Articles | Volume 11, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1689-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1689-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Mar 2018
Research article |
| 27 Mar 2018
Atmospheric characterization through fused mobile airborne and surface in situ surveys: methane emissions quantification from a producing oil field
Bubbleology Research International, Solvang, CA 93463, USA
Christopher Melton
Bubbleology Research International, Solvang, CA 93463, USA
Marc L. Fischer
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Matthew Fladeland
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Jason Frash
Bubbleology Research International, Solvang, CA 93463, USA
Warren Gore
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Laura T. Iraci
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Josette E. Marrero
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Ju-Mee Ryoo
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Tomoaki Tanaka
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Emma L. Yates
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Related authors
Ira Leifer, Christopher Melton, and Donald R. Blake
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17607–17629, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17607-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate a novel application using air quality station data to derive 3-decade-averaged emissions from the Coal Oil Point (COP) seep field, a highly spatially and temporally variable geological migration system. Emissions were 19 Gg per year, suggesting that the COP seep field contributes 0.27 % of the global marine seep budget based on a recent estimate. This provides an advance over snapshot survey values by accounting for seasonal and interannual variations.
Ira Leifer, F. Robert Chen, Thomas McClimans, Frank Muller Karger, and Leonid Yurganov
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-237, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-237, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
We studied long-term satellite data of the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS) of atmospheric CH4 and sea surface temperature (SST). Enhanced CH4 was found near Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, sources not in current budgets and areas of shoaling–where currents drive CH4–rich seabed water upslope to escape to the atmosphere, far from the source. Trends suggest increasing current heat transport warms the seabed, driving CH4 seepage from submerged hydrates and permafrost.
Ira Leifer, F. Robert Chen, Thomas McClimans, Frank Muller Karger, and Leonid Yurganov
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-75, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-75, 2018
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
Based on long-term satellite data of sea surface temperature and methane in the Barents and Kara Seas trends of increasing methane and sea surface temperature were found that were related to strengthening currents with strong methane anomalies near Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Likely sources are methane seepage from subsea permafrost and hydrates, with current shoaling aiding the transport of near seabed dissolved methane to upper waters and the atmosphere.
Sven Krautwurst, Konstantin Gerilowski, Haflidi H. Jonsson, David R. Thompson, Richard W. Kolyer, Laura T. Iraci, Andrew K. Thorpe, Markus Horstjann, Michael Eastwood, Ira Leifer, Samuel A. Vigil, Thomas Krings, Jakob Borchardt, Michael Buchwitz, Matthew M. Fladeland, John P. Burrows, and Heinrich Bovensmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3429–3452, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3429-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3429-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates a subset of data collected during the CO2 and Methane EXperiment (COMEX) in 2014. It focuses on airborne measurements to quantify the emissions from landfills in the Los Angeles Basin. Airborne remote sensing data have been used to estimate the emission rate of one particular landfill on four different days. The results have been compared to airborne in situ measurements. Airborne imaging spectroscopy has been used to identify emission hotspots across the landfill.
Ira Leifer, Denis Chernykh, Natalia Shakhova, and Igor Semiletov
The Cryosphere, 11, 1333–1350, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1333-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1333-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Vast Arctic methane deposits may alter global climate and require remote sensing (RS) to map. Sonar has great promise, but quantitative inversion based on theory is challenged by multiple bubble acoustical scattering in plumes. We demonstrate use of a real-world in situ bubble plume calibration using a bubble model to correct for differences in the calibration and seep plumes. Spatial seep sonar maps were then used to improve understanding of subsurface geologic controls.
D. R. Thompson, I. Leifer, H. Bovensmann, M. Eastwood, M. Fladeland, C. Frankenberg, K. Gerilowski, R. O. Green, S. Kratwurst, T. Krings, B. Luna, and A. K. Thorpe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4383–4397, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4383-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4383-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss principles for real-time infrared spectral signature detection and measurement, and report performance onboard the NASA Airborne Visible Infrared Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG). We describe a case study of the NASA/ESA CO2 and MEthane eXperiment (COMEX), a multi-platform campaign to measure CH4 plumes released from anthropogenic sources including oil and gas infrastructure. AVIRIS-NG successfully detected CH4 plumes in concert with other in situ and remote instruments.
Emma L. Yates, Levi M. Golston, James R. Podolske, Laura T. Iraci, Kristen E. Okorn, Caroline Dang, Roy R. Johnson, James Eilers, Richard Kolyer, Ian Astley, and J. Brian Leen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1081, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we describe the development of the Carbon monOxide Measurement from Ames (COMA) instrument for measurement of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) aboard NASA's WB-57 high altitude research aircraft. We detail the modifications and testing conducted as well as details of COMA's performance during research flights for NASA’s Asian summer monsoon Chemical & CLImate Project (ACCLIP) 2022 campaign.
Yu Yan Cui, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Matthew S. Johnson, Kai-Lan Chang, Emma Yates, Owen R. Cooper, and Laura T. Iraci
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-571, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-571, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric observations show that free tropospheric ozone has increased across the Northern Hemisphere over the past three decades. The sources driving this increase remain unclear. In this study, we developed a source-receptor relationship database combining harmonized multiplatform ozone data and advanced atmospheric transport modeling. This database can identify emission regions responsible for ozone increases and can also be used to analyze other co-observed atmospheric constituents.
Kristen Okorn and Laura T. Iraci
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6425–6457, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We reviewed 60 sensor networks and 17 related efforts (sensor review papers and data accessibility projects) to better understand the landscape of stationary low-cost gas-phase sensor networks deployed in outdoor environments worldwide. Gaps in monitoring efforts include the availability of gas-phase measurements compared to particulate matter (PM) and geographic coverage gaps (the Global South, rural areas). We conclude with a summary of cross-network unification and quality control efforts.
Matthew S. Johnson, Sofia D. Hamilton, Seongeun Jeong, Yuyan Cui, Dien Wu, Alex Turner, and Marc Fischer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2152, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2152, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites, such as NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 and -3 (OCO-2/3), retrieve carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations which provide vital information for estimating surface CO2 emissions. Here we investigate the ability of OCO-2/3 retrievals to constrain CO2 emissions for the state of California for the major emission sectors (i.e., fossil fuels, net ecosystem exchange, wildfire).
Emma L. Yates, Laura T. Iraci, Susan S. Kulawik, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Josette E. Marrero, Caroline L. Parworth, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Thao Paul V. Bui, Cecilia S. Chang, and Jonathan M. Dean-Day
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2375–2389, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2375-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2375-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) flew scientific flights between 2011 and 2018 providing measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, formaldehyde, water vapor and meteorological parameters over California and Nevada, USA. AJAX was a multi-year, multi-objective, multi-instrument program with a variety of sampling strategies resulting in an extensive dataset of interest to a wide variety of users. AJAX measurements have been published at https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/project/AJAX.
Harrison A. Parker, Joshua L. Laughner, Geoffrey C. Toon, Debra Wunch, Coleen M. Roehl, Laura T. Iraci, James R. Podolske, Kathryn McKain, Bianca C. Baier, and Paul O. Wennberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2601–2625, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2601-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a retrieval algorithm for determining limited information about the vertical distribution of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from total column observations from ground-based observations. Our retrieved partial column values compare well with integrated in situ data. The average error for our retrieval is 1.51 ppb (~ 2 %) for CO and 5.09 ppm (~ 1.25 %) for CO2. We anticipate that this approach will find broad application for use in carbon cycle science.
Ian Chang, Lan Gao, Connor J. Flynn, Yohei Shinozuka, Sarah J. Doherty, Michael S. Diamond, Karla M. Longo, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Gregory R. Carmichael, Patricia Castellanos, Arlindo M. da Silva, Pablo E. Saide, Calvin Howes, Zhixin Xue, Marc Mallet, Ravi Govindaraju, Qiaoqiao Wang, Yafang Cheng, Yan Feng, Sharon P. Burton, Richard A. Ferrare, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Kristina Pistone, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Kerry G. Meyer, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Adeyemi A. Adebiyi, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sundar A. Christopher, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4283–4309, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Abundant aerosols are present above low-level liquid clouds over the southeastern Atlantic during late austral spring. The model simulation differences in the proportion of aerosol residing in the planetary boundary layer and in the free troposphere can greatly affect the regional aerosol radiative effects. This study examines the aerosol loading and fractional aerosol loading in the free troposphere among various models and evaluates them against measurements from the NASA ORACLES campaign.
Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Rei Ueyama, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Ian Chang, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14209–14241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14209-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The variability in the meteorological fields during each deployment is highly modulated at a daily to synoptic timescale. This paper, along with part 1, the climatological overview paper, provides a meteorological context for interpreting the airborne measurements gathered during the three ORACLES deployments. This study supports related studies focusing on the detailed investigation of the processes controlling stratocumulus decks, aerosol lifting, transport, and their interactions.
Matthias Schneider, Benjamin Ertl, Qiansi Tu, Christopher J. Diekmann, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Amelie N. Röhling, Frank Hase, Darko Dubravica, Omaira E. García, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Tobias Borsdorff, Jochen Landgraf, Alba Lorente, André Butz, Huilin Chen, Rigel Kivi, Thomas Laemmel, Michel Ramonet, Cyril Crevoisier, Jérome Pernin, Martin Steinbacher, Frank Meinhardt, Kimberly Strong, Debra Wunch, Thorsten Warneke, Coleen Roehl, Paul O. Wennberg, Isamu Morino, Laura T. Iraci, Kei Shiomi, Nicholas M. Deutscher, David W. T. Griffith, Voltaire A. Velazco, and David F. Pollard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4339–4371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4339-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4339-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a computationally very efficient method for the synergetic use of level 2 remote-sensing data products. We apply the method to IASI vertical profile and TROPOMI total column space-borne methane observations and thus gain sensitivity for the tropospheric methane partial columns, which is not achievable by the individual use of TROPOMI and IASI. These synergetic effects are evaluated theoretically and empirically by inter-comparisons to independent references of TCCON, AirCore, and GAW.
Thomas E. Taylor, Christopher W. O'Dell, David Crisp, Akhiko Kuze, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Paul O. Wennberg, Abhishek Chatterjee, Michael Gunson, Annmarie Eldering, Brendan Fisher, Matthäus Kiel, Robert R. Nelson, Aronne Merrelli, Greg Osterman, Frédéric Chevallier, Paul I. Palmer, Liang Feng, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Manvendra K. Dubey, Dietrich G. Feist, Omaira E. García, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Laura T. Iraci, Rigel Kivi, Cheng Liu, Martine De Mazière, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Young-Suk Oh, Hirofumi Ohyama, David F. Pollard, Markus Rettinger, Matthias Schneider, Coleen M. Roehl, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Yao Té, Voltaire A. Velazco, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Thorsten Warneke, and Debra Wunch
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 325–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-325-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-325-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We provide an analysis of an 11-year record of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations derived using an optimal estimation retrieval algorithm on measurements made by the GOSAT satellite. The new product (version 9) shows improvement over the previous version (v7.3) as evaluated against independent estimates of CO2 from ground-based sensors and atmospheric inversion systems. We also compare the new GOSAT CO2 values to collocated estimates from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2.
