krotkov ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper shows the results of the comparison of satellite SO2 observations from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) and OMPS (Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite) with ground-based measurements during the Icelandic Holuhraun fissure eruption in September 2014. The volcanic plume reached Finland on several days during the month of September. The SO2 total columns from the Brewer direct sun (DS) measurements in Sodankylä (67.42° N, 26.59° E), northern Finland, are compared to the satellite data. The operational satellite SO2 products are evaluated for high latitude conditions (e.g. large solar zenith angle, SZA). The results show that the best agreement can be found for lowest SZAs, close-to-nadir satellite pixels, cloud fraction below 0.3 and small distance between the station and the centre of the pixel. Under good retrieval conditions, the difference between satellite data and Brewer measurements remains mostly below the uncertainty on the satellite SO2 retrievals (up to about 2 DU at high latitudes). The satellite products assuming a priori profile with SO2 predominantly in the planetary boundary layer give total column values with the best agreement with the ground-based data. The analysis of the SO2 surface concentrations at four air quality stations in northern Finland shows that the volcanic plume coming from Iceland was located very close to the surface. This is connected to the fact that this was a fissure eruption and most of the SO2 was emitted into the troposphere. This is an exceptional case because the SO2 volcanic emissions directly affect the air quality levels at surface in an otherwise pristine environment like northern Finland. The time evolution of the SO2 concentrations peaks during the same days when large SO2 total column values are measured by the Brewer in Sodankylä and enhanced SO2 signal is visible over northern Finland from the satellite maps. Thus, the satellite retrievals were able to detect the spatiotemporal evolution of the volcanic plume as compared to the surface observations. Furthermore, direct-broadcast SO2 satellite data (from both OMI and OMPS instruments) are compared for the first time against ground-based observations.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iolanda Ialongo ◽  
Jay Herman ◽  
Nick Krotkov ◽  
Lok Lamsal ◽  
Folkert Boersma ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present the comparison of satellite-based OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) NO2 products with ground-based observations in Helsinki. OMI NO2 total columns, available from standard product (SP) and DOMINO algorithm, are compared with the measurements performed by the Pandora spectrometer in Helsinki in 2012. The relative difference between Pandora #21 and OMI SP retrievals is 4 % and −6 % for clear sky and all sky conditions, respectively. DOMINO NO2 retrievals showed slightly lower total columns with median differences about −5 % and −14 % for clear sky and all sky conditions, respectively. Large differences often correspond to cloudy autumn-winter days with solar zenith angles above 65°. Nevertheless, the differences remain within the retrieval uncertainties. Furthermore, the weekly and seasonal cycles from OMI, Pandora and NO2 surface concentrations are compared. Both satellite- and ground-based data show a similar weekly cycle, with lower NO2 levels during the weekend compared to the weekdays as result of reduced emissions from traffic and industrial activities. Also the seasonal cycle shows a similar behaviour, even though the results are affected by the fact that most of the data are available during spring-summer because of cloud cover in other seasons. This is one of few works in which OMI NO2 retrievals are evaluated in a urban site at high latitudes (60° N). Despite the city of Helsinki having relatively small pollution sources, OMI retrievals have proved to be able to describe air quality features and variability similar to surface observations. This adds confidence in using satellite observations for air quality monitoring also at high latitudes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 8017-8045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Compernolle ◽  
Tijl Verhoelst ◽  
Gaia Pinardi ◽  
José Granville ◽  
Daan Hubert ◽  
...  

