Articles | Volume 15, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7155-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7155-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Dec 2022
Research article |
| 13 Dec 2022
| 13 Dec 2022
Detecting and quantifying methane emissions from oil and gas production: algorithm development with ground-truth calibration based on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery
Zhan Zhang
Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University,
Stanford, California 94305, United States
Evan D. Sherwin
Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University,
Stanford, California 94305, United States
Daniel J. Varon
School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
GHGSat, Inc., Montréal, H2W 1Y5, Canada
Adam R. Brandt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University,
Stanford, California 94305, United States
Related authors
Evan Sherwin, Sahar El Abbadi, Philippine Burdeau, Zhan Zhang, Zhenlin Chen, Jeffrey Rutherford, Yuanlei Chen, and Adam Brandt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X56089, https://doi.org/10.31223/X56089, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites measurements of climate-warming methane emissions at oil and natural gas facilities could facilitate major international methane reduction efforts, but doing so requires trust from many international stakeholders. To test nine methane-sensing satellite systems, we released undisclosed quantities of methane, which multiple teams successfully detected and quantified. We show that Europe, Asia, and North America all host reliable methane-sensing satellites.
Apisada Chulakadabba, Maryann Sargent, Thomas Lauvaux, Joshua S. Benmergui, Jonathan E. Franklin, Christopher Chan Miller, Jonas S. Wilzewski, Sébastien Roche, Eamon Conway, Amir H. Souri, Kang Sun, Bingkun Luo, Jacob Hawthrone, Jenna Samra, Bruce C. Daube, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Yang Li, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Jeff S. Rutherford, Evan D. Sherwin, Adam Brandt, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5771–5785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5771-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5771-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We show that MethaneAIR, a precursor to the MethaneSAT satellite, demonstrates accurate point source quantification during controlled release experiments and regional observations in 2021 and 2022. Results from our two independent quantification methods suggest the accuracy of our sensor and algorithms is better than 25 % for sources emitting 200 kg h−1 or more. Insights from these measurements help establish the capabilities of MethaneSAT and MethaneAIR.
Matthieu Dogniaux, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Varon, and Ilse Aben
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X53M42, https://doi.org/10.31223/X53M42, 2023
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
We analyze Landsat 8 (L8) and Sentinel-2B (S-2B) observations of the 2022 Nord Stream 2 methane leak, and show how challenging this case is for usual data analysis methods. We provide customized calibrations for this Nord Stream 2 case and assess that no firm conclusion can be drawn from L8 or S-2B single overpasses. However, if we opportunistically assume that L8 and S-2B results are independent, we find an averaged L8 and S-2B combined methane leak rate of 415 +/- 321 t/hr.
Berend J. Schuit, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Pieter Bijl, Gourav Mahapatra, Anne-Wil van den Berg, Sudhanshu Pandey, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Sander Houweling, Daniel J. Varon, Jason McKeever, Dylan Jervis, Marianne Girard, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, Javier Gorroño, Luis Guanter, Daniel H. Cusworth, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9071–9098, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9071-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9071-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using two machine learning models, which were trained on TROPOMI methane satellite data, we detect 2974 methane plumes, so-called super-emitters, in 2021. We detect methane emissions globally related to urban areas or landfills, coal mining, and oil and gas production. Using our monitoring system, we identify 94 regions with frequent emissions. For 12 locations, we target high-resolution satellite instruments to enlarge and identify the exact infrastructure responsible for the emissions.
Jack Bruno, Dylan Jervis, Daniel Varon, and Daniel Jacob
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1343, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1343, 2023
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and a current high priority target for short/mid term climate change mitigation. Detection of individual methane emitters from space has become possible in recent years, and the volume of data for this task has been rapidly growing and the data volume is outpacing processing capabilities. We introduce an automated approach, U-Plume, which can detect and quantify emissions from individual methane sources in high spatial resolution satellite data.
Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Hannah Nesser, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa Sulprizio, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, and Kevin W. Bowman
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4793–4810, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4793-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4793-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have built a tool called CHEEREIO that allows scientists to use observations of pollutants or gases in the atmosphere, such as from satellites or surface stations, to update supercomputer models that simulate the Earth. CHEEREIO uses the difference between the model simulations of the atmosphere and real-world observations to come up with a good guess for the actual composition of our atmosphere, the true emissions of various pollutants, and whatever else they may want to study.
Nicholas Balasus, Daniel J. Jacob, Alba Lorente, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Zichong Chen, Makoto M. Kelp, Hannah Nesser, and Daniel J. Varon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3787–3807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3787-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use machine learning to remove biases in TROPOMI satellite observations of atmospheric methane, with GOSAT observations serving as a reference. We find that the TROPOMI biases relative to GOSAT are related to the presence of aerosols and clouds, the surface brightness, and the specific detector that makes the observation aboard TROPOMI. The resulting blended TROPOMI+GOSAT product is more reliable for quantifying methane emissions.
Evan Sherwin, Sahar El Abbadi, Philippine Burdeau, Zhan Zhang, Zhenlin Chen, Jeffrey Rutherford, Yuanlei Chen, and Adam Brandt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X56089, https://doi.org/10.31223/X56089, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites measurements of climate-warming methane emissions at oil and natural gas facilities could facilitate major international methane reduction efforts, but doing so requires trust from many international stakeholders. To test nine methane-sensing satellite systems, we released undisclosed quantities of methane, which multiple teams successfully detected and quantified. We show that Europe, Asia, and North America all host reliable methane-sensing satellites.
Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, Mark Omara, Melissa Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Drew Pendergrass, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Zachary R. Barkley, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Kenneth J. Davis, Sudhanshu Pandey, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Joannes D. Maasakkers, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7503–7520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7503-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7503-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use TROPOMI satellite observations to quantify weekly methane emissions from the US Permian oil and gas basin from May 2018 to October 2020. We find that Permian emissions are highly variable, with diverse economic and activity drivers. The most important drivers during our study period were new well development and natural gas price. Permian methane intensity averaged 4.6 % and decreased by 1 % per year.
Zichong Chen, Daniel J. Jacob, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Robert N. Stavins, Robert C. Stowe, Hannah Nesser, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Alba Lorente, Daniel J. Varon, Xiao Lu, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Drew C. Pendergrass, and Sarah Hancock
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5945–5967, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5945-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5945-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify methane emissions from individual countries in the Middle East and North Africa by inverse analysis of 2019 TROPOMI satellite observations of atmospheric methane. We show that the ability to simply relate oil/gas emissions to activity metrics is compromised by stochastic nature of local infrastructure and management practices. We find that the industry target for oil/gas methane intensity is achievable through associated gas capture, modern infrastructure, and centralized operations.