Ira Leifer, Christopher Melton, and Donald R. Blake
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17607–17629, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17607-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate a novel application using air quality station data to derive 3-decade-averaged emissions from the Coal Oil Point (COP) seep field, a highly spatially and temporally variable geological migration system. Emissions were 19 Gg per year, suggesting that the COP seep field contributes 0.27 % of the global marine seep budget based on a recent estimate. This provides an advance over snapshot survey values by accounting for seasonal and interannual variations.
Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Rei Ueyama, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Ian Chang, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16689–16707, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Part 1 of the meteorological overview paper highlights the anomalous meteorological characteristics during the ORACLES deployment compared to the climatological mean at monthly timescales. The upper-level wave disturbance and the associated anomalous circulation explain the weakening of AEJ-S through the reduction of the strength of the heat low over the land during August 2017. This may also help explain the anomalously low aerosol optical depth observed in the August 2017 ORACLES deployment.
Mahesh Kumar Sha, Bavo Langerock, Jean-François L. Blavier, Thomas Blumenstock, Tobias Borsdorff, Matthias Buschmann, Angelika Dehn, Martine De Mazière, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Dietrich G. Feist, Omaira E. García, David W. T. Griffith, Michel Grutter, James W. Hannigan, Frank Hase, Pauli Heikkinen, Christian Hermans, Laura T. Iraci, Pascal Jeseck, Nicholas Jones, Rigel Kivi, Nicolas Kumps, Jochen Landgraf, Alba Lorente, Emmanuel Mahieu, Maria V. Makarova, Johan Mellqvist, Jean-Marc Metzger, Isamu Morino, Tomoo Nagahama, Justus Notholt, Hirofumi Ohyama, Ivan Ortega, Mathias Palm, Christof Petri, David F. Pollard, Markus Rettinger, John Robinson, Sébastien Roche, Coleen M. Roehl, Amelie N. Röhling, Constantina Rousogenous, Matthias Schneider, Kei Shiomi, Dan Smale, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Yao Té, Osamu Uchino, Voltaire A. Velazco, Corinne Vigouroux, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Pucai Wang, Thorsten Warneke, Tyler Wizenberg, Debra Wunch, Shoma Yamanouchi, Yang Yang, and Minqiang Zhou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6249–6304, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6249-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6249-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents, for the first time, Sentinel-5 Precursor methane and carbon monoxide validation results covering a period from November 2017 to September 2020. For this study, we used global TCCON and NDACC-IRWG network data covering a wide range of atmospheric and surface conditions across different terrains. We also show the influence of a priori alignment, smoothing uncertainties and the sensitivity of the validation results towards the application of advanced co-location criteria.
Kristina Pistone, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Michael Diamond, Arlindo M. da Silva, Gonzalo Ferrada, Pablo E. Saide, Rei Ueyama, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, James Podolske, David Noone, Ryan Bennett, Eric Stith, Gregory Carmichael, Jens Redemann, Connor Flynn, Samuel LeBlanc, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, and Yohei Shinozuka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9643–9668, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9643-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using aircraft-based measurements off the Atlantic coast of Africa, we found the springtime smoke plume was strongly correlated with the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere (more smoke indicated more humidity). We see the same general feature in satellite-assimilated and free-running models. Our analysis suggests this relationship is not caused by the burning but originates due to coincident continental meteorology plus fires. This air is transported over the ocean without further mixing.
Matthieu Dogniaux, Cyril Crevoisier, Raymond Armante, Virginie Capelle, Thibault Delahaye, Vincent Cassé, Martine De Mazière, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Dietrich G. Feist, Omaira E. Garcia, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Laura T. Iraci, Rigel Kivi, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, David F. Pollard, Coleen M. Roehl, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Yao Té, Voltaire A. Velazco, and Thorsten Warneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4689–4706, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present the Adaptable 4A Inversion (5AI), an implementation of the optimal estimation (OE) algorithm, relying on the Automatized Atmospheric Absorption Atlas (4A/OP) radiative transfer model, that enables the retrieval of greenhouse gas atmospheric weighted columns from infrared measurements. It is tested on a sample of Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 observations, and its results satisfactorily compare to several reference products, thus showing the reliability of 5AI OE implementation.
Alison R. Marklein, Deanne Meyer, Marc L. Fischer, Seongeun Jeong, Talha Rafiq, Michelle Carr, and Francesca M. Hopkins
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1151–1166, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1151-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1151-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Dairy cow farms produce half of California's (CA) methane (CH4) emissions. Current CH4 emission inventories lack regional variation in management and are inadequate to assess CH4 mitigation measures. We develop a spatial database of CH4 emissions for CA dairy farms including farm-scale herd demographics and management data. This database is useful to predict CH4 emission reductions from mitigation efforts, to compare with atmospheric CH4 observations and to attribute emissions to specific farms.
Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sarah J. Doherty, Bernadette Luna, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Michael S. Diamond, Yohei Shinozuka, Ian Y. Chang, Rei Ueyama, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Amie N. Dobracki, Arlindo M. da Silva, Karla M. Longo, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Connor J. Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Nichola M. Knox, Stuart J. Piketh, James M. Haywood, Paola Formenti, Marc Mallet, Philip Stier, Andrew S. Ackerman, Susanne E. Bauer, Ann M. Fridlind, Gregory R. Carmichael, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Brian Cairns, Brent N. Holben, Kirk D. Knobelspiesse, Simone Tanelli, Tristan S. L'Ecuyer, Andrew M. Dzambo, Ousmane O. Sy, Greg M. McFarquhar, Michael R. Poellot, Siddhant Gupta, Joseph R. O'Brien, Athanasios Nenes, Mary Kacarab, Jenny P. S. Wong, Jennifer D. Small-Griswold, Kenneth L. Thornhill, David Noone, James R. Podolske, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Peter Pilewskie, Hong Chen, Sabrina P. Cochrane, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Timothy J. Lang, Eric Stith, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Richard A. Ferrare, Sharon P. Burton, Chris A. Hostetler, David J. Diner, Felix C. Seidel, Steven E. Platnick, Jeffrey S. Myers, Kerry G. Meyer, Douglas A. Spangenberg, Hal Maring, and Lan Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1507–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Southern Africa produces significant biomass burning emissions whose impacts on regional and global climate are poorly understood. ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) is a 5-year NASA investigation designed to study the key processes that determine these climate impacts. The main purpose of this paper is to familiarize the broader scientific community with the ORACLES project, the dataset it produced, and the most important initial findings.
Yohei Shinozuka, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Sharon P. Burton, Richard Ferrare, Sarah J. Doherty, Hamish Gordon, Karla Longo, Marc Mallet, Yan Feng, Qiaoqiao Wang, Yafang Cheng, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Steven G. Howell, Samuel LeBlanc, Connor Flynn, Michal Segal-Rosenhaimer, Kristina Pistone, James R. Podolske, Eric J. Stith, Joseph Ryan Bennett, Gregory R. Carmichael, Arlindo da Silva, Ravi Govindaraju, Ruby Leung, Yang Zhang, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11491–11526, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11491-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11491-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the southeast Atlantic, well-defined smoke plumes from Africa advect over marine boundary layer cloud decks; both are most extensive around September, when most of the smoke resides in the free troposphere. A framework is put forth for evaluating the performance of a range of global and regional atmospheric composition models against observations made during the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) airborne mission in September 2016.
Maximilian Reuter, Michael Buchwitz, Oliver Schneising, Stefan Noël, Heinrich Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, Hartmut Boesch, Antonio Di Noia, Jasdeep Anand, Robert J. Parker, Peter Somkuti, Lianghai Wu, Otto P. Hasekamp, Ilse Aben, Akihiko Kuze, Hiroshi Suto, Kei Shiomi, Yukio Yoshida, Isamu Morino, David Crisp, Christopher W. O'Dell, Justus Notholt, Christof Petri, Thorsten Warneke, Voltaire A. Velazco, Nicholas M. Deutscher, David W. T. Griffith, Rigel Kivi, David F. Pollard, Frank Hase, Ralf Sussmann, Yao V. Té, Kimberly Strong, Sébastien Roche, Mahesh K. Sha, Martine De Mazière, Dietrich G. Feist, Laura T. Iraci, Coleen M. Roehl, Christian Retscher, and Dinand Schepers
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 789–819, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-789-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-789-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present new satellite-derived data sets of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The data products are column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of CO2 and CH4, denoted XCO2 and XCH4. The products cover the years 2003–2018 and are merged Level 2 (satellite footprints) and merged Level 3 (gridded at monthly time and 5° x 5° spatial resolution) products obtained from combining several individual sensor products. We present the merging algorithms and product validation results.
Oliver Schneising, Michael Buchwitz, Maximilian Reuter, Heinrich Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, Tobias Borsdorff, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Dietrich G. Feist, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Christian Hermans, Laura T. Iraci, Rigel Kivi, Jochen Landgraf, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Christof Petri, David F. Pollard, Sébastien Roche, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Voltaire A. Velazco, Thorsten Warneke, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6771–6802, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6771-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6771-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce an algorithm that is used to simultaneously derive the abundances of the important atmospheric constituents carbon monoxide and methane from the TROPOMI instrument onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, which enables the determination of both gases with an unprecedented level of detail on a global scale. The quality of the resulting data sets is assessed and the first results are presented.
Susan S. Kulawik, Sean Crowell, David Baker, Junjie Liu, Kathryn McKain, Colm Sweeney, Sebastien C. Biraud, Steve Wofsy, Christopher W. O'Dell, Paul O. Wennberg, Debra Wunch, Coleen M. Roehl, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Matthäus Kiel, David W. T. Griffith, Voltaire A. Velazco, Justus Notholt, Thorsten Warneke, Christof Petri, Martine De Mazière, Mahesh K. Sha, Ralf Sussmann, Markus Rettinger, Dave F. Pollard, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Frank Hase, Dietrich G. Feist, Sébastien Roche, Kimberly Strong, Rigel Kivi, Laura Iraci, Kei Shiomi, Manvendra K. Dubey, Eliezer Sepulveda, Omaira Elena Garcia Rodriguez, Yao Té, Pascal Jeseck, Pauli Heikkinen, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Michael R. Gunson, Annmarie Eldering, David Crisp, Brendan Fisher, and Gregory B. Osterman
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-257, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-257, 2019
Publication in AMT not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides a benchmark of OCO-2 v8 and ACOS-GOSAT v7.3 XCO2 and lowermost tropospheric (LMT) errors. The paper focuses on the systematic errors and subtracts out validation, co-location, and random errors, looks at the correlation scale-length (spatially and temporally) of systematic errors, finding that the scale lengths are similar to bias correction scale-lengths. The assimilates of the bias correction term is used to place an error on fluxes estimates.
Mai Ouchi, Yutaka Matsumi, Tomoki Nakayama, Kensaku Shimizu, Takehiko Sawada, Toshinobu Machida, Hidekazu Matsueda, Yousuke Sawa, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Tomoaki Tanaka, and Ryoichi Imasu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5639–5653, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5639-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5639-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A novel, practical observation system for measuring tropospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations carried by a small helium-filled balloon (CO2 sonde) has been developed for the first time. The low-cost CO2 sondes can potentially be used for frequent measurements of vertical profiles of CO2 in any parts of the world, providing useful information to understand the global and regional carbon budgets by replenishing the present sparse observation coverage.