Abstract. The QA4ECV (Quality Assurance for Essential Climate Variables) version 1.1 stratospheric and tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (VCD) climate data records (CDRs) from the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite sensor are validated using NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) zenith-scattered light differential optical absorption spectroscopy (ZSL-DOAS) and multi-axis DOAS (MAX-DOAS) data as a reference. The QA4ECV OMI stratospheric VCDs have a small bias of ∼0.2 Pmolec.cm-2 (5 %–10 %) and a dispersion of 0.2 to 1 Pmolec.cm-2 with respect to the ZSL-DOAS measurements. QA4ECV tropospheric VCD observations from OMI are restricted to near-cloud-free scenes, leading to a negative sampling bias (with respect to the unrestricted scene ensemble) of a few peta molecules per square centimetre (Pmolec.cm-2) up to −10 Pmolec.cm-2 (−40 %) in one extreme high-pollution case. The QA4ECV OMI tropospheric VCD has a negative bias with respect to the MAX-DOAS data (−1 to −4 Pmolec.cm-2), which is a feature also found for the OMI OMNO2 standard data product. The tropospheric VCD discrepancies between satellite measurements and ground-based data greatly exceed the combined measurement uncertainties. Depending on the site, part of the discrepancy can be attributed to a combination of comparison errors (notably horizontal smoothing difference error), measurement/retrieval errors related to clouds and aerosols, and the difference in vertical smoothing and a priori profile assumptions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitali Fioletov ◽  
Chris Sioris ◽  
Xiaoyi Zhao ◽  
Debora Griffin ◽  
Chris McLinden ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The eruption of the Raikoke volcano (Kuril Islands) on June 21-22, 2019, created a large plume of sulfur dioxide (SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) that reached the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The plume persisted in the atmosphere over the middle and high latitudes of the Western Hemisphere for more than a month creating a rare validation opportunity with multiple collocated measurements from ground and space both revealing enhanced SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; vertical column densities (VCDs). Moreover, since the plume was often located over high latitudes, multiple orbits per day from the polar orbiting satellites could be utilized. Pandora sunphotometer measurements at Edmonton and Eureka, Canada, and at Fairbanks, Alaska, and Brewer spectrophotometer measurements at seven Canadian sites (Saturna, Edmonton, Churchill, Resolute, Eureka, and Alert) reported SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; values up to 15 Dobson Units (DU, where 1 DU = 2.69 &amp;#215; 10&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt; molecules/cm&amp;#178;). These measurements were compared with satellite SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; VCDs obtained by the Sentinel 5p TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), AURA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Suomi NPP Ozone Mapping Profiling Suite (OMPS). Back-trajectory Lagrangian model analysis and satellite SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; profile measurements by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment mission Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE/FTS) on board the Canadian satellite SCISAT demonstrated that the volcanic plume was located at 8-25 km. In general, ground-based and satellite measurements show a very good agreement. However, the exact ground-based and satellite viewing geometry should be considered when such measurements are taken near the edge of the plume.&lt;/p&gt;


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Mak ◽  
Joshua Laughner ◽  
Jimmy Fung ◽  
Qindan Zhu ◽  
Ronald Cohen

Improving air quality and reducing human exposure to unhealthy levels of airborne chemicals are important global missions, particularly in China. Satellite remote sensing offers a powerful tool to examine regional trends in NO2, thus providing a direct measure of key parameters that strongly affect surface air quality. To accurately resolve spatial gradients in NO2 concentration using satellite observations and thus understand local and regional aspects of air quality, a priori input data at sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolution to account for pixel-to-pixel variability in the characteristics of the land and atmosphere are required. In this paper, we adapt the Berkeley High Resolution product (BEHR-HK) and meteorological outputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to describe column NO2 in southern China. The BEHR approach is particularly useful for places with large spatial variabilities and terrain height differences such as China. There are two major objectives and goals: (1) developing new BEHR-HK v3.0C product for retrieving tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (TVCD) within part of southern China, for four months of 2015, based upon satellite datasets from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI); and (2) evaluating BEHR-HK v3.0C retrieval result through validation, by comparing with MAX-DOAS tropospheric column measurements conducted in Guangzhou. Results show that all BEHR-HK retrieval algorithms (with R-value of 0.9839 for v3.0C) are of higher consistency with MAX-DOAS measurements than OMI-NASA retrieval (with R-value of 0.7644). This opens new windows into research questions that require high spatial resolution, for example retrieving NO2 vertical column and ground pollutant concentration in China and other countries.