Javier Gorroño, Daniel J. Varon, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, and Luis Guanter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 89–107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-89-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-89-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present a methane flux rate retrieval methodology using the Sentinel-2 mission, validating the algorithm for different scenes and plumes. The detection limit is 1000–2000 kg h−1 for homogeneous scenes and temporally invariant surfaces and above 5000 kg h−1 for heterogeneous ones. Dominant quantification errors are wind-related or plume mask-related. For heterogeneous scenes, the surface structure underlying the methane plume can become a dominant source of uncertainty.
Lu Shen, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Alba Lorente, David Lyon, Jianxiong Sheng, Daniel J. Varon, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Xiao Lu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Steven P. Hamburg, and Daniel J. Jacob
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11203–11215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11203-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11203-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We use 22 months of TROPOMI satellite observations to quantity methane emissions from the oil (O) and natural gas (G) sector in the US and Canada at the scale of both individual basins as well as country-wide aggregates. We find that O/G-related methane emissions are underestimated in these inventories by 80 % for the US and 40 % for Canada, and 70 % of the underestimate in the US is from five O/G basins, including Permian, Haynesville, Anadarko, Eagle Ford, and Barnett.
Zichong Chen, Daniel J. Jacob, Hannah Nesser, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Alba Lorente, Daniel J. Varon, Xiao Lu, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Elise Penn, and Xueying Yu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10809–10826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10809-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10809-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify methane emissions in China and contributions from different sectors by inverse analysis of 2019 TROPOMI satellite observations of atmospheric methane. We find that anthropogenic methane emissions for China are underestimated in the national inventory. Our estimate of emissions indicates a small life-cycle loss rate, implying net climate benefits from the current
coal-to-gasenergy transition in China. However, this small loss rate can be misleading given China's high gas imports.
Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Daniel H. Cusworth, Philip E. Dennison, Christian Frankenberg, Ritesh Gautam, Luis Guanter, John Kelley, Jason McKeever, Lesley E. Ott, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Qu, Andrew K. Thorpe, John R. Worden, and Riley M. Duren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9617–9646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We review the capability of satellite observations of atmospheric methane to quantify methane emissions on all scales. We cover retrieval methods, precision requirements, inverse methods for inferring emissions, source detection thresholds, and observations of system completeness. We show that current instruments already enable quantification of regional and national emissions including contributions from large point sources. Coverage and resolution will increase significantly in coming years.
Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa Sulprizio, Lucas A. Estrada, William B. Downs, Lu Shen, Sarah E. Hancock, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Elise Penn, Zichong Chen, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Ashutosh Tewari, and Cynthia A. Randles
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5787–5805, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5787-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5787-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Reducing atmospheric methane emissions is critical to slow near-term climate change. Globally surveying satellite instruments like the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) have unique capabilities for monitoring atmospheric methane around the world. Here we present a user-friendly cloud-computing tool that enables researchers and stakeholders to quantify methane emissions across user-selected regions of interest using TROPOMI satellite observations.
Elena Sánchez-García, Javier Gorroño, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, Daniel J. Varon, and Luis Guanter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1657–1674, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1657-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1657-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study seeks to present the as-yet-unknown potential use of WorldView-3 for the mapping of methane point source emissions. The proposed retrieval methodology is based on the idea that the spectral channels not affected by methane can be used to predict the methane-affected band through regression analysis. The results show the precise location of 26 independent point emissions over different methane hotspot regions worldwide, which prove the game-changing potential that this mission entails.
David R. Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Katherine A. Roberts, Zachary R. Barkley, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Vanessa C. Monteiro, Scott J. Richardson, Stephen Conley, Mackenzie L. Smith, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Daniel J. Varon, Aijun Deng, Xander Rudelis, Nikhil Sharma, Kyle T. Story, Adam R. Brandt, Mary Kang, Eric A. Kort, Anthony J. Marchese, and Steven P. Hamburg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6605–6626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Permian Basin (USA) is the world’s largest oil field. We use tower- and aircraft-based approaches to measure how methane emissions in the Permian Basin changed throughout 2020. In early 2020, 3.3 % of the region’s gas was emitted; then in spring 2020, the loss rate temporarily dropped to 1.9 % as oil price crashed. We find this short-term reduction to be a result of reduced well development, less gas flaring, and fewer abnormal events despite minimal reductions in oil and gas production.
Daniel J. Varon, Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Ian Spence, David Gains, and Daniel J. Jacob
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2771–2785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites can detect methane emissions by measuring sunlight reflected from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Here we show that the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 twin satellites can be used to monitor anomalously large methane point sources around the world, with global coverage every 2–5 days and 20 m spatial resolution. We demonstrate this previously unreported capability through high-frequency Sentinel-2 monitoring of two strong methane point sources in Algeria and Turkmenistan.
Dylan Jervis, Jason McKeever, Berke O. A. Durak, James J. Sloan, David Gains, Daniel J. Varon, Antoine Ramier, Mathias Strupler, and Ewan Tarrant
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2127–2140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2127-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We describe how the GHGSat-D demonstration satellite is designed and operated in order to measure greenhouse gas emissions from different types of industrial facilities. The distinguishing features of GHGSat-D, or
Claire, are its compact size (< 15 kg) and high spatial resolution (< 50 m). We give a mathematical model of the instrument and describe the techniques used to infer a methane concentration from a measurement of the sunlight that has reflected off the Earth's surface.
Daniel H. Cusworth, Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Christopher Chan Miller, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Andrew K. Thorpe, Riley M. Duren, Charles E. Miller, David R. Thompson, Christian Frankenberg, Luis Guanter, and Cynthia A. Randles
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5655–5668, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the potential for global detection of methane plumes from individual point sources with the new generation of spaceborne imaging spectrometers scheduled for launch in 2019–2025. We perform methane retrievals on simulated scenes with varying surfaces and atmospheric methane concentrations. Our results suggest that imaging spectrometers in space could play a transformative role in the future for quantifying methane emissions from point sources on a global scale.
Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Jason McKeever, Dylan Jervis, Berke O. A. Durak, Yan Xia, and Yi Huang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5673–5686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas emitted from numerous human activities. Space-based observation of point sources would be a cost-effective monitoring solution, but the resolution of most current and planned methane-observing satellites is too coarse to resolve individual emitters. We simulate fine-resolution (50 m) satellite observations of methane plumes as would be measured by GHGSat (to be launched in 2019) and show that such data can usefully quantify large methane point sources.