Jacob K. Hedelius, Tai-Long He, Dylan B. A. Jones, Bianca C. Baier, Rebecca R. Buchholz, Martine De Mazière, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Manvendra K. Dubey, Dietrich G. Feist, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Laura T. Iraci, Pascal Jeseck, Matthäus Kiel, Rigel Kivi, Cheng Liu, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Young-Suk Oh, Hirofumi Ohyama, David F. Pollard, Markus Rettinger, Sébastien Roche, Coleen M. Roehl, Matthias Schneider, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Colm Sweeney, Yao Té, Osamu Uchino, Voltaire A. Velazco, Wei Wang, Thorsten Warneke, Paul O. Wennberg, Helen M. Worden, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5547–5572, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5547-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We seek ways to improve the accuracy of column measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) – an important tracer of pollution – made from the MOPITT satellite instrument. We devise a filtering scheme which reduces the scatter and also eliminates bias among the MOPITT detectors. Compared to ground-based observations, MOPITT measurements are about 6 %–8 % higher. When MOPITT data are implemented in a global assimilation model, they tend to reduce the model mismatch with aircraft measurements.
Ju-Mee Ryoo, Laura T. Iraci, Tomoaki Tanaka, Josette E. Marrero, Emma L. Yates, Inez Fung, Anna M. Michalak, Jovan Tadić, Warren Gore, T. Paul Bui, Jonathan M. Dean-Day, and Cecilia S. Chang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2949–2966, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2949-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2949-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We designed cylindrical flights and computed the emission fluxes using a kriging method and Gauss's theorem over Sacramento, California. Differences in wind treatment and background affect the emission estimates by a factor of 1.5 to 7. The effects of the vertical layer average and the vertical mass transfer on the emission estimates are found to be small, esp. local scale. The result also suggests a closed-shape flight profile can better contain total emissions than a one-sided curtain flight.
Andrew O. Langford, Raul J. Alvarez II, Guillaume Kirgis, Christoph J. Senff, Dani Caputi, Stephen A. Conley, Ian C. Faloona, Laura T. Iraci, Josette E. Marrero, Mimi E. McNamara, Ju-Mee Ryoo, and Emma L. Yates
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1889–1904, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1889-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1889-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Lidar, aircraft, and surface measurements of ozone made during the 2016 California Baseline Ozone Transport Study (CABOTS) are compared to assess their validity and verify their suitability for investigations into the contributions of stratosphere-to-troposphere transport, Asian pollution, and wildfires to summertime surface ozone concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Our analysis shows that the lidar and aircraft measurements agree, on average, to within ±5 ppbv.
Kieran Brophy, Heather Graven, Alistair J. Manning, Emily White, Tim Arnold, Marc L. Fischer, Seongeun Jeong, Xinguang Cui, and Matthew Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2991–3006, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2991-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2991-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate potential errors and uncertainties related to the spatial and temporal prior representation of emissions and modelled atmospheric transport for the inversion of California's fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Our results indicate that uncertainties in posterior total state fossil fuel CO2 estimates arising from the choice of prior emissions or atmospheric transport model are on the order of 15 % or less for the ground-based network in California we consider.
Christopher W. O'Dell, Annmarie Eldering, Paul O. Wennberg, David Crisp, Michael R. Gunson, Brendan Fisher, Christian Frankenberg, Matthäus Kiel, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Lukas Mandrake, Aronne Merrelli, Vijay Natraj, Robert R. Nelson, Gregory B. Osterman, Vivienne H. Payne, Thomas E. Taylor, Debra Wunch, Brian J. Drouin, Fabiano Oyafuso, Albert Chang, James McDuffie, Michael Smyth, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Frédéric Chevallier, Sean M. R. Crowell, Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, Mavendra Dubey, Omaira E. García, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Laura T. Iraci, Rigel Kivi, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Hirofumi Ohyama, Christof Petri, Coleen M. Roehl, Mahesh K. Sha, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Yao Te, Osamu Uchino, and Voltaire A. Velazco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6539–6576, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6539-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6539-2018, 2018
Ira Leifer, F. Robert Chen, Thomas McClimans, Frank Muller Karger, and Leonid Yurganov
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-237, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-237, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
We studied long-term satellite data of the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS) of atmospheric CH4 and sea surface temperature (SST). Enhanced CH4 was found near Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, sources not in current budgets and areas of shoaling–where currents drive CH4–rich seabed water upslope to escape to the atmosphere, far from the source. Trends suggest increasing current heat transport warms the seabed, driving CH4 seepage from submerged hydrates and permafrost.
Jacob K. Hedelius, Junjie Liu, Tomohiro Oda, Shamil Maksyutov, Coleen M. Roehl, Laura T. Iraci, James R. Podolske, Patrick W. Hillyard, Jianming Liang, Kevin R. Gurney, Debra Wunch, and Paul O. Wennberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 16271–16291, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16271-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16271-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Human activities can cause concentrated emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from cities. There is ongoing effort to convert new satellite observations of pollutants into fluxes for many cities. Here we present a method for determining the flux of three species (CO2, CH4, and CO) from the greater LA area using satellite (CO2 only) and ground-based (all three species) observations. We run tests to estimate uncertainty and find the direct net CO2 flux is 104 ± 26 Tg CO2 yr−1.
Lianghai Wu, Otto Hasekamp, Haili Hu, Jochen Landgraf, Andre Butz, Joost aan de Brugh, Ilse Aben, Dave F. Pollard, David W. T. Griffith, Dietrich G. Feist, Dmitry Koshelev, Frank Hase, Geoffrey C. Toon, Hirofumi Ohyama, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Kei Shiomi, Laura Iraci, Matthias Schneider, Martine de Mazière, Ralf Sussmann, Rigel Kivi, Thorsten Warneke, Tae-Young Goo, and Yao Té
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3111–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3111-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3111-2018, 2018
Ira Leifer, F. Robert Chen, Thomas McClimans, Frank Muller Karger, and Leonid Yurganov
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-75, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-75, 2018
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
Based on long-term satellite data of sea surface temperature and methane in the Barents and Kara Seas trends of increasing methane and sea surface temperature were found that were related to strengthening currents with strong methane anomalies near Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Likely sources are methane seepage from subsea permafrost and hydrates, with current shoaling aiding the transport of near seabed dissolved methane to upper waters and the atmosphere.
Jason M. St. Clair, Andrew K. Swanson, Steven A. Bailey, Glenn M. Wolfe, Josette E. Marrero, Laura T. Iraci, John G. Hagopian, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4833–4844, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4833-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4833-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Formaldehyde is an abundant, photochemically influential trace species in the Earth’s atmosphere. We present a new instrument for measuring atmospheric formaldehyde using a laser-based measurement technique that is more compact and lower cost than previous laser-based formaldehyde instruments. The instrument is part of the Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) payload at the NASA Ames Research Center and has collected data on 27 flights between December 2015 and March 2017.
Sven Krautwurst, Konstantin Gerilowski, Haflidi H. Jonsson, David R. Thompson, Richard W. Kolyer, Laura T. Iraci, Andrew K. Thorpe, Markus Horstjann, Michael Eastwood, Ira Leifer, Samuel A. Vigil, Thomas Krings, Jakob Borchardt, Michael Buchwitz, Matthew M. Fladeland, John P. Burrows, and Heinrich Bovensmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3429–3452, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3429-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3429-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates a subset of data collected during the CO2 and Methane EXperiment (COMEX) in 2014. It focuses on airborne measurements to quantify the emissions from landfills in the Los Angeles Basin. Airborne remote sensing data have been used to estimate the emission rate of one particular landfill on four different days. The results have been compared to airborne in situ measurements. Airborne imaging spectroscopy has been used to identify emission hotspots across the landfill.
Debra Wunch, Paul O. Wennberg, Gregory Osterman, Brendan Fisher, Bret Naylor, Coleen M. Roehl, Christopher O'Dell, Lukas Mandrake, Camille Viatte, Matthäus Kiel, David W. T. Griffith, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Voltaire A. Velazco, Justus Notholt, Thorsten Warneke, Christof Petri, Martine De Maziere, Mahesh K. Sha, Ralf Sussmann, Markus Rettinger, David Pollard, John Robinson, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Frank Hase, Thomas Blumenstock, Dietrich G. Feist, Sabrina G. Arnold, Kimberly Strong, Joseph Mendonca, Rigel Kivi, Pauli Heikkinen, Laura Iraci, James Podolske, Patrick W. Hillyard, Shuji Kawakami, Manvendra K. Dubey, Harrison A. Parker, Eliezer Sepulveda, Omaira E. García, Yao Te, Pascal Jeseck, Michael R. Gunson, David Crisp, and Annmarie Eldering
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2209–2238, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2209-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2209-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the comparisons between NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of CO2 with its primary ground-based validation network, the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). The paper shows that while the standard bias correction reduces much of the spurious variability in the satellite measurements, residual biases remain.
Ira Leifer, Denis Chernykh, Natalia Shakhova, and Igor Semiletov
The Cryosphere, 11, 1333–1350, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1333-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1333-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Vast Arctic methane deposits may alter global climate and require remote sensing (RS) to map. Sonar has great promise, but quantitative inversion based on theory is challenged by multiple bubble acoustical scattering in plumes. We demonstrate use of a real-world in situ bubble plume calibration using a bubble model to correct for differences in the calibration and seep plumes. Spatial seep sonar maps were then used to improve understanding of subsurface geologic controls.
Susan S. Kulawik, Chris O'Dell, Vivienne H. Payne, Le Kuai, Helen M. Worden, Sebastien C. Biraud, Colm Sweeney, Britton Stephens, Laura T. Iraci, Emma L. Yates, and Tomoaki Tanaka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5407–5438, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5407-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5407-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce new vertically resolved GOSAT products that better separate locally and remotely influenced CO2. Current GOSAT column results for CO2 (XCO2) are sensitive to fluxes on continental scales, whereas flux estimates from surface and tower measurements are affected by sampling bias and model transport uncertainty. These new GOSAT measurements of boundary layer CO2 are validated against aircraft and surface observations of CO2 and are compared to vertically resolved MOPITT CO.
Jacob K. Hedelius, Harrison Parker, Debra Wunch, Coleen M. Roehl, Camille Viatte, Sally Newman, Geoffrey C. Toon, James R. Podolske, Patrick W. Hillyard, Laura T. Iraci, Manvendra K. Dubey, and Paul O. Wennberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1481–1493, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1481-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1481-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Two portable spectrometers, assumed to be internally precise, were taken to four different sites with (stationary) TCCON spectrometers. Biases of column averaged CO2 and CH4 measured among the TCCON sites were estimated experimentally. Results suggest that maximum (95 % confidence interval) bias among sites is less than what was estimated from a previous analytical error analysis.