Author(s):  
Hugo Wai Leung Mak ◽  
Joshua L. Laughner ◽  
Jimmy Chi Hung Fung ◽  
Qindan Zhu ◽  
Ronald C. Cohen

Improving air quality and reducing human exposure to unhealthy levels of airborne chemicals are important global missions, particularly in China. Satellite remote sensing offers a powerful tool to examine regional trends in NO2, thus providing a direct measure of key parameters that strongly affect surface air quality. To accurately resolve spatial gradients in NO2 concentration using satellite observations and thus understand local and regional aspects of air quality, a priori input data at sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolution to account for pixel-to-pixel variability in the characteristics of the land and atmosphere are required. In this paper, we adapt the Berkeley High Resolution product (BEHR v3.0A, v3.0B and v3.0C) and meteorological outputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to describe column NO2 in southern China. The BEHR approach is particularly useful for places with large spatial variabilities and terrain height differences such as China. We retrieved tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (TVCD) within part of southern China, for four seasons of 2015, based upon satellite datasets from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Retrieval results are validated by comparing with MAX-DOAS tropospheric column measurements conducted in Guangzhou. BEHR retrieval algorithms are more consistent with MAX-DOAS measurements than OMI-NASA retrieval, opening new windows into research questions that require high spatial resolution, for example retrieving NO2 vertical column and ground pollutant concentration in China and other countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 2961-2988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Wargan ◽  
Gordon Labow ◽  
Stacey Frith ◽  
Steven Pawson ◽  
Nathaniel Livesey ◽  
...  

The assimilated ozone product from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), produced at NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) spanning the time period from 1980 to the present is described herein, and its quality is assessed. MERRA-2 assimilates partial column ozone retrievals from a series of Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV) instruments on NASA and NOAA spacecraft between January 1980 and September 2004: starting in October 2004, retrieved ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and total column ozone from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA’s EOS Aura satellite are assimilated. The MERRA-2 ozone is compared with independent satellite and ozonesonde data, focusing on the representation of the spatial and temporal variability of stratospheric and upper-tropospheric ozone and on implications of the change in the observing system from SBUV to EOS Aura. The comparisons show agreement within 10% (standard deviation of the difference) between MERRA-2 profiles and independent satellite data in most of the stratosphere. The agreement improves after 2004, when EOS Aura data are assimilated. The standard deviation of the differences between the lower-stratospheric and upper-tropospheric MERRA-2 ozone and ozonesondes is 11.2% and 24.5%, respectively, with correlations of 0.8 and above, indicative of a realistic representation of the near-tropopause ozone variability in MERRA-2. The agreement improves significantly in the EOS Aura period; however, MERRA-2 is biased low in the upper troposphere with respect to the ozonesondes. Caution is recommended when using MERRA-2 ozone for decadal changes and trend studies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 5203-5212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iolanda Ialongo ◽  
Jay Herman ◽  
Nick Krotkov ◽  
Lok Lamsal ◽  
K. Folkert Boersma ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present the comparison of satellite-based OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) NO2 products with ground-based observations in Helsinki. OMI NO2 total columns, available from NASA's standard product (SP) and KNMI DOMINO product, are compared with the measurements performed by the Pandora spectrometer in Helsinki in 2012. The relative difference between Pandora no. 21 and OMI SP total columns is 4 and −6 % for clear-sky and all-sky conditions, respectively. DOMINO NO2 retrievals showed slightly lower total columns with median differences about −5 and −14 % for clear-sky and all-sky conditions, respectively. Large differences often correspond to cloudy fall–winter days with solar zenith angles above 65°. Nevertheless, the differences remain within the retrieval uncertainties. The average difference values are likely the result of different factors partly canceling each other: the overestimation of the stratospheric columns causes a positive bias partly compensated by the limited spatial representativeness of the relatively coarse OMI pixel for sharp NO2 gradients. The comparison between Pandora and the new version (V3) of OMI NO2 retrievals shows a larger negative difference (about −30 %) than the current version (V2.1) because the revised spectral fitting procedure reduces the overestimation of the stratospheric column. The weekly and seasonal cycles from OMI, Pandora and NO2 surface concentrations are also compared. Both satellite- and ground-based data show a similar weekly cycle, with lower NO2 levels during the weekend compared to the weekdays as a result of reduced emissions from traffic and industrial activities. The seasonal cycle also shows a similar behavior, even though the results are affected by the fact that most of the data are available during spring–summer because of cloud cover in other seasons. This is one of few works in which OMI NO2 retrievals are evaluated in a urban site at high latitudes (60° N). Despite the city of Helsinki having relatively small pollution sources, OMI retrievals have proved to be able to describe air quality features and variability similar to surface observations. This adds confidence in using satellite observations for air quality monitoring also at high latitudes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1293-1315
Author(s):  
M. Reuter ◽  
M. Buchwitz ◽  
O. Schneising ◽  
J. Heymann ◽  
S. Guerlet ◽  
...  