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Data Processing and Information Retrieval
A nonlinear data-driven approach to bias correction of XCO2 for NASA's OCO-2 ACOS version 10
MIPAS ozone retrieval version 8: middle-atmosphere measurements
Atmospheric N2O and CH4 total columns retrieved from low-resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra (Bruker VERTEX 70) in the mid-infrared region
A new accurate retrieval algorithm of bromine monoxide columns inside minor volcanic plumes from Sentinel-5P TROPOMI observations
Estimation of anthropogenic and volcanic SO2 emissions from satellite data in the presence of snow/ice on the ground
The IASI NH3 version 4 product: averaging kernels and improved consistency
A physically based correction for stray light in Brewer spectrophotometer data analysis
A research product for tropospheric NO2 columns from Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer based on Peking University OMI NO2 algorithm
A method for estimating localized CO2 emissions from co-located satellite XCO2 and NO2 images
Methane retrievals from airborne HySpex observations in the shortwave infrared
Feasibility analysis of optimal terahertz (THz) bands for passive limb sounding of middle and upper atmospheric wind
Retrieval of temperature and humidity profiles from ground-based high-resolution infrared observations using an adaptive fast iterative algorithm
A retrieval of xCO2 from ground-based mid-infrared NDACC solar absorption spectra and comparison to TCCON
Airborne observation with a low-cost hyperspectral instrument: Retrieval of NO2 VCD and the satellite sub-grid variability over industrial point sources
Version 8 IMK/IAA MIPAS measurements of CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22
Optimal estimation retrieval of tropospheric ammonia from the Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder on board FengYun-4B
Stratospheric-trace-gas-profile retrievals from balloon-borne limb imaging of mid-infrared emission spectra
Level0-to-Level1B processor for MethaneAIR
Diurnal carbon monoxide observed from a geostationary infrared hyperspectral sounder: first result from GIIRS on board FengYun-4B
Vertical information of CO from TROPOMI total column measurements in context of the CAMS-IFS data assimilation scheme
The GeoCarb greenhouse gas retrieval algorithm: Simulations and sensitivity to sources of uncertainty
Using a deep neural network to detect methane point sources and quantify emissions from PRISMA hyperspectral satellite images
Inferring the vertical distribution of CO and CO2 from TCCON total column values using the TARDISS algorithm
CH4Net: a deep learning model for monitoring methane super-emitters with Sentinel-2 imagery
Estimation of NO2 emission strengths over Riyadh and Madrid from space from a combination of wind-assigned anomalies and a machine learning technique
Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research/Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía version 8 retrieval of nitric oxide and lower-thermospheric temperature
Near-real-time detection of unexpected atmospheric events using principal component analysis on the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) radiances
Differences in MOPITT surface level CO retrievals and trends from Level 2 and Level 3 products in coastal grid boxes
Updated merged SAGE-CCI-OMPS+ dataset for the evaluation of ozone trends in the stratosphere
Accounting for meteorological biases in simulated plumes using smarter metrics
Accounting for surface reflectance spectral features in TROPOMI methane retrievals
Investigation of three-dimensional radiative transfer effects for UV–Vis satellite and ground-based observations of volcanic plumes
Retrievals of precipitable water vapor and aerosol optical depth from direct sun measurements with EKO MS711 and MS712 spectroradiometers
Update on the GOSAT TANSO–FTS SWIR Level 2 retrieval algorithm
Correcting 3D cloud effects in XCO2 retrievals from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)
Version 8 IMK–IAA MIPAS ozone profiles: nominal observation mode
Using portable low-resolution spectrometers to evaluate Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) biases in North America
A new algorithm to generate a priori trace gas profiles for the GGG2020 retrieval algorithm
Highly resolved mapping of NO2 vertical column densities from GeoTASO measurements over a megacity and industrial area during the KORUS-AQ campaign
Advances in retrieving XCH4 and XCO from Sentinel-5 Precursor: improvements in the scientific TROPOMI/WFMD algorithm
Use of machine learning and principal component analysis to retrieve nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with hyperspectral imagers and reduce noise in spectral fitting
Understanding the variations and sources of CO, C2H2, C2H6, H2CO, and HCN columns based on 3 years of new ground-based Fourier transform infrared measurements at Xianghe, China
An improved formula for the complete data fusion
TUNER-compliant error estimation for MIPAS: methodology
Synergistic retrieval and complete data fusion methods applied to simulated FORUM and IASI-NG measurements
Retrieval of atmospheric CFC-11 and CFC-12 from high-resolution FTIR observations at Hefei and comparisons with other independent datasets
Evaluation of the methane full-physics retrieval applied to TROPOMI ocean sun glint measurements
Harmonized retrieval of middle atmospheric ozone from two microwave radiometers in Switzerland
Assessment of the error budget for stratospheric ozone profiles retrieved from OMPS limb scatter measurements
Algorithm theoretical basis for ozone and sulfur dioxide retrievals from DSCOVR EPIC
William R. Keely, Steffen Mauceri, Sean Crowell, and Christopher W. O'Dell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5725–5748, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5725-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Measurement errors in satellite observations of CO2 attributed to co-estimated atmospheric variables are corrected using a linear regression on quality-filtered data. We propose a nonlinear method that improves correction against a set of ground truth proxies and allows for high throughput of well-corrected data.
Manuel López-Puertas, Maya García-Comas, Bernd Funke, Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5609–5645, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5609-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes a new version (V8) of ozone data from MIPAS middle-atmosphere spectra. The dataset comprises high-quality ozone profiles from 20 to 100 km, with pole-to-pole latitude coverage for the day- and nighttime, spanning 2005 until 2012. An exhaustive treatment of errors has been performed. Compared to other satellite instruments, MIPAS ozone shows a positive bias of 5 %–8 % below 70 km. In the upper mesosphere, this new version agrees much better than previous ones (within 10 %).
Minqiang Zhou, Bavo Langerock, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Christian Hermans, Nicolas Kumps, Rigel Kivi, Pauli Heikkinen, Christof Petri, Justus Notholt, Huilin Chen, and Martine De Mazière
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5593–5608, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5593-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5593-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric N2O and CH4 columns are successfully retrieved from low-resolution FTIR spectra recorded by a Bruker VERTEX 70. The 1-year measurements at Sodankylä show that the N2O total columns retrieved from 125HR and VERTEX 70 spectra are −0.3 ± 0.7 % with an R value of 0.93. The relative differences between the CH4 total columns retrieved from the 125HR and VERTEX spectra are 0.0 ± 0.8 % with an R value of 0.87. Such a technique can help to fill the gap in NDACC N2O and CH4 measurements.
Simon Warnach, Holger Sihler, Christian Borger, Nicole Bobrowski, Steffen Beirle, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5537–5573, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5537-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5537-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
BrO inside volcanic gas plumes but can be used in combination with SO2 to characterize the volcanic property and its activity state. High-quality satellite observations can provide a global inventory of this important quantity. This paper investigates how to accurately detect BrO inside volcanic plumes from the satellite UV spectrum. A sophisticated novel non-volcanic background correction scheme is presented, and systematic errors including cross-interference with formaldehyde are minimized.
Vitali E. Fioletov, Chris A. McLinden, Debora Griffin, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Can Li, Joanna Joiner, Nicolas Theys, and Simon Carn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5575–5592, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5575-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5575-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Snow-covered terrain, with its high reflectance in the UV, typically enhances satellite sensitivity to boundary layer pollution. However, a significant fraction of high-quality cloud-free measurements over snow is currently excluded from analyses. In this study, we investigated how satellite SO2 measurements over snow-covered surfaces can be used to improve estimations of annual SO2 emissions.