Makoto Inoue, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Takahiro Nakatsuru, Yukio Yoshida, Tatsuya Yokota, Debra Wunch, Paul O. Wennberg, Coleen M. Roehl, David W. T. Griffith, Voltaire A. Velazco, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Thorsten Warneke, Justus Notholt, John Robinson, Vanessa Sherlock, Frank Hase, Thomas Blumenstock, Markus Rettinger, Ralf Sussmann, Esko Kyrö, Rigel Kivi, Kei Shiomi, Shuji Kawakami, Martine De Mazière, Sabrina G. Arnold, Dietrich G. Feist, Erica A. Barrow, James Barney, Manvendra Dubey, Matthias Schneider, Laura T. Iraci, James R. Podolske, Patrick W. Hillyard, Toshinobu Machida, Yousuke Sawa, Kazuhiro Tsuboi, Hidekazu Matsueda, Colm Sweeney, Pieter P. Tans, Arlyn E. Andrews, Sebastien C. Biraud, Yukio Fukuyama, Jasna V. Pittman, Eric A. Kort, and Tomoaki Tanaka
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3491–3512, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3491-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3491-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we correct the biases of GOSAT XCO2 and XCH4 using TCCON data. To evaluate the effectiveness of our correction method, uncorrected/corrected GOSAT data are compared to independent XCO2 and XCH4 data derived from aircraft measurements. Consequently, we suggest that this method is effective for reducing the biases of the GOSAT data. We consider that our work provides GOSAT data users with valuable information and contributes to the further development of studies on greenhouse gases.
Sha Feng, Thomas Lauvaux, Sally Newman, Preeti Rao, Ravan Ahmadov, Aijun Deng, Liza I. Díaz-Isaac, Riley M. Duren, Marc L. Fischer, Christoph Gerbig, Kevin R. Gurney, Jianhua Huang, Seongeun Jeong, Zhijin Li, Charles E. Miller, Darragh O'Keeffe, Risa Patarasuk, Stanley P. Sander, Yang Song, Kam W. Wong, and Yuk L. Yung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9019–9045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9019-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9019-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a high-resolution land–atmosphere modelling system for urban CO2 emissions over the LA Basin. We evaluated various model configurations, FFCO2 products, and the impact of the model resolution. FFCO2 emissions outpace the atmospheric model resolution to represent the CO2 concentration variability across the basin. A novel forward model approach is presented to evaluate the surface measurement network, reinforcing the importance of using high-resolution emission products.
Sally Newman, Xiaomei Xu, Kevin R. Gurney, Ying Kuang Hsu, King Fai Li, Xun Jiang, Ralph Keeling, Sha Feng, Darragh O'Keefe, Risa Patarasuk, Kam Weng Wong, Preeti Rao, Marc L. Fischer, and Yuk L. Yung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3843–3863, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3843-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3843-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Combining 14C and 13C data from the Los Angeles, CA megacity with background data allows source attribution of CO2 emissions among biosphere, natural gas, and gasoline. The 8-year record of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning is consistent with "The Great Recession" of 2008–2010. The long-term trend and source attribution are consistent with government inventories. Seasonal patterns agree with the high-resolution Hestia-LA emission data product, when seasonal wind directions are considered.
D. R. Thompson, I. Leifer, H. Bovensmann, M. Eastwood, M. Fladeland, C. Frankenberg, K. Gerilowski, R. O. Green, S. Kratwurst, T. Krings, B. Luna, and A. K. Thorpe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4383–4397, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4383-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4383-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss principles for real-time infrared spectral signature detection and measurement, and report performance onboard the NASA Airborne Visible Infrared Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG). We describe a case study of the NASA/ESA CO2 and MEthane eXperiment (COMEX), a multi-platform campaign to measure CH4 plumes released from anthropogenic sources including oil and gas infrastructure. AVIRIS-NG successfully detected CH4 plumes in concert with other in situ and remote instruments.
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
A modular approach to volatile organic compound samplers for tethered balloon and drone platforms
Performance validation and calibration conditions for novel dynamic baseline tracking air sensors in long-term field monitoring
Observation of greenhouse gas vertical profiles in the boundary layer of the Mount Qomolangma region using a multirotor UAV
Development of a portable laser-flash photolysis Faraday rotation spectrometer for measuring atmospheric total OH reactivity
Surface distributions and vertical profiles of trace gases (CO, O3, NO, NO2) in the Arctic wintertime boundary layer using low-cost sensors during ALPACA-2022
Advances in an OH reactivity instrument for airborne field measurements
The ASK-16 motorized glider: an airborne eddy covariance platform to measure turbulence, energy, and matter fluxes
Development of a Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, for tropospheric and lower-stratospheric water vapor measurements
Deployment and evaluation of an NH4+∕ H3O+ reagent ion switching chemical ionization mass spectrometer for the detection of reduced and oxygenated gas-phase organic compounds
An economical tunable diode laser spectrometer for fast-response measurements of water vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer
Eddy covariance with slow-response greenhouse gas analysers on tall towers: bridging atmospheric and ecosystem greenhouse gas networks
An overview of outdoor low-cost gas-phase air quality sensor deployments: current efforts, trends, and limitations
Multiphysical description of atmospheric pressure interface chemical ionisation in MION2 and Eisele type inlets
Development of a Forced Advection Sampling Technique (FAST) for Quantification of Methane Emissions from Orphaned Wells
A portable nitrogen dioxide instrument using cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy
Development and deployment of a mid-cost CO2 sensor monitoring network to support atmospheric inverse modeling for quantifying urban CO2 emissions in Paris
UAV-based in situ measurements of CO2 and CH4 fluxes over complex natural ecosystems
A new aerial approach for quantifying and attributing methane emissions: implementation and validation
Drone CO2 measurements during the Tajogaite volcanic eruption
Multi-decadal atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements in Hungary, central Europe
Reliable water vapour isotopic composition measurements at low humidity using frequency-stabilised cavity ring-down spectroscopy
On Path Length, Beam Divergence, and Retroreflector Array Size in Open-Path FTIR Spectroscopy
A measurement system for CO2 and CH4 emissions quantification of industrial sites using a new in situ concentration sensor operated on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles
Using metal oxide gas sensors to estimate the emission rates and locations of methane leaks in an industrial site: assessment with controlled methane releases
Toward on-demand measurements of greenhouse gas emissions using an uncrewed aircraft AirCore system
An easy-to-use water vapor sampling approach for stable isotope analysis using affordable membrane valve multi-foil bags
Long-term evaluation of commercial air quality sensors: an overview from the QUANT (Quantification of Utility of Atmospheric Network Technologies) study
In-flight characterization of a compact airborne quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer
Full characterization and calibration of a transfer standard monitor for atmospheric radon measurements
Observing low-altitude features in ozone concentrations in a shoreline environment via uncrewed aerial systems
An integrated uncrewed aerial vehicle platform with sensing and sampling systems for the measurement of air pollutant concentrations
Design and evaluation of a low-cost sensor node for near-background methane measurement
Development of a Multichannel Organics In situ enviRonmental Analyzer (MOIRA) for mobile measurements of volatile organic compounds
Evaluation of Aeris mid-infrared absorption (MIRA), Picarro CRDS (cavity ring-down spectroscopy) G2307, and dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-based sampling for long-term formaldehyde monitoring efforts
Performance characterization of a laminar gas inlet
Validation and field application of a low-cost device to measure CO2 and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes
Identifying and correcting interferences to PTR-ToF-MS measurements of isoprene and other urban volatile organic compounds
Development of a continuous UAV-mounted air sampler and application to the quantification of CO2 and CH4 emissions from a major coking plant
Uptake behavior of polycyclic aromatic compounds during field calibrations of the XAD-based passive air sampler across seasons and locations
Effect of land–sea air mass transport on spatiotemporal distributions of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios over the southern Yellow Sea
HYPHOP: a tool for high-altitude, long-range monitoring of hydrogen peroxide and higher organic peroxides in the atmosphere
Portable, low-cost samplers for distributed sampling of atmospheric gases
SI-traceable validation of a laser spectrometer for balloon-borne measurements of water vapor in the upper atmosphere
Field evaluation of low-cost electrochemical air quality gas sensors under extreme temperature and relative humidity conditions
A novel, cost-effective analytical method for measuring high-resolution vertical profiles of stratospheric trace gases using a gas chromatograph coupled with an electron capture detector
Ethylene oxide monitor with part-per-trillion precision for in situ measurements
Development of an automated pump-efficiency measuring system for ozonesondes utilizing an airbag-type flowmeter
Short-term variability of atmospheric helium revealed through a cryo-enrichment method
Using tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectroscopy for ambient hydrogen chloride detection: HCl-TILDAS
New methods for the calibration of optical resonators: integrated calibration by means of optical modulation (ICOM) and narrow-band cavity ring-down (NB-CRD)
Meghan Guagenti, Darielle Dexheimer, Alexandra Ulinksi, Paul Walter, James H. Flynn III, and Sascha Usenko
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2125–2136, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2125-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2125-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A robust, automatic volatile organic compound (VOC) collection system was developed for vertical VOC sampling associated with the 2022 DOE ARM-program-led TRACER in Houston, Texas. This modular sampler has been developed to measure vertical profiles of VOCs to improve near-surface characterization. This article helps fill the current lack of commercially available options for aerial VOC sampling and serves to support and encourage researchers to build and develop custom samplers.
Han Mei, Peng Wei, Meisam Ahmadi Ghadikolaei, Nirmal Kumar Gali, Ya Wang, and Zhi Ning
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1771–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1771-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1771-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term field testing across diverse climatic environments is conducted to identify the optimized calibration conditions for NO2, NO, CO and O3 electrochemical sensors. The results uncovered three factors that influence calibration performance: calibration period, concentration range and time averaging. We developed a comprehensive framework for the best sensor calibration practices, which serves as a valuable reference for calibrating various sensor types used in air quality monitoring.
Ying Zhou, Congcong Qiao, Minqiang Zhou, Yilong Wang, Xiangjun Tian, Yinghong Wang, and Minzheng Duan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1609–1619, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1609-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1609-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We developed an automated, flexible atmospheric sampling device for various platforms. During a 5 d field campaign in the Mount Qomolangma region, we performed 15 flights using the device mounted on a hexacopter unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV). A total of 139 samples were analyzed using an Agilent 7890A gas chromatograph. Vertical profiles of four greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)) were analyzed and discussed.
Bo Fang, Nana Wei, Weixiong Zhao, Nana Yang, Hao Zhou, Heng Zhang, Jiarong Li, Weijun Zhang, Yanyu Lu, Zhu Zhu, and Yue Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1243–1256, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1243-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1243-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A portable laser-flash photolysis Faraday rotation spectrometer for measuring atmospheric total hydroxyl (OH) reactivity was developed, with optical box dimensions of 130 cm × 40 cm × 35 cm. It features a pump–probe multi-pass cell with a high overlapping factor of 75.4 %. The instrument’s precision and uncertainty are 1.0 s-1 (1σ, 300 s) and within 2 s-1, respectively. This portable, cost-effective instrument expands current measurement capabilities and is convenient for field applications.
Brice Barret, Patrice Medina, Natalie Brett, Roman Pohorsky, Kathy S. Law, Slimane Bekki, Gilberto J. Fochesatto, Julia Schmale, Steve R. Arnold, Andrea Baccarini, Maurizio Busetto, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, Barbara D'Anna, Stefano Decesari, Jingqiu Mao, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Joel Savarino, Federico Scoto, and William R. Simpson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1163–1184, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1163-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1163-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Fairbanks area experiences severe pollution episodes in winter because of enhanced emissions of pollutants trapped near the surface by strong temperature inversions. Low-cost sensors were deployed on board a car and a tethered balloon to measure the concentrations of gaseous pollutants (CO, O3, and NOx) in Fairbanks during winter 2022. Data calibration with reference measurements and machine learning methods enabled us to document pollution at the surface and power plant plumes aloft.