Abstract. A simple empirical CO2 model (SECM) is presented to estimate column-average dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric CO2 (XCO2) as well as mixing ratio profiles. SECM is based on a simple equation depending on 17 empirical parameters, latitude, and date. The empirical parameters have been determined by least squares fitting to NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) assimilation system CarbonTracker version 2010 (CT2010). Comparisons with TCCON (total column carbon observing network) FTS (Fourier transform spectrometer) measurements show that SECM XCO2 agrees quite well with reality. The synthetic XCO2 values have a standard error of 1.39 ppm and systematic station-to-station biases of 0.46 ppm. Typical column averaging kernels of the TCCON FTS, a SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHartographY), and two GOSAT (Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite) XCO2 retrieval algorithms have been used to assess the smoothing error introduced by using SECM profiles instead of CT2010 profiles as a priori. The additional smoothing error amounts to 0.17 ppm for a typical SCIAMACHY averaging kernel and is most times much smaller for the other instruments (e.g. 0.05 ppm for a typical TCCON FTS averaging kernel). Therefore, SECM is well-suited to provide a priori information for state of the art ground-based (FTS) and satellite-based (GOSAT, SCIAMACHY) XCO2 retrievals. Other potential applications are: (i) quick check for obvious retrieval errors (by monitoring the difference to SECM), (ii) near real time processing systems (that cannot make use of models like CT2010 operated in delayed mode), (iii) "CO2 proxy" methods for XCH4 retrievals (as correction for the XCO2 background), (iv) observing system simulation experiments especially for future satellite missions.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoung Kim ◽  
Jhoon Kim ◽  
Hi-Ku Cho ◽  
Jay Herman ◽  
Sang Seo Park ◽  
...  

Abstract. Daily total column ozone (TCO) measured using the Pandora spectrophotometer (#19) was intercompared with data from the Dobson (#124) and Brewer (#148) spectrophotometers, as well as from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), over the 2-year period between March 2012 and March 2014 at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. The Pandora TCO measurements are closely correlated with those from the Dobson, Brewer, and OMI instruments with regression coefficients (slopes) of 0.95, 1.00, 0.98 (OMI-TOMS), and 0.97 (OMI-DOAS), respectively, and determination coefficients (R2) of 0.95, 0.97, 0.96 (OMI-TOMS), and 0.95 (OMI-DOAS), respectively. In particular, they show a close agreement with the Brewer TCO measurements, with slope and R2 values of 1.00 and 0.97, respectively. The difference between the Pandora and Dobson data can be explained by smaller amount of Dobson data available to calculate the daily averages, observation times, solar zenith angles, SO2 effect, temperature, and humidity between the two datasets. The difference in the results obtained from the Pandora instrument and Ozone Monitoring Instrument-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (OMI-DOAS algorithm) can be explained by the dependence on seasonal variations of about ± 2 % and solar zenith angle leading to overestimation by 5 % of OMI-DOAS measurements. For the Dobson measurements in particular, the difference caused by the inconsistency in observation times when compared with the Pandora measurements was up to 12.5 % on 22 June 2013 because of diurnal variations in the TCO values. However, despite these various differences and discrepancies, the daily TCO values measured by the four instruments during the 2-year study period are accurate and closely correlated.


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