Lieven Clarisse, Bruno Franco, Martin Van Damme, Tommaso Di Gioacchino, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Simon Whitburn, Lara Noppen, Daniel Hurtmans, Cathy Clerbaux, and Pierre Coheur
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5009–5028, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5009-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5009-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ammonia is an important atmospheric pollutant. This article presents version 4 of the algorithm which retrieves ammonia abundances from the infrared measurements of the satellite sounder IASI. A measurement operator is introduced that can emulate the measurements (so-called averaging kernels) and measurement uncertainty is better characterized. Several other changes to the product itself are also documented, most of which improve the temporal consistency of the 2007–2022 IASI NH3 dataset.
Vladimir Savastiouk, Henri Diémoz, and C. Thomas McElroy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4785–4806, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4785-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4785-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes a way to significantly improve ozone measurements at low sun elevations and large ozone amounts when using the Brewer ozone spectrophotometer. The proposed algorithm will allow more uniform ozone measurements across the monitoring network. This will contribute to more reliable trend analysis and support the satellite validation. This research contributes to better understanding the physics of the instrument, and the new algorithm is based on this new knowledge.
Yuhang Zhang, Jintai Lin, Jhoon Kim, Hanlim Lee, Junsung Park, Hyunkee Hong, Michel Van Roozendael, Francois Hendrick, Ting Wang, Pucai Wang, Qin He, Kai Qin, Yongjoo Choi, Yugo Kanaya, Jin Xu, Pinhua Xie, Xin Tian, Sanbao Zhang, Shanshan Wang, Siyang Cheng, Xinghong Cheng, Jianzhong Ma, Thomas Wagner, Robert Spurr, Lulu Chen, Hao Kong, and Mengyao Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4643–4665, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4643-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4643-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Our tropospheric NO2 vertical column density product with high spatiotemporal resolution is based on the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and named POMINO–GEMS. Strong hotspot signals and NO2 diurnal variations are clearly seen. Validations with multiple satellite products and ground-based, mobile car and surface measurements exhibit the overall great performance of the POMINO–GEMS product, indicating its capability for application in environmental studies.
Blanca Fuentes Andrade, Michael Buchwitz, Maximilian Reuter, Heinrich Bovensmann, Andreas Richter, Hartmut Boesch, and John P. Burrows
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2085, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2085, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a method to estimate CO2 emissions from localized sources such as power plants using satellite data and applied it to estimate CO2 emissions from the Bełchatów Power Station (Poland). Because the detection of CO2 emission plumes from satellite data is difficult, we used observations of co-emitted NO2 to constrain the emission plume region. Our results agree with CO2 emissions estimations based on the power plant generated power and emission factors.
Philipp Hochstaffl, Franz Schreier, Claas Henning Köhler, Andreas Baumgartner, and Daniele Cerra
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4195–4214, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4195-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4195-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The study examines methane enhancements inferred from hyperspectral imaging observations using different retrieval schemes. One of the core challenges is the high spatial and moderate spectral resolution as it makes separation of spectral variations caused by molecular absorption and surface reflectivity challenging. It was found that localized methane enhancements can be detected and quantified from HySpex airborne observations using various retrieval schemes.
Wenyu Wang, Jian Xu, and Zhenzhan Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4137–4153, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4137-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4137-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This article presents a study for feasibility analysis of atmospheric wind measurement using a terahertz (THz) passive limb radiometer with high spectral resolution. The simulations show that line-of-sight wind from 40 to 120 km can be obtained better than 10 m s−1 (at most altitudes it is better than 5 m s−1) using the O3, O2, H2O, and OI bands. This study will provide reference for future payload design.
Wei Huang, Lei Liu, Bin Yang, Shuai Hu, Wanying Yang, Zhenfeng Li, Wantong Li, and Xiaofan Yang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4101–4114, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4101-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4101-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To improve the retrieval speed of the AERI optimal estimation (AERIoe) method, a fast-retrieval algorithm named Fast AERIoe is proposed on the basis of the findings that the change in Jacobians during the retrieval process had little effect on the performance of AERIoe. The results of the experiment show that the retrieved profiles from Fast AERIoe are comparable to those of AERIoe and that the retrieval speed is significantly improved, with the average retrieval time reduced by 59 %.
Rafaella Chiarella, Matthias Buschmann, Joshua Laughner, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Christof Petri, Geoffrey Toon, Voltaire A. Velazco, and Thorsten Warneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3987–4007, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3987-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3987-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The goal is to establish a window and strategy for xCO2 retrieval from ground-based Fourier transform spectrometers for NDACC. In the study we describe the spectroscopy of the region, the locations and instruments used, and the methods of calculating the retrieved xCO2. We performed tests to assess the sensitivity to diverse factors and sources of errors while comparing the retrieval to a well-established xCO2 retrieval from TCCON.
Jong-Uk Park, Hyun-Jae Kim, Jin-Soo Park, Jinsoo Choi, Sang Seo Park, Kangho Bae, Jong-Jae Lee, Chang-Keun Song, Soojin Park, Kyuseok Shim, Yeonsoo Cho, and Sang-Woo Kim
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1747, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1747, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The high spatial resolution NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) were measured from the airborne observations using the low-cost Hyperspectral Imaging Sensor (HIS) at three industrial areas in Korea with the newly developed versatile NO2 VCD retrieval algorithm apt to be applied to the instruments with volatile optical/radiometric properties. The airborne HIS observation emphasized the intensifying satellite sub-grid variability of NO2 VCD near the emission sources.
Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Bernd Funke, Maya Garcia-Comas, and Manuel Lopez-Puertas
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-172, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-172, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22 contribute to the depletion of ozone and are potent greenhouse gases. They have been banned by the Montreal protocol. With MIPAS on Envisat the atmospheric composition could be observed between 2002 and 2012. We present here the retrieval of their atmospheric distributions for the final data version 8. We characterise the derived data by their error budget and their spatial resolution. An additional representation for direct comparison to models is also provided.
Zhao-Cheng Zeng, Lu Lee, Chengli Qi, Lieven Clarisse, and Martin Van Damme
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3693–3713, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3693-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3693-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an NH3 retrieval algorithm based on the optimal estimation method for the Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS) on board China’s FengYun-4B satellite (FY-4B/GIIRS). Retrieval results demonstrate the capability of FY-4B/GIIRS in capturing the diurnal NH3 changes in East Asia. This operational geostationary observation by FY-4B/GIIRS represents an important advancement over the twice-per-day observations provided by current low-Earth-orbit (LEO) instruments.
Ethan Runge, Jeff Langille, Daniel Zawada, Adam Bourassa, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3123–3139, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3123-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3123-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Limb Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer Experiment (LIFE) instrument takes vertical images of limb radiance across a wide mid-infrared spectral band from a stratospheric balloon. Measurements are used to infer vertical-trace-gas-profile retrievals of H2O, O3, HNO3, CH4, and N2O. Nearly time-/space-coincident observations from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instruments are compared to the LIFE results.