Hendrik Fuchs, Aaron Stainsby, Florian Berg, René Dubus, Michelle Färber, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Kelvin H. Bates, Steven S. Brown, Matthew M. Coggon, Glenn S. Diskin, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Christopher M. Jernigan, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Nell B. Schafer, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Patrick R. Veres, Carsten Warneke, Eleanor M. Waxman, Lu Xu, Kristen Zuraski, Andreas Wahner, and Anna Novelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 881–895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Significant improvements have been made to the instruments used to measure OH reactivity, which is equivalent to the sum of air pollutant concentrations. Accurate and precise measurements with a high time resolution have been achieved, allowing use on aircraft, as demonstrated during flights in the USA.
Inge Wiekenkamp, Anna Katharina Lehmann, Alexander Bütow, Jörg Hartmann, Stefan Metzger, Thomas Ruhtz, Christian Wille, Mathias Zöllner, and Torsten Sachs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 749–772, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne eddy covariance platforms are crucial to measure three-dimensional wind and turbulent matter and energy transport between the surface and the atmosphere at larger scales. In this study, we introduce a new airborne eddy covariance platform (Schleicher ASK-16) and demonstrate that this platform is able to accurately measure turbulent fluxes and wind vectors. Data from this platform can help to build bridges between local tower measurements and remote-sensing-based products.
Takuji Sugidachi, Masatomo Fujiwara, Kensaku Shimizu, Shin-Ya Ogino, Junko Suzuki, and Ruud J. Dirksen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 509–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, has been developed to measure tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor. Continuous accurate measurements of water vapor are essential for climate monitoring. More than 40 soundings with SKYDEW have been conducted since 2011 to evaluate the performance. The result of soundings at tropical and midlatitudes demonstrated that SKYDEW is able to measure up to an altitude of 20–25 km for daytime soundings and above 25 km for nighttime soundings.
Cort L. Zang and Megan D. Willis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 17–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric chemistry of the diverse pool of reactive organic carbon (ROC; all organic species excluding methane) controls air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and influences Earth's climate. However, many important ROC compounds in the atmosphere are difficult to measure. We demonstrate measurement of diverse ROC compounds in a single instrument at a forested site. This approach can improve our ability to measure a broad range of atmospheric ROC.
Emily D. Wein, Lars E. Kalnajs, and Darin W. Toohey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7097–7107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a low-cost and small research-grade spectrometer for measurements of water vapor in the boundary layer. The instrument uses small Arduino microcontrollers and inexpensive laser diodes to reduce cost while maintaining high performance comparable to more expensive instruments. Performance was assessed with intercomparisons between commercially available instruments outdoors. The design's simplicity, performance, and price point allow it to be accessible to a variety of users.
Pedro Henrique Herig Coimbra, Benjamin Loubet, Olivier Laurent, Laura Bignotti, Mathis Lozano, and Michel Ramonet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6625–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents direct flux measurements in tall towers using existing slow-response analysers and adding 3D sonic anemometers. This way, we can significantly improve greenhouse gas monitoring with little extra instrumental effort. Slow-response analysers may be used here as the relevant frequency ranges depend on measuring height. Tall towers offer a large footprint, amplifying spatial coverage. The presented concept is a valuable bridge between atmospheric and ecosystem communities.
Kristen Okorn and Laura T. Iraci
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6425–6457, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We reviewed 60 sensor networks and 17 related efforts (sensor review papers and data accessibility projects) to better understand the landscape of stationary low-cost gas-phase sensor networks deployed in outdoor environments worldwide. Gaps in monitoring efforts include the availability of gas-phase measurements compared to particulate matter (PM) and geographic coverage gaps (the Global South, rural areas). We conclude with a summary of cross-network unification and quality control efforts.
Henning Finkenzeller, Jyri Mikkilä, Cecilia Righi, Paxton Juuti, Mikko Sipilä, Matti Rissanen, Douglas Worsnop, Aleksei Shcherbinin, Nina Sarnela, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5989–6001, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5989-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5989-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Chemical ionisation mass spectrometry is used in the atmospheric sciences to measure trace gas concentrations. Neutral gases require charging in inlets before the mass-to-charge ratio of the resulting ions can be analysed. This study uses multiphysics modelling to investigate how the MION2 and Eisele type inlets work and shows the effect of tuning parameters and their current limitations. The findings are helpful for inlet users and are expected to aid in developing improved inlets.
Mohit L. Dubey, Andre Santos, Andrew B. Moyes, Ken Reichl, James E. Lee, Manvendra K. Dubey, Corentin LeYhuelic, Evan Variano, Emily Follansbee, Fotini K. Chow, and Sébastien C. Biraud
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3040, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3040, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Orphaned wells, meaning wells lacking responsible owners, pose a significant and poorly understood environmental challenge. We propose, develop, and test a novel method for estimating emissions from orphaned wells using a Forced Advection Sampling Technique (FAST) that can overcome many of the limitations in current methods (cost, accuracy, safety). Our results suggest that the FAST method can provide a low-cost alternative to existing methods over a range of leak rates.
Steven A. Bailey, Reem A. Hannun, Andrew K. Swanson, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5903–5910, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We have developed a portable, optically based instrument that measures NO2. It consumes less than 6 W of power, so it can easily run off a small battery. This instrument has made both balloon and UAV flights. NO2 measurement results compare favorably with other known NO2 instruments. We find this instrument to be stable with repeatable results compared with calibration sources. Material cost to build a single instrument is around USD 4000. This could be lowered with economies of scale.
Jinghui Lian, Olivier Laurent, Mali Chariot, Luc Lienhardt, Michel Ramonet, Hervé Utard, Thomas Lauvaux, François-Marie Bréon, Grégoire Broquet, Karina Cucchi, Laurent Millair, and Philippe Ciais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5821–5839, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5821-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5821-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We have designed and deployed a mid-cost medium-precision CO2 sensor monitoring network in Paris since July 2020. The data are automatically calibrated by a newly implemented data processing system. The accuracies of the mid-cost instruments vary from 1.0 to 2.4 ppm for hourly afternoon measurements. Our model–data analyses highlight prospects for integrating mid-cost instrument data with high-precision measurements to improve fine-scale CO2 emission quantification in urban areas.
Abdullah Bolek, Martin Heimann, and Mathias Göckede
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5619–5636, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5619-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5619-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study describes the development of a new UAV platform to measure atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) mole fractions, 2D wind speed, air temperature, humidity, and pressure. Understanding GHG flux processes and controls across various ecosystems is essential for estimating the current and future state of climate change. It was shown that using the UAV platform for such measurements is beneficial for improving our understanding of GHG processes over complex landscapes.
Jonathan F. Dooley, Kenneth Minschwaner, Manvendra K. Dubey, Sahar H. El Abbadi, Evan D. Sherwin, Aaron G. Meyer, Emily Follansbee, and James E. Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5091–5111, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5091-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5091-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas originating from both natural and human activities. We describe a new uncrewed aerial system (UAS) designed to measure methane emission rates over a wide range of scales. This system has been used for direct quantification of point sources and distributed emitters over scales of up to 1 km. The system uses simultaneous measurements of methane and ethane to distinguish between different kinds of natural and human-related emission sources.
John Ericksen, Tobias P. Fischer, G. Matthew Fricke, Scott Nowicki, Nemesio M. Pérez, Pedro Hernández Pérez, Eleazar Padrón González, and Melanie E. Moses
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4725–4736, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4725-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4725-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Volcanic eruptions emit significant quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. We present a new method for directly determining the CO2 emission from a volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma, Spain, using an unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV). We also collected samples of the emitted CO2 and analyzed their isotopic composition. Together with the emission rate the isotopic data provide valuable information on the state of volcanic activity and the potential evolution of the eruption.
László Haszpra
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4629–4647, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4629-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4629-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The paper evaluates a 30-year-long atmospheric CO2 data series from a mid-continental central European site, Hegyhátsál (HUN). It presents the site-specific features observed in the long-term evolution of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Since the measurement data are widely used in atmospheric inverse models and budget calculations all around the world, the paper provides potentially valuable information for model tuning and interpretation of the model results.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Tim Stoltmann, Justin Chaillot, Mathieu Daëron, Fréderic Prié, Baptiste Bordet, and Samir Kassi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4599–4612, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4599-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4599-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Measuring water isotopic composition in Antarctica is difficult because of the extremely cold temperature in winter. Here, we designed a new infrared spectrometer able to measure the vapour isotopic composition during more than 95 % of the year in the coldest locations of Antarctica, whereas current commercial instruments are only able to measure during the warm summer months in the interior.
Cameron E. N. Power and Aldona Wiacek
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-97, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-97, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
The choice of path length and retroreflector array size in open-path FTIR spectroscopy must be made with care. Longer paths increase target gas absorption (lowering detection limits) and larger retroreflector arrays improve the SNR of spectra by increasing the return signal (improving retrieved concentration precision), but there are limitations to both. An optimum array size and path combination exists in each specific observational environment and application, as explored in this work.
Jean-Louis Bonne, Ludovic Donnat, Grégory Albora, Jérémie Burgalat, Nicolas Chauvin, Delphine Combaz, Julien Cousin, Thomas Decarpenterie, Olivier Duclaux, Nicolas Dumelié, Nicolas Galas, Catherine Juery, Florian Parent, Florent Pineau, Abel Maunoury, Olivier Ventre, Marie-France Bénassy, and Lilian Joly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4471–4491, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a top-down approach to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions at the scale of an industrial site, based on a mass balance model relying on atmospheric concentrations measurements from a new sensor embarked on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles (UAVs). We present a laboratory characterization of our sensor and a field validation of our quantification method, together with field application to the monitoring of two real-world offshore oil and gas platforms.
Rodrigo Rivera-Martinez, Pramod Kumar, Olivier Laurent, Gregoire Broquet, Christopher Caldow, Ford Cropley, Diego Santaren, Adil Shah, Cécile Mallet, Michel Ramonet, Leonard Rivier, Catherine Juery, Olivier Duclaux, Caroline Bouchet, Elisa Allegrini, Hervé Utard, and Philippe Ciais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4257–4290, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4257-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4257-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the use of metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) as a low-cost alternative for detecting and measuring CH4 emissions from industrial facilities. MOSs were exposed to several controlled releases to test their accuracy in detecting and quantifying emissions. Two reconstruction models were compared, and emission estimates were computed using a Gaussian dispersion model. Findings show that MOSs can provide accurate emission estimates with a 25 % emission rate error and a 9.5 m location error.
Zihan Zhu, Javier González-Rocha, Yifan Ding, Isis Frausto-Vicencio, Sajjan Heerah, Akula Venkatram, Manvendra Dubey, Don Collins, and Francesca M. Hopkins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3883–3895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3883-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3883-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Increases in agriculture, oil and gas, and waste management activities have contributed to the increase in atmospheric methane levels and resultant climate warming. In this paper, we explore the use of small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUASs) and AirCore technology to detect and quantify methane emissions. Results from field experiments demonstrate that sUASs and AirCore technology can be effective for detecting and quantifying methane emissions in near real time.