Eamon K. Conway, Amir H. Souri, Joshua Benmergui, Kang Sun, Xiong Liu, Carly Staebell, Christopher Chan Miller, Jonathan Franklin, Jenna Samra, Jonas Wilzewski, Sebastien Roche, Bingkun Luo, Apisada Chulakadabba, Maryann Sargent, Jacob Hohl, Bruce Daube, Iouli Gordon, Kelly Chance, and Steven Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-111, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-111, 2023
Preprint under review for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
The work presented here describes the processes required to convert raw sensor data for the MethaneAIR instrument to geometrically calibrated data. Each algorithm is described in detail. MethaneAIR is the airborne simulator for MethaneSAT, a new satellite under development by MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of the EDF. MethaneSAT’s goals are to precisely map over 80 % of the production sources of methane emissions from oil and gas fields across the globe to a high degree of accuracy.
Zhao-Cheng Zeng, Lu Lee, and Chengli Qi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3059–3083, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3059-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3059-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Observations from geostationary orbit provide contiguous coverage with a high temporal resolution, representing an important advancement over current low-Earth-orbit instruments. Using measurements from GIIRS on board China's FengYun satellite, the world’s first geostationary hyperspectral infrared sounder, we showed the first results of diurnal CO in eastern Asia from a geostationary orbit, which will have great potential in improving local and global air quality and climate research.
Tobias Borsdorff, Teresa Campos, Natalie Kille, Kyle J. Zarzana, Rainer Volkamer, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3027–3038, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3027-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3027-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
ECMWF plans to assimilate TROPOMI CO with their CAMS-IFS model. This will constrain the total column and the vertical CO distribution of the model. To show this, we combine individual TROPOMI CO column retrievals with different vertical sensitivities and obtain a vertical CO concentration profile. We test the approach on three CO pollution events in comparison with CAMS-IFS simulations that do not assimilate TROPOMI CO data and in situ airborne measurements of the BB-FLUX campaign.
Gregory R. McGarragh, Christopher W. O'Dell, Sean M. R. Crowell, Peter Somkuti, Eric B. Burgh, and Berrien Moore III
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-17, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-17, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases that have been rapidly increasing due to human activity since the industrial revolution leading to global warming and subsequently negative affects on the climate. It is important to measure the concentrations of these gases in order to make climate predictions that drive policy changes to mitigate climate change. GeoCarb aims to measure the concentrations of these gases from space over the Americas at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales.
Peter Joyce, Cristina Ruiz Villena, Yahui Huang, Alex Webb, Manuel Gloor, Fabien H. Wagner, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Rocío Barrio Guilló, Chris Wilson, and Hartmut Boesch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2627–2640, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2627-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2627-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Methane emissions are responsible for a lot of the warming caused by the greenhouse effect, much of which comes from a small number of point sources. We can identify methane point sources by analysing satellite data, but it requires a lot of time invested by experts and is prone to very high errors. Here, we produce a neural network that can automatically identify methane point sources and estimate the mass of methane that is being released per hour and are able to do so with far smaller errors.
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.
Anna Vaughan, Gonzalo Mateo-García, Luis Gómez-Chova, Vít Růžička, Luis Guanter, and Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-563, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-563, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for around 25 % of global warming since the industrial revolution. Consequently identifying and mitigating methane emissions is an important step in combating the climate crisis. We develop a new deep learning model to automatically detect methane plumes from satellite images, and demonstrate that this can be applied to monitor large methane emissions resulting from the oil and gas industry.
Qiansi Tu, Frank Hase, Zihan Chen, Matthias Schneider, Omaira García, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Shuo Chen, Thomas Blumenstock, Fang Liu, Kai Qin, Jason Cohen, Qin He, Song Lin, Hongyan Jiang, and Dianjun Fang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2237–2262, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2237-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2237-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Four-year TROPOMI observations are used to derive tropospheric NO2 emissions in two mega(cities) with high anthropogenic activity. Wind-assigned anomalies are calculated, and the emission rates and spatial patterns are estimated based on a machine learning algorithm. The results are in reasonable agreement with previous studies and the inventory. Our method is quite robust and can be used as a simple method to estimate the emissions of NO2 as well as other gases in other regions.
Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2167–2196, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2167-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2167-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
New global nitric oxide (NO) volume-mixing-ratio and lower-thermospheric temperature data products, retrieved from Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) spectra with the IMK-IAA MIPAS data processor, have been released. The dataset covers the entire Envisat mission lifetime and includes retrieval results from all MIPAS observation modes. The data are based on ESA version 8 calibration and were processed using an improved retrieval approach.
Adrien Vu Van, Anne Boynard, Pascal Prunet, Dominique Jolivet, Olivier Lezeaux, Patrice Henry, Claude Camy-Peyret, Lieven Clarisse, Bruno Franco, Pierre-François Coheur, and Cathy Clerbaux
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2107–2127, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2107-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2107-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
With its near-real-time observations and good horizontal coverage, the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) instrument can contribute to the monitoring systems for a systematic and continuous detection of exceptional atmospheric events such as fires, anthropogenic pollution episodes, volcanic eruptions, or industrial releases. In this paper, a new approach is described for the detection and characterization of unexpected events in terms of trace gases using IASI radiance spectra.
Ian Ashpole and Aldona Wiacek
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1923–1949, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1923-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1923-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The MOPITT instrument has been measuring atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) from space since 2000. Its data products are valuable for CO trend analysis. This paper compares products with different spatial resolutions to identify discrepancies in mean CO amounts and detectable trends for coastal grid boxes. It is found that CO amounts and trends differ significantly between data products for a large number of these grid boxes, essentially due to how the coarser-resolution products are created.
Viktoria F. Sofieva, Monika Szelag, Johanna Tamminen, Carlo Arosio, Alexei Rozanov, Mark Weber, Doug Degenstein, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Michael Kiefer, Alexandra Laeng, Kaley A. Walker, Patrick Sheese, Daan Hubert, Michel van Roozendael, Christian Retscher, Robert Damadeo, and Jerry D. Lumpe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1881–1899, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1881-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1881-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents the updated SAGE-CCI-OMPS+ climate data record of monthly zonal mean ozone profiles. This dataset covers the stratosphere and combines measurements by nine limb and occultation satellite instruments (SAGE II, OSIRIS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY, GOMOS, ACE-FTS, OMPS-LP, POAM III, and SAGE III/ISS). The update includes new versions of MIPAS, ACE-FTS, and OSIRIS datasets and introduces data from additional sensors (POAM III and SAGE III/ISS) and retrieval processors (OMPS-LP).
Pierre J. Vanderbecken, Joffrey Dumont Le Brazidec, Alban Farchi, Marc Bocquet, Yelva Roustan, Élise Potier, and Grégoire Broquet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1745–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1745-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1745-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Instruments dedicated to monitoring atmospheric gaseous compounds from space will provide images of urban-scale plumes. We discuss here the use of new metrics to compare observed plumes with model predictions that will be less sensitive to meteorology uncertainties. We have evaluated our metrics on diverse plumes and shown that by eliminating some aspects of the discrepancies, they are indeed less sensitive to meteorological variations.
Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Mari C. Martinez-Velarte, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1597–1608, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1597-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In the TROPOMI methane data, there are few false methane anomalies that can be misinterpreted as enhancements caused by strong emission sources. These artefacts are caused by features of the underlying surfaces that are not well characterized in the retrieval algorithm. Here we improve the representation of the surface reflectance dependency with wavelength in the forward model, removing the artificial localized CH4 enhancements found in several locations like Siberia, Australia and Algeria.
Thomas Wagner, Simon Warnach, Steffen Beirle, Nicole Bobrowski, Adrian Jost, Janis Puķīte, and Nicolas Theys
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1609–1662, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1609-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate 3D effects of volcanic plumes on the retrieval results of satellite and ground-based UV–Vis observations. With its small ground pixels of 3.5 x 5.5 km², the TROPOMI instrument can detect much smaller volcanic plumes than previous instruments. At the same time, 3D effects become important. The effect of horizontal photon paths especially can lead to a strong underestimation of the derived plume contents of up to > 50 %, which can be further increased for strong absorbers like SO2.
Congcong Qiao, Song Liu, Juan Huo, Xihan Mu, Ping Wang, Shengjie Jia, Xuehua Fan, and Minzheng Duan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1539–1549, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1539-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1539-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We established a spectral-fitting method to derive precipitable water vapor (PWV) and aerosol optical depth based on a strict radiative transfer theory by the spectral measurements of direct sun from EKO MS711 and MS712 spectroradiometers. The retrievals were compared with that of the colocated CE-318 photometer; the results showed a high degree of consistency. In the PWV inversion, a strong water vapor absorption band around 1370 nm is introduced to retrieve PWV in a relatively dry atmosphere.
Yu Someya, Yukio Yoshida, Hirofumi Ohyama, Shohei Nomura, Akihide Kamei, Isamu Morino, Hitoshi Mukai, Tsuneo Matsunaga, Joshua L. Laughner, Voltaire A. Velazco, Benedikt Herkommer, Yao Té, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Rigel Kivi, Minqiang Zhou, Young Suk Oh, Nicholas M. Deutscher, and David W. T. Griffith
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1477–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1477-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The updated retrieval algorithm for the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite level 2 product is presented. The main changes in the algorithm from the previous one are the treatment of cirrus clouds, the degradation model of the sensor, solar irradiance, and gas absorption coefficient tables. The retrieval results showed improvements in fitting accuracy and an increase in the data amount over land. On the other hand, there are still large biases of XCO2 which should be corrected over the ocean.
Steffen Mauceri, Steven Massie, and Sebastian Schmidt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1461–1476, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1461-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1461-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 makes space-based measurements of reflected sunlight. Using a retrieval algorithm these measurements are converted to CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. However, the converted CO2 concentrations contain errors for observations close to clouds. Using a simple machine learning approach, we developed a model to correct these remaining errors. The model is able to reduce errors over land and ocean by 20 % and 40 %, respectively.
Michael Kiefer, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Maya García-Comas, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Michael Höpfner, Sylvia Kellmann, Alexandra Laeng, Andrea Linden, Manuel López-Puertas, and Gabriele P. Stiller
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1443–1460, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1443-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1443-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A new ozone data set, derived from radiation measurements of the space-borne instrument MIPAS, is presented. It consists of more than 2 million single ozone profiles from 2002–2012, covering virtually all latitudes and altitudes between 5 and 70 km. Progress in data calibration and processing methods allowed for significant improvement of the data quality, compared to previous data versions. Hence, the data set will help to better understand e.g. the time evolution of ozone in the stratosphere.
Nasrin Mostafavi Pak, Jacob K. Hedelius, Sébastien Roche, Liz Cunningham, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Coleen Roehl, Joshua Laughner, Geoffrey Toon, Paul Wennberg, Harrison Parker, Colin Arrowsmith, Joseph Mendonca, Pierre Fogal, Tyler Wizenberg, Beatriz Herrera, Kimberly Strong, Kaley A. Walker, Felix Vogel, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1239–1261, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-based remote sensing instruments in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Consistency between TCCON measurements is crucial to accurately infer changes in atmospheric composition. We use portable remote sensing instruments (EM27/SUN) to evaluate biases between TCCON stations in North America. We also improve the retrievals of EM27/SUN instruments and evaluate the previous (GGG2014) and newest (GGG2020) retrieval algorithms.
Joshua L. Laughner, Sébastien Roche, Matthäus Kiel, Geoffrey C. Toon, Debra Wunch, Bianca C. Baier, Sébastien Biraud, Huilin Chen, Rigel Kivi, Thomas Laemmel, Kathryn McKain, Pierre-Yves Quéhé, Constantina Rousogenous, Britton B. Stephens, Kaley Walker, and Paul O. Wennberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1121–1146, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1121-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Observations using sunlight to measure surface-to-space total column of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need an initial guess of the vertical distribution of those gases to start from. We have developed an approach to provide those initial guess profiles that uses readily available meteorological data as input. This lets us make these guesses without simulating them with a global model. The profiles generated this way match independent observations well.
Gyo-Hwang Choo, Kyunghwa Lee, Hyunkee Hong, Ukkyo Jeong, Wonei Choi, and Scott J. Janz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 625–644, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-625-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-625-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study discusses the morning and afternoon distribution of NO2 emissions in large cities and industrial areas in South Korea, one of the largest NO2 emitters around the world, using GeoTASO, an airborne remote sensing instrument developed to support geostationary satellite missions. NO2 measurements from GeoTASO were compared with those from ground-based remote sensing instruments including Pandora and in situ sensors.
Oliver Schneising, Michael Buchwitz, Jonas Hachmeister, Steffen Vanselow, Maximilian Reuter, Matthias Buschmann, Heinrich Bovensmann, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 669–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-669-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-669-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Methane and carbon monoxide are important constituents of the atmosphere in the context of climate change and air pollution. We present the latest advances in the TROPOMI/WFMD algorithm to simultaneously retrieve atmospheric methane and carbon monoxide abundances from space. The changes in the latest product version are described in detail, and the resulting improvements are demonstrated. An overview of the products is provided including a discussion of annual increases and validation results.
Joanna Joiner, Sergey Marchenko, Zachary Fasnacht, Lok Lamsal, Can Li, Alexander Vasilkov, and Nickolay Krotkov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 481–500, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-481-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-481-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important trace gas for both air quality and climate. NO2 affects satellite ocean color products. A new ocean color instrument – OCI (Ocean Color Instrument) – will be launched in 2024 on a NASA satellite. We show that it will be possible to measure NO2 from OCI even though it was not designed for this. The techniques developed here, based on machine learning, can also be applied to instruments already in space to speed up algorithms and reduce the effects of noise.