Adrian Dahlmann, John D. Marshall, David Dubbert, Mathias Hoffmann, and Maren Dubbert
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-43, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-43, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
Water-stable isotopes are commonly used in hydrological and ecological research. Until now, measurements were obtained either destructive or directly in the field. Here, we present a novel, affordable, and easy-to-use approach to measure the stable isotope signatures of soil water. Our gas bag approach demonstrates a high accuracy and extends the usability by allowing water vapor samples to be collected and stored in the field without the need for an instrument or a permanent power supply.
Sebastian Diez, Stuart Lacy, Hugh Coe, Josefina Urquiza, Max Priestman, Michael Flynn, Nicholas Marsden, Nicholas A. Martin, Stefan Gillott, Thomas Bannan, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3809–3827, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3809-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present an overview of the QUANT project, which to our knowledge is one of the largest evaluations of commercial sensors to date. The objective was to evaluate the performance of a range of commercial products and also to nourish the different applications in which these technologies can offer relevant information.
Linda Ort, Lenard Lukas Röder, Uwe Parchatka, Rainer Königstedt, Daniel Crowley, Frank Kunz, Ralf Wittkowski, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3553–3565, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3553-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3553-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne in situ measurements are of great importance to collect valuable data to improve our knowledge of the atmosphere but also present challenges which demand specific designs. This study presents an IR spectrometer for airborne trace-gas measurements with high data efficiency and a simple, compact design. Its in-flight performance is characterized with the help of a test flight and a comparison with another spectrometer. Moreover, results from its first campaign highlight its benefits.
Roger Curcoll, Claudia Grossi, Stefan Röttger, and Arturo Vargas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3047–3065, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3047-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new user-friendly version of the Atmospheric Radon MONitor (ARMON). The efficiency of the instrument is of 0.0057 s-1, obtained using different techniques at Spanish and German chambers. The total calculated uncertainty of the ARMON for hourly radon concentrations above 5 Bq m-3 is lower than 10 % (k = 1). Results confirm that the ARMON is suitable to measure low-level radon activity concentrations and to be used as a transfer standard to calibrate in situ radon monitors.
Josie K. Radtke, Benjamin N. Kies, Whitney A. Mottishaw, Sydney M. Zeuli, Aidan T. H. Voon, Kelly L. Koerber, Grant W. Petty, Michael P. Vermeuel, Timothy H. Bertram, Ankur R. Desai, Joseph P. Hupy, R. Bradley Pierce, Timothy J. Wagner, and Patricia A. Cleary
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2833–2847, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2833-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2833-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The use of uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs) to conduct a vertical profiling of ozone and meteorological variables was evaluated using comparisons between tower or ground observations and UAS-based measurements. Changes to the UAS profiler showed an improvement in performance. The profiler was used to see the impact of Chicago pollution plumes on a shoreline area near Lake Michigan.
Chen-Wei Liang and Chang-Hung Shen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2671–2686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2671-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2671-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In the present study, a UAV platform with sensing and sampling systems was developed for 3D air pollutant concentration measurements. The sensing system of this platform contains multiple microsensors and IoT technologies for obtaining the real-time 3D distributions of critical air pollutants. The sampling system contains gas sampling sets and a 1 L Tedlar bag instead of a canister for the 3D measurement of VOC concentrations in accordance with the TO-15 method of the US EPA.
Daniel Furuta, Bruce Wilson, Albert A. Presto, and Jiayu Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2103–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is an important driver of climate change and is challenging to inexpensively sense in low atmospheric concentrations. We developed a low-cost sensor to monitor methane and tested it in indoor and outdoor settings. Our device shows promise for monitoring low levels of methane. We characterize its limitations and suggest future research directions for further development.
Audrey J. Dang, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Tyler L. Cargill, Jhao-Hong Chen, Sydney Hornitschek, Remy Hutheesing, Jay R. Turner, and Brent J. Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2067–2087, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Multichannel Organics In situ enviRonmental Analyzer (MOIRA) is a new instrument for measuring speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air and has been developed for mapping concentrations from a hybrid car. MOIRA is characterized in the lab and pilot field studies of indoor air in a single-family residence and outdoor air during a mobile deployment. Future applications include indoor, outdoor, and lab measurements to grasp the impact of VOCs on air quality, health, and climate.
Asher P. Mouat, Zelda A. Siegel, and Jennifer Kaiser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1979–1994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Three fast-measurement formaldehyde monitors were deployed at two field sites in Atlanta, GA, over 1 year. Four different zeroing methods were tested to develop an optimal field setup as well as procedures for instrument calibration. Observations agreed well after calibration but were much higher compared to the TO-11A monitoring method, which is the golden standard. Historical HCHO concentrations were compared with measurements in this work, showing a 22 % reduction in midday HCHO since 1999.
Da Yang, Margarita Reza, Roy Mauldin, Rainer Volkamer, and Suresh Dhaniyala
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1463–1474, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper evaluates the performance of an aircraft gas inlet. Here, we use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiments to demonstrate the role of turbulence in determining sampling performance of a gas inlet and identify ideal conditions for inlet operation to minimize gas loss. Experiments conducted in a high-speed wind tunnel under near-aircraft speeds validated numerical results. We believe that the results obtained from this work will greatly inform future gas inlet studies.
Reena Macagga, Michael Asante, Geoffroy Sossa, Danica Antonijević, Maren Dubbert, and Mathias Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1317–1332, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using only low-cost microcontrollers and sensors, we constructed a measurement device to accurately and precisely obtain atmospheric carbon dioxide and water fluxes. The device was tested against known concentration increases and high-cost, commercial sensors during a laboratory and field experiment. We additionally tested the device over a longer period in a field study in Ghana during which the net ecosystem carbon balance and water use efficiency of maize cultivation were studied.
Matthew M. Coggon, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Megan S. Claflin, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Lu Xu, Jessica B. Gilman, Julia Marcantonio, Cong Cao, Kelvin Bates, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Aaron Lamplugh, Erin F. Katz, Caleb Arata, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Felix Piel, Francesca Majluf, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, Manjula Canagaratna, Brian M. Lerner, Allen H. Goldstein, John E. Mak, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 801–825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Mass spectrometry is a tool commonly used to measure air pollutants. This study evaluates measurement artifacts produced in the proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer. We provide methods to correct these biases and better measure compounds that degrade air quality.
Tianran Han, Conghui Xie, Yayong Liu, Yanrong Yang, Yuheng Zhang, Yufei Huang, Xiangyu Gao, Xiaohua Zhang, Fangmin Bao, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 677–691, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study reported an integrated UAV measurement platform for GHG monitoring and its application for emission quantification from a coking plant. The key element of this system is a newly designed air sampler, consisting of a 150 m long tube with remote-controlled time stamping. When comparing the top-down results to those derived from the bottom-up inventory method, the present findings indicate that the use of IPCC emission factors for emission calculations can lead to overestimation.
Yuening Li, Faqiang Zhan, Yushan Su, Ying Duan Lei, Chubashini Shunthirasingham, Zilin Zhou, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Hayley Hung, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 715–729, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A simple device for sampling gases from the atmosphere without the help of pumps was calibrated for an important group of hazardous air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). While the sampler appeared to perform well when used for relatively short periods of up to several months, some PACs were lost from the sampler during longer deployments. Sampling rates that can be used to quantitatively interpret the quantities of PACs taken up in the device have been derived.
Jiaxin Li, Kunpeng Zang, Yi Lin, Yuanyuan Chen, Shuo Liu, Shanshan Qiu, Kai Jiang, Xuemei Qing, Haoyu Xiong, Haixiang Hong, Shuangxi Fang, Honghui Xu, and Yujun Jiang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4757–4768, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4757-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4757-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Based on observed data of CO2 and CH4 and meteorological parameters over the Yellow Sea in November 2012 and June 2013, a data process and quality control method was optimized and established to filter the data influenced by multiple factors. Spatial and seasonal variations in CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios were mainly controlled by the East Asian Monsoon, while the influence of air–sea exchange was slight.
Zaneta Hamryszczak, Antonia Hartmann, Dirk Dienhart, Sascha Hafermann, Bettina Brendel, Rainer Königstedt, Uwe Parchatka, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4741–4756, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4741-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Hydroperoxide measurements improve the understanding of atmospheric oxidation processes. We introduce an instrumental setup for airborne measurements. The aim of the work is the characterization of the measurement method with emphasis on interferences impacting instrumental uncertainty. Technical and physical challenges do not critically impact the instrumental performance. The instrument resolves dynamic processes, such as convective transport, as shown based on the CAFE-Brazil campaign.
James F. Hurley, Alejandra Caceres, Deborah F. McGlynn, Mary E. Tovillo, Suzanne Pinar, Roger Schürch, Ksenia Onufrieva, and Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4681–4692, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4681-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4681-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have a wide range of sources and impacts on environments and human health that make them spatially, temporally, and chemically varied. Current methods lack the ability to collect samples in ways that provide spatial and chemical resolution without complex, costly instrumentation. We describe and validate a low-cost, portable VOC sampler and demonstrate its utility in collecting distributed coordinated samples.
Simone Brunamonti, Manuel Graf, Tobias Bühlmann, Céline Pascale, Ivan Ilak, Lukas Emmenegger, and Béla Tuzson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4391–4407, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The abundance of water vapor (H2O) in the upper atmosphere has a significant impact on the rate of global warming. We developed a new lightweight spectrometer (ALBATROSS) for H2O measurements aboard meteorological balloons. Here, we assess the accuracy and precision of ALBATROSS using metrology-grade reference gases. The results demonstrate the exceptional potential of mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy as a new reference method for in situ measurements of H2O in the upper atmosphere.
Roubina Papaconstantinou, Marios Demosthenous, Spyros Bezantakos, Neoclis Hadjigeorgiou, Marinos Costi, Melina Stylianou, Elli Symeou, Chrysanthos Savvides, and George Biskos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3313–3329, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3313-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3313-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we investigate the performance of low-cost electrochemical gas sensors. We carried out yearlong measurements at a traffic air quality monitoring station, where the low-cost sensors were collocated with reference instruments and exposed to highly variable environmental conditions with extremely high temperatures and low relative humidity (RH). Sensors provide measurements that exhibit increasing errors and decreasing correlations as temperature increases and RH decreases.
Jianghanyang Li, Bianca C. Baier, Fred Moore, Tim Newberger, Sonja Wolter, Jack Higgs, Geoff Dutton, Eric Hintsa, Bradley Hall, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2851–2863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Monitoring a suite of trace gases in the stratosphere will help us better understand the stratospheric circulation and its impact on the earth's radiation balance. However, such measurements are rare and usually expensive. We developed an instrument that can measure stratospheric trace gases using a low-cost sampling platform (AirCore). The results showed expected agreement with aircraft measurements, demonstrating this technique provides a low-cost and robust way to observe the stratosphere.
Tara I. Yacovitch, Christoph Dyroff, Joseph R. Roscioli, Conner Daube, J. Barry McManus, and Scott C. Herndon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1915–1921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ethylene oxide is a toxic, carcinogenic compound used in the medical and bulk sterilization industry. Here we describe a precise and fast laser-based ethylene oxide monitor. We report months-long concentrations at a Massachusetts site, and we show how they suggest a potential emission source 35 km away. This source, and another, is confirmed by driving the instrument downwind of the sites, where concentrations were tens to tens of thousands of times greater than background levels.