Minqiang Zhou, Bavo Langerock, Pucai Wang, Corinne Vigouroux, Qichen Ni, Christian Hermans, Bart Dils, Nicolas Kumps, Weidong Nan, and Martine De Mazière
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 273–293, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-273-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The ground-based FTIR measurements at Xianghe provide carbon monoxide (CO), acetylene (C2H2), ethane (C2H6), formaldehyde (H2CO), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) total columns between June 2018 and November 2021. The retrieval strategies, information, and uncertainties of these five important trace gases are presented and discussed. This study provides insight into the time series, variations, and correlations of these five species in northern China.
Simone Ceccherini, Nicola Zoppetti, and Bruno Carli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7039–7048, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7039-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7039-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A new formula of the complete data fusion that, differently from the original one, does not contain matrices that can be singular is discussed. We show that the new formula is a generalization of the original one and analytically and numerically, using a real IASI ozone measurement, derive the errors made with the old formula when the generalized inverse of singular matrices is used. An operational version of the new formula that includes interpolation and coincidence errors is also provided.
Thomas von Clarmann, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Bernd Funke, Michael Kiefer, Anne Kleinert, Gabriele P. Stiller, Andrea Linden, and Sylvia Kellmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6991–7018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6991-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6991-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Errors of profiles of temperature and mixing ratios retrieved from spectra recorded with the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding are estimated. All known and quantified sources of uncertainty are considered. Some ongoing uncertaities contribute to both the random and to the systematic errors. In some cases, one source of uncertainty propagates onto the error budget via multiple pathways. Problems arise when the correlations of errors to be propagated are unknown.
Marco Ridolfi, Cecilia Tirelli, Simone Ceccherini, Claudio Belotti, Ugo Cortesi, and Luca Palchetti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6723–6737, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6723-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Synergistic retrieval (SR) and complete data fusion (CDF) methods exploit the complementarity of coinciding remote-sensing measurements. We assess the performance of the SR and CDF methods on the basis of synthetic measurements of the FORUM and IASI-NG missions. In the case of perfectly matching measurements, SR and CDF results differ by less than 1 / 10 of the error due to measurement noise. In the case of a realistic mismatch, the two methods show differences in the order of their error bars.
Xiangyu Zeng, Wei Wang, Cheng Liu, Changgong Shan, Yu Xie, Peng Wu, Qianqian Zhu, Minqiang Zhou, Martine De Mazière, Emmanuel Mahieu, Irene Pardo Cantos, Jamal Makkor, and Alexander Polyakov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6739–6754, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6739-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6739-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
CFC-11 and CFC-12, which are classified as ozone-depleting substances, also have high global warming potentials. This paper describes obtaining the CFC-11 and CFC-12 total columns from the solar spectra based on ground-based Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy at Hefei, China. The seasonal variation and annual trend of the two gases are analyzed, and then the data are compared with other independent datasets.
Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Mari C. Martinez-Velarte, Andre Butz, Otto P. Hasekamp, Lianghai Wu, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6585–6603, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6585-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6585-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) performs observations over ocean in every orbit, enhancing the monitoring capabilities of methane from space. In the sun glint geometry the mirror-like reflection at the water surface provides a signal that is high enough to retrieve methane with high accuracy and precision. We present 4 years of methane concentrations over the ocean, and we assess its quality. We also show the importance of ocean observations to quantify total CH4 emissions.
Eric Sauvageat, Eliane Maillard Barras, Klemens Hocke, Alexander Haefele, and Axel Murk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6395–6417, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6395-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present new harmonized ozone time series from two ground-based microwave radiometers in Switzerland. The new series consist of hourly ozone profiles in the middle atmosphere (~ 20–70 km) from 2009 until 2021. Cross-validation of the new data series shows the benefit of the harmonization process compared to the previous versions. Comparisons with collocated satellite observations is used to further validate these time series for long-term ozone monitoring over central Europe.
Carlo Arosio, Alexei Rozanov, Victor Gorshelev, Alexandra Laeng, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5949–5967, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5949-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5949-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper characterizes the uncertainties affecting the ozone profiles retrieved at the University of Bremen through OMPS limb satellite observations. An accurate knowledge of the uncertainties is relevant for the validation of the product and to correctly interpret the retrieval results. We investigate several sources of uncertainties, estimate a total random and systematic component, and verify the consistency of the combined OMPS-MLS total uncertainty.
Xinzhou Huang and Kai Yang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5877–5915, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5877-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the algorithm for O3 and SO2 retrievals from DSCOVR EPIC. Algorithm advances, including the improved O3 profile representation and the regulated direct fitting inversion technique, improve the accuracy of O3 and SO2 from the multi-channel measurements of DSCOVR EPIC. A thorough error analysis is provided to quantify O3 and SO2 retrieval uncertainties due to various error sources and simplified algorithm physics treatments.
Cited articles
Alvarez, R. A., Zavala-Araiza, D., Lyon, D. R., Allen, D. T., Barkley, Z. R., Brandt, A. R., Davis, K. J., Herndon, S. C., Jacob, D. J., Karion, A., Kort, E. A., Lamb, B. K., Lauvaux, T., Maasakkers, J. D., Marchese, A. J., Omara, M., Pacala, S. W., Peischl, J., Robinson, A. L., Shepson, P. B., Sweeney, C., Townsend-Small, A., Wofsy, S. C., and Hamburg, S. P.: Assessment of methane emissions from the US oil and gas supply chain,
Science, 361, 186–188, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7204, 2018.
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, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247045, 2014.
Chen, Y., Sherwin, E. D., Berman, E. S., Jones, B. B., Gordon, M. P.,
Wetherley, E. B., Kort, E. A., and Brandt, A. R.: Quantifying Regional
Methane Emissions in the New Mexico Permian Basin with a Comprehensive
Aerial Survey, Environ. Sci. Technol., 56, 4317–4323,
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06458, 2022.
Cusworth, D. H., Jacob, D. J., Varon, D. J., Chan Miller, C., Liu, X., Chance, K., Thorpe, A. K., Duren, R. M., Miller, C. E., Thompson, D. R., Frankenberg, C., Guanter, L., and Randles, C. A.: Potential of next-generation imaging spectrometers to detect and quantify methane point sources from space, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5655–5668, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5655-2019, 2019.
Cusworth, D. H., Duren, R. M., Thorpe, A. K., Olson-Duvall, W., Heckler, J.,
Chapman, J. W., Eastwood, M. L., Helmlinger, M. C., Green, R. O., Asner, G.
P., Dennison, P. E., and Miller, C. E.: Intermittency of large methane
emitters in the Permian Basin, Environ. Sci. Technol.
Lett., 8, 567–573, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00173, 2021.