Tatsumi Nakano and Takashi Morofuji
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1583–1595, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1583-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1583-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have developed a system that can automatically measure the pump efficiency of the ECC-type ozonesonde. Operational measurement for 13 years by this system revealed that the efficiency fluctuates in each and slightly increases over time. Those can affect the estimation of total ozone amount by up to 4 %. This result indicates that it is necessary to understand the tendency of the pump correction factor of each ozonesonde in order to detect the actual atmospheric change with high accuracy.
Benjamin Birner, Eric Morgan, and Ralph F. Keeling
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1551–1561, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1551-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric variations of helium (He) and CO2 are strongly linked due to the co-release of both gases from natural-gas burning. This implies that atmospheric He measurements may be a potentially powerful tool for verifying reported anthropogenic natural-gas usage. Here, we present the development and initial results of a novel measurement system of atmospheric He that paves the way for establishing a global monitoring network in the future.
John W. Halfacre, Jordan Stewart, Scott C. Herndon, Joseph R. Roscioli, Christoph Dyroff, Tara I. Yacovitch, Michael Flynn, Stephen J. Andrews, Steven S. Brown, Patrick R. Veres, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1407–1429, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1407-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1407-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study details a new sampling method for the optical detection of hydrogen chloride (HCl). HCl is an important atmospheric reservoir for chlorine atoms, which can affect nitrogen oxide cycling and the lifetimes of volatile organic compounds and ozone. However, HCl has a high affinity for interacting with surfaces, thereby preventing fast, quantitative measurements. The sampling technique in this study minimizes these surface interactions and provides a high-quality measurement of HCl.
Henning Finkenzeller, Denis Pöhler, Martin Horbanski, Johannes Lampel, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1343–1356, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1343-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1343-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Optical resonators enhance the light path in compact instruments, thereby improving their sensitivity. Determining the established path length in the instrument is a prerequisite for the accurate determination of trace gas concentrations but can be a significant complication in the use of such resonators. Here we show two calibration techniques which are relatively simple and free of consumables but still provide accurate calibrations. This facilitates the use of optical resonators.
Cited articles
Allen, G.: Biogeochemistry: Rebalancing the global methane budget, Nature, 538, 46–48, 2016.
State of the Air: Chicago, IL, American Lung Association: 157 pp., www.lung.org/assets/documents/healthy-air/state-of-the-air/sota-2016-full.pdf (last access: March 2018), 2016.
Bao, J. W., Michelson, S. A., Persson, P. O. G., Djalalova, I. V., and Wilczak, J. M.: Observed and WRF-simulated low-level winds in a high-ozone episode during the Central California Ozone Study, J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim., 47, 2372–2394, 2008.
Boucouvala, D. and Bornstein, R.: Analysis of transport patterns during an SCOS97-NARSTO episode, Atmos. Environment, 37, Supplement 2, 73–94, 2003.
Brandt, A. R., Heath, G. A., Kort, E. A., O'Sullivan, F., Pétron, G., Jordaan, S. M., Tans, P., Wilcox, J., Gopstein, A. M., Arent, D., Wofsy, S., Brown, N. J., Bradley, R., Stucky, G. D., Eardley, D., and Harriss, R.: Methane leaks from North American natural gas systems, Science, 343, 733–735, 2014.
Calgem: California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measurement (CALGEM) Project. DOE, http://calgem.lbl.gov/, 2014.
CARB: Facility GHG Emissions Visualization and Analysis Tool: 2008–2014, Calfornia Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2016.
Chen, H., Winderlich, J., Gerbig, C., Hoefer, A., Rella, C. W., Crosson, E. R., Van Pelt, A. D., Steinbach, J., Kolle, O., Beck, V., Daube, B. C., Gottlieb, E. W., Chow, V. Y., Santoni, G. W., and Wofsy, S. C.: High-accuracy continuous airborne measurements of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) using the cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) technique, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 3, 375–386, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-3-375-2010, 2010.
Dlugokencky, E. J., Nisbet, E. G., Fisher, R., and Lowry, D.: Global atmospheric methane: Budget, changes and dangers, Philos. T. R. Soc. A, 369, 2058–2072, 2011.
Dlugokencky, E. J., Crotwell, A., Masarie, K., White, J., Lang, P., and Crotwell, M.: NOAA Measurements of Long-lived Greenhouse Gases, Asia-Pacific GAW Greenhouse Gases, 6, 6–9, 2013.
EPA: 2013 Inventory of US greenhouse gas: Emissions and sinks: 1990–2011, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, 457 pp., 2013.
EPA: 2017 Inventory of US greenhouse gas: Emissions and sinks: 1990–2015, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC430-P-17-001, 633 pp., 2017.
European Commission: Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), Joint Research Centre (JRC)/Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), 2010.
Farrell, P., Leifer, I., and Culling, D.: Transcontinental methane measurements: Part 1. A mobile surface platform for source investigations, Atmos. Environ., 74, 422–431, 2013.
Fernandez-Cortes, A., Cuezva, S., Alvarez-Gallego, M., Garcia-Anton, E., Pla, C., Benavente, D., Jurado, V., Saiz-Jimenez, C., and Sanchez-Moral, S.: Subterranean atmospheres may act as daily methane sinks, Nat. Commun., 6, 7003, 2015.
Gentner, D. R., Ford, T. B., Guha, A., Boulanger, K., Brioude, J., Angevine, W. M., de Gouw, J. A., Warneke, C., Gilman, J. B., Ryerson, T. B., Peischl, J., Meinardi, S., Blake, D. R., Atlas, E., Lonneman, W. A., Kleindienst, T. E., Beaver, M. R., Clair, J. M. St., Wennberg, P. O., VandenBoer, T. C., Markovic, M. Z., Murphy, J. G., Harley, R. A., and Goldstein, A. H.: Emissions of organic carbon and methane from petroleum and dairy operations in California's San Joaquin Valley, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4955–4978, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4955-2014, 2014.
Ghosh, A., Patra, P. K., Ishijima, K., Umezawa, T., Ito, A., Etheridge, D. M., Sugawara, S., Kawamura, K., Miller, J. B., Dlugokencky, E. J., Krummel, P. B., Fraser, P. J., Steele, L. P., Langenfelds, R. L., Trudinger, C. M., White, J. W. C., Vaughn, B., Saeki, T., Aoki, S., and Nakazawa, T.: Variations in global methane sources and sinks during 1910–2010, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2595–2612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2595-2015, 2015.
Hamill, P., Iraci, L. T., Yates, E. L., Gore, W., Bui, T. P., Tanaka, T., and Loewenstein, M.: A new instrumented airborne platform for atmospheric research, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 97, 397–404, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00241.1, 2016.
IPCC: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 104 pp., 2007.
IPCC: Working Group 1 Contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis, International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, 2216 pp., 2013.
Jeong, S., Zhao, C., Andrews, A. E., Bianco, L., Wilczak, J. M., and Fischer, M. L.: Seasonal variation of CH4 emissions from central California, J. Geophys. Res., 117, D11306, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jd016896, 2012.
Jeong, S., Hsu, Y.-K., Andrews, A. E., Bianco, L., Vaca, P., Wilczak, J. M., and Fischer, M.: Multi-tower measurement network estimate of California's methane emissions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 11339–11351, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50854, 2013.
Jeong, S. S., Millstein, D., and Fischer, M. L.: Spatially explicit methane emissions from petroleum production and the natural gas system in California, Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 5982–5990, 2014.
John, J. G., Fiore, A. M., Naik, V., Horowitz, L. W., and Dunne, J. P.: Climate versus emission drivers of methane lifetime against loss by tropospheric OH from 1860–2100, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12021–12036, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12021-2012, 2012.
Karion, A., Sweeney, C., Pétron, G., Frost, G., Michael Hardesty, R., Kofler, J., Miller, B. R., Newberger, T., Wolter, S., Banta, R., Brewer, A., Dlugokencky, E., Lang, P., Montzka, S. A., Schnell, R., Tans, P., Trainer, M., Zamora, R., and Conley, S.: Methane emissions estimate from airborne measurements over a western United States natural gas field, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 4393–4397, 2013.
Karlsdóttir, S. and Isaksen, I. S. A.: Changing methane lifetime: Possible cause for reduced growth, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 93–96, 2000.
Khalil, M. A. K. and Rasmussen, R. A.: The changing composition of the Earth's atmosphere, in: Composition, chemistry, and climate of the atmosphere, edited by: Singh, H. B., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1995.
Kirschke, S., Bousquet, P., Ciais, P., Saunois, M., Canadell, J. G., Dlugokencky, E. J., Bergamaschi, P., Bergmann, D., Blake, D. R., and Bruhwiler, L.: Three decades of global methane sources and sinks, Nat. Geosci., 6, 813–823, 2013.
Krautwurst, S., Gerilowski, K., Krings, T., Borchard, J., Bovensmann, H., Leifer, I., Fladeland, M. M., Koyler, R., Iraci, L. T., Luna, B., Thompson, D. R., Eastwood, M., Green, R., Jonsson, H. H., Vigil, S. A., and Tratt, D. M.: COMEX – Final Report: Scientific and Technical Assistance for the Deployment of a flexible airborne spectrometer system during CMAPExp and COMEX, IUP-COMEX-FR, 148 pp., 2016.
Krings, T., Gerilowski, K., Buchwitz, M., Reuter, M., Tretner, A., Erzinger, J., Heinze, D., Pflüger, U., Burrows, J. P., and Bovensmann, H.: MAMAP – a new spectrometer system for column-averaged methane and carbon dioxide observations from aircraft: retrieval algorithm and first inversions for point source emission rates, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 4, 1735–1758, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-1735-2011, 2011.
LaFranchi, B. W., Pétron, G., Miller, J. B., Lehman, S. J., Andrews, A. E., Dlugokencky, E. J., Hall, B., Miller, B. R., Montzka, S. A., Neff, W., Novelli, P. C., Sweeney, C., Turnbull, J. C., Wolfe, D. E., Tans, P. P., Gurney, K. R., and Guilderson, T. P.: Constraints on emissions of carbon monoxide, methane, and a suite of hydrocarbons in the Colorado Front Range using observations of 14CO2, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11101–11120, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11101-2013, 2013.
Lamb, B. K., McManus, J., Shorter, J., Kolb, C., Mosher, B., Harriss, R., Allwine, E., Blaha, D., Howard, T., Guenther, A., Lott, R., Siverson, R., Westburg, H., and Zimmerman, P.: Development of atmospheric tracer methods to measure methane emissions from natural gas facilities and urban areas, Environ. Sci. Technol., 29, 1468–1479, 1995.
Leen, J. B., Yu, X. Y., Gupta, M., Baer, D. S., Hubbe, J. M., Kluzek, C. D., Tomlinson, J. M., and Hubbell, M. R., 2nd: Fast in situ airborne measurement of ammonia using a mid-infrared off-axis ICOS spectrometer, Environ. Sci. Tech., 47, 10446–10453, 2013.
Leifer, I., Culling, D., Schneising, O., Farrell, P., Buchwitz, M., and Burrows, J.: Transcontinental methane measurements: Part 2. Mobile surface investigation of fossil fuel industrial fugitive emissions, Atmos. Environ., 74, 432–441, 2013.
Leifer, I., Melton, C., Manish, G., and Leen, B.: Mobile monitoring of methane leakage, Gases and Instrumentation, July/August 2014, 20–24, 2014.
Leifer, I., Melton, C., Frash, J., Fischer, M. L., Cui, X., Murray, J. J., and Green, D. S.: Fusion of mobile in situ and satellite remote sensing observations of chemical release emissions to improve disaster response, Frontiers in Science, 4, 1–14, 2016.
Lillis, P. G., Warden, A., Claypool, G. E., and Magoon, L. B.: Petroleum systems of the San Joaquin Basin Province – geochemical characteristics of gas types: Chapter 10, in: Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California, edited by: Scheirer, A. H., 1713-10, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, 2008.
McKain, K., Down, A., Raciti, S. M., Budney, J., Hutyra, L. R., Floerchinger, C., Herndon, S. C., Nehrkorn, T., Zahniser, M. S., Jackson, R. B., Phillips, N., and Wofsy, S. C.: Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 1941–1946, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416261112, 2015.
Miller, S. M., Wofsy, S. C., Michalak, A. M., Kort, E. A., Andrews, A. E., Biraud, S. C., Dlugokencky, E. J., Eluszkiewicz, J., Fischer, M. L., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Miller, B. R., Miller, J. B., Montzka, S. A., Nehrkorn, T., and Sweeney, C.: Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, 20018–20022, 2013.
NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/wildfires-in-california-august-17-2015 (last access: 16 April 2017), 2015.
Nisbet, E. G., Dlugokencky, E. J., and Bousquet, P.: Methane on the rise – Again, Science, 343, 493–495, 2014.
Nisbet, E. G., Dlugokencky, E. J., Manning, M. R., Lowry, D., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Michel, S. E., Miller, J. B., White, J. W. C., Vaughn, B., Bousquet, P., Pyle, J. A., Warwick, N. J., Cain, M., Brownlow, R., Zazzeri, G., Lanoisellé, M., Manning, A. C., Gloor, E., Worthy, D. E. J., Brunke, E. G., Labuschagne, C., Wolff, E. W., and Ganesan, A. L.: Rising atmospheric methane: 2007–2014 growth and isotopic shift, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 30, 1356–1370, 2016.
Peischl, J., Ryerson, T. B., Brioude, J., Aikin, K. C., Andrews, A. E., Atlas, E., Blake, D., Daube, B. C., de Gouw, J. A., Dlugokencky, E., Frost, G. J., Gentner, D. R., Gilman, J. B., Goldstein, A. H., Harley, R. A., Holloway, J. S., Kofler, J., Kuster, W. C., Lang, P. M., Novelli, P. C., Santoni, G. W., Trainer, M., Wofsy, S. C., and Parrish, D. D.: Quantifying sources of methane using light alkanes in the Los Angeles basin, California, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 2119–2139, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD022697, 2013.
Peischl, J., Ryerson, T. B., Aikin, K. C., de Gouw, J. A., Gilman, J. B., Holloway, J. S., Lerner, B. M., Nadkarni, R., Neuman, J. A., Nowak, J. B., Trainer, M., Warneke, C., and Parrish, D. D.: Quantifying atmospheric methane emissions from the Haynesville, Fayetteville, and northeastern Marcellus shale gas production regions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 2119–2139, 2015.
Peischl, J., Karion, A., Sweeney, C., Kort, E. A., Smith, M., L,., Brandt, A. R., Yeskoo, T., Aikin, K. C., Conley, S. A., and Gvakharia, A.: Quantifying atmospheric methane emissions from oil and natural gas production in the Bakken shale region of North Dakota, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 212, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2016.
Pétron, G., Frost, G., Miller, B. R., Hirsch, A. I., Montzka, S. A., Karion, A., Trainer, M., Sweeney, C., Andrews, A. E., Miller, L., Kofler, J., Bar-Ilan, A., Dlugokencky, E. J., Patrick, L., Moore, C. T. J., Ryerson, T. B., Siso, C., Kolodzey, W., Lang, P. M., Conway, T., Novelli, P., Masarie, K., Hall, B., Guenther, D., Kitzis, D., Miller, J., Welsh, D., Wolfe, D., Neff, W., and Tans, P.: Hydrocarbon emissions characterization in the Colorado Front Range: A pilot study, J. Geophys. Res., 117, D04304, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016360, 2012.
Rigby, M., Prinn, R. G., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., Langenfelds, R. L., Huang, J., Cunnold, D. M., Steele, L. P., Krummel, P. B., Weiss, R. F., O'Doherty, S., Salameh, P. K., Wang, H. J., Harth, C. M., Mühle, J., and Porter, L. W.: Renewed growth of atmospheric methane, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L22805, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036037, 2008.
Rigby, M., Montzka, S. A., Prinn, R. G., White, J. W. C., Young, D., O'Doherty, S., Lunt, M. F., Ganesan, A. L., Manning, A. J., Simmonds, P. G., Salameh, P. K., Harth, C. M., Mühle, J., Weiss, R. F., Fraser, P. J., Steele, L. P., Krummel, P. B., McCulloch, A., and Park, S.: Role of atmospheric oxidation in recent methane growth, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 114, 5373–5377, 2017.
Saunois, M., Bousquet, P., Poulter, B., Peregon, A., Ciais, P., Canadell, J. G., Dlugokencky, E. J., Etiope, G., Bastviken, D., Houweling, S., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Tubiello, F. N., Castaldi, S., Jackson, R. B., Alexe, M., Arora, V. K., Beerling, D. J., Bergamaschi, P., Blake, D. R., Brailsford, G., Bruhwiler, L., Crevoisier, C., Crill, P., Covey, K., Frankenberg, C., Gedney, N., Höglund-Isaksson, L., Ishizawa, M., Ito, A., Joos, F., Kim, H.-S., Kleinen, T., Krummel, P., Lamarque, J.-F., Langenfelds, R., Locatelli, R., Machida, T., Maksyutov, S., Melton, J. R., Morino, I., Naik, V., O'Doherty, S., Parmentier, F.-J. W., Patra, P. K., Peng, C., Peng, S., Peters, G. P., Pison, I., Prinn, R., Ramonet, M., Riley, W. J., Saito, M., Santini, M., Schroeder, R., Simpson, I. J., Spahni, R., Takizawa, A., Thornton, B. F., Tian, H., Tohjima, Y., Viovy, N., Voulgarakis, A., Weiss, R., Wilton, D. J., Wiltshire, A., Worthy, D., Wunch, D., Xu, X., Yoshida, Y., Zhang, B., Zhang, Z., and Zhu, Q.: Variability and quasi-decadal changes in the methane budget over the period 2000–2012, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11135–11161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11135-2017, 2017.
Schwietzke, S., Sherwood, O. A., Bruhwiler, L. M. P., Miller, J. B., Etiope, G., Dlugokencky, E. J., Michel, S. E., Arling, V. A., Vaughn, B. H., White, J. W. C., and Tans, P. P.: Upward revision of global fossil fuel methane emissions based on isotope database, Nature, 538, 88–91, 2016.
Simpson, I. J., Sulbaek Andersen, M. P., Meinardi, S., Bruhwiler, L., Blake, N. J., Helmig, D., Rowland, F. S., and Blake, D. R.: Long-term decline of global atmospheric ethane concentrations and implications for methane, Nature, 488, 490–494, 2012.
Smith, M. L., Kort, E. A., Karion, A., Sweeney, C., Herndon, S. C., and Yacovitch, T. I.: Airborne ethane observations in the Barnett Shale: Quantification of ethane flux and attribution of methane emissions, Environ. Sci. Technol., 49, 8158–8166, 2015.
Sonnemann, G. R. and Grygalashvyly, M.: Global annual methane emission rate derived from its current atmospheric mixing ratio and estimated lifetime, Ann. Geophys., 32, 277–283, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-277-2014, 2014.
Sun, K., Tao, L., Miller, D. J., Khan, A. M., and Zondlo, M. A.: On-road ammonia emissions characterized by mobile, open-path measurements, Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 3943–3950, 2014.
Tanaka, T., Yates, E., Iraci, L. T., Johnson, M. S., Gore, W., Tadi, J. M., Loewenstein, M., Kuze, A., Frankenberg, C., Butz, A., and Yoshida, Y.: Two-year comparison of airborne measurements of CO2 and CH4 with GOSAT at Railroad Valley, Nevada, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote Sens., 54, 4367–4375, 2016.
Thompson, D. R., Leifer, I., Bovensmann, H., Eastwood, M., Fladeland, M., Frankenberg, C., Gerilowski, K., Green, R. O., Kratwurst, S., Krings, T., Luna, B., and Thorpe, A. K.: Real-time remote detection and measurement for airborne imaging spectroscopy: a case study with methane, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4383–4397, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4383-2015, 2015.
VanCuren, R.: Transport aloft drives peak ozone in the Mojave Desert, Atmos. Environ., 109, 331–341, 2015.
Wennberg, P. O., Mui, W., Wunch, D., Kort, E. A., Blake, D. R., Atlas, E. L., Santoni, G. W., Wofsy, S. C., Diskin, G. S., Jeong, S., and Fischer, M. L.: On the sources of methane to the Los Angeles atmosphere, Environ. Sci. Technol., 46, 9282–9289, 2012.
White, W. H., Anderson, J. A., Blumenthal, D. L., Husar, R. B., Gillani, N. V., Husar, J. D., and Wilson, W. E.: Formation and transport of secondary air pollutants: Ozone and aerosols in the St. Louis urban plume, Science, 194, 187–189, 1976.
Wunch, D., Wennberg, P. O., Toon, G. C., Keppel-Aleks, G., and Yavin, Y. G.: Emissions of greenhouse gases from a North American megacity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15810, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009gl039825, 2009.
Yacovitch, T. I., Herndon, S. C., Pétron, G., Kofler, J., Lyon, D., Zahniser, M. S., and Kolb, C. E.: Mobile laboratory observations of methane emissions in the Barnett Shale Region, Environ. Sci. Technol., 49, 7889–7895, 2015.
Yates, E. L., Iraci, L. T., Roby, M. C., Pierce, R. B., Johnson, M. S., Reddy, P. J., Tadic, J. M., Loewenstein, M., and Gore, W.: Airborne observations and modeling of springtime stratosphere-to-troposphere transport over California, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12481–12494, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12481-2013, 2013.
Zhong, S., Whiteman, C. D., and Bian, X.: Diurnal evolution of three-dimensional wind and temperature structure in California's Central Valley, J. Appl. Meteorol., 43, 1679–1699, 2004.
Short summary
Airborne/mobile-surface data were collected to derive active oil field trace gas emissions near Bakersfield, CA, characterizing the atmosphere from the surface to above the planetary boundary layer (PBL) by combining downwind concentration anomaly (plume) above background with normal winds. Air–surface comparison for a mountain profile (0.1–2.2 km) confirmed surface winds. Annualized oil field emissions were 31.3±16 Gg CH4 and 2.4±1.2 Tg CO2. The PBL was not well mixed even 10–20 km downwind.
Airborne/mobile-surface data were collected to derive active oil field trace gas emissions near...