Ehret, T., De Truchis, A., Mazzolini, M., Morel, J.-M., D'aspremont, A.,
Lauvaux, T., Duren, R., Cusworth, D., and Facciolo, G.: Global tracking and
quantification of oil and gas methane emissions from recurrent sentinel-2
imagery, Environ. Sci. Technol., 355 56, 10517–10529,
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c08575, 2022.
Frankenberg, C., Thorpe, A. K., Thompson, D. R., Hulley, G., Kort, E. A.,
Vance, N., Borchardt, J., Krings, T., Gerilowski, K., Sweeney, C., Conley,
S., Bue, B. D., Aubrey, A. D., Hook, S., and Green, R. O.: Airborne methane
remote measurements reveal heavy-tail flux distribution in Four Corners
region, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 9734–9739,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605617113, 2016.
Hausmann, P., Sussmann, R., and Smale, D.: Contribution of oil and natural gas production to renewed increase in atmospheric methane (2007–2014): top–down estimate from ethane and methane column observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3227–3244, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3227-2016, 2016.
Hu, H., Landgraf, J., Detmers, R., Borsdorff, T., Aan de Brugh, J., Aben,
I., Butz, A., and Hasekamp, O.: Toward global mapping of methane with
TROPOMI: First results and intersatellite comparison to GOSAT, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 45, 3682–3689, https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077259, 2018.
IEA: Global Methane Tracker 2022, Tech. rep., IEA,
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022, last access: 6 July 2022.
Irakulis-Loitxate, I., Guanter, L., Maasakkers, J. D., Zavala-Araiza, D.,
and Aben, I.: Satellites Detect Abatable SuperEmissions in One of the
World's Largest Methane Hotspot Regions, Environ. Sci. Technol., 56, 2143–2152, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04873, 2022.
Jacob, D. J., Turner, A. J., Maasakkers, J. D., Sheng, J., Sun, K., Liu, X., Chance, K., Aben, I., McKeever, J., and Frankenberg, C.: Satellite observations of atmospheric methane and their value for quantifying methane emissions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14371–14396, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14371-2016, 2016.
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, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50811, 2013.
Lauvaux, T., Giron, C., Mazzolini, M., d'Aspremont, A., Duren, R., Cusworth,
D., Shindell, D., and Ciais, P.: Global assessment of oil and gas methane
ultra-emitters, Science, 375, 557–561, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj4351, 2022.
MacKay, K., Lavoie, M., Bourlon, E., Atherton, E., O'Connell, E., Baillie,
J., Fougère, C., and Risk, D.: Methane emissions from upstream oil and
gas production in Canada are underestimated, Sci. Rep., 11, 1–8,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87610-3, 2021.
Phiri, D., Simwanda, M., Salekin, S., Nyirenda, V. R., Murayama, Y., and
Ranagalage, M.: Sentinel-2 data for land cover/use mapping: A review, Remote
Sens., 12, 2291, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12142291, 2020.
Rutherford, J. S., Sherwin, E. D., Ravikumar, A. P., Heath, G. A.,
Englander, J., Cooley, D., Lyon, D., Omara, M., Langfitt, Q., and Brandt, A.
R.: Closing the methane gap in US oil and natural gas production emissions
inventories, Nat. Commun., 12, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25017-4, 2021.
Rutherford, J. S., Sherwin, E. D., Chen, Y., and Brandt, A. R.: Controlled
release experimental methods: 2021 Stanford controlled releases in TX and
AZ,
https://eao.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj22256/files/media/file/Method_description_Setup_and_Uncertainty_v18.pdf, last access: 30 August 2022.
Sánchez-García, E., Gorroño, J., Irakulis-Loitxate, I., Varon, D. J., and Guanter, L.: Mapping methane plumes at very high spatial resolution with the WorldView-3 satellite, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1657–1674, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1657-2022, 2022.
Sherwin, E. D., Chen, Y., Ravikumar, A. P., and Brandt, A. R.: Single-blind
test of airplane-based hyperspectral methane detection via controlled
releases, Elem. Sci. Anth., 9, 00063, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00063, 2021.
Thompson, D., Thorpe, A., Frankenberg, C., Green, R., Duren, R., Guanter,
L., Hollstein, A., Middleton, E., Ong, L., and Ungar, S.: Space-based remote
imaging spectroscopy of the Aliso Canyon CH4 superemitter, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 43, 6571–6578, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069079, 2016.
US NOAA: The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR), U.S. NOAA [data set],
https://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov/hrrr/ (last access: 15 March 2022), 2021.
Varon, D. J., Jacob, D. J., McKeever, J., Jervis, D., Durak, B. O. A., Xia, Y., and Huang, Y.: Quantifying methane point sources from fine-scale satellite observations of atmospheric methane plumes, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5673–5686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5673-2018, 2018.
Varon, D. J., Jacob, D. J., Jervis, D., and McKeever, J.: Quantifying
time-averaged methane emissions from individual coal mine vents with
GHGSat-D satellite observations, Environ. Sci. Technol., 54,
10246–10253, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c01213, 2020.
Varon, D. J., Jervis, D., McKeever, J., Spence, I., Gains, D., and Jacob, D. J.: High-frequency monitoring of anomalous methane point sources with multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite observations, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2771–2785, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2771-2021, 2021.
Veefkind, J., Aben, I., McMullan, K., Förster, H., de Vries, J., Otter,
G., Claas, J., Eskes, H., de Haan, J., Kleipool, Q., van Weele, M.,
Hasekamp, O., Hoogeveen, R., Landgraf, J., Snel, R., Tol, P., Ingmann, P.,
Voors, R., Kruizinga, B., Vink, R., Visser, H., and Levelt, P.: TROPOMI on
the ESA Sentinel-5 Precursor: A GMES mission for global observations of the
atmospheric composition for climate, air quality and ozone layer
applications, Remote Sens. Environ., 120, 70–83,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.027, 2012.
Zavala-Araiza, D., Lyon, D. R., Alvarez, R. A., Davis, K. J., Harriss, R.,
Herndon, S. C., Karion, A., Kort, E. A., Lamb, B. K., Lan, X., Marchese, A.
J., Pacala, S. W., Robinson, A. L., Shepson, P. B., Sweeney, C., Talbot, R.,
Townsend-Small, A., Yacovitch, T. I., Zimmerle, D. J., and Hamburg, S. P.:
Reconciling divergent estimates of oil and gas methane emissions,
P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 15597–15602,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1522126112, 2015.
Short summary
This work developed a multi-band–multi-pass–multi-comparison-date Sentinel-2 methane retrieval algorithm, and the method was calibrated by data from a controlled release test. To our knowledge, this is the first study that validates the performance of a Sentinel-2 methane detection algorithm by calibration with a ground-truth testing. It illustrates the potential for additional validation with systematic future experiments wherein algorithms can be tuned to meet different detection expectations.
This work developed a multi-band–multi-pass–multi-comparison-date Sentinel-2 methane retrieval...
