Articles | Volume 16, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-89-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-16-89-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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10 Jan 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 10 Jan 2023
| 10 Jan 2023
Understanding the potential of Sentinel-2 for monitoring methane point emissions
Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
Daniel J. Varon
School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, USA
Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate
Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
United Nations Environment Programme, Paris, France
Luis Guanter
Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
Environmental Defense Fund, Reguliersgracht 79, 1017 LN Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Elena Sánchez-García, Javier Gorroño, Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, Daniel J. Varon, and Luis Guanter
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Luis Guanter, Cédric Bacour, Andreas Schneider, Ilse Aben, Tim A. van Kempen, Fabienne Maignan, Christian Retscher, Philipp Köhler, Christian Frankenberg, Joanna Joiner, and Yongguang Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5423–5440, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5423-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5423-2021, 2021
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Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is an electromagnetic signal emitted by plants in the red and far-red parts of the spectrum. It has a functional link to photosynthesis and can be measured by satellite instruments, which makes it an important variable for the remote monitoring of the photosynthetic activity of vegetation ecosystems around the world. In this contribution we present a SIF dataset derived from the new Sentinel-5P TROPOMI missions.
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
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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
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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
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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.
Gregory Duveiller, Federico Filipponi, Sophia Walther, Philipp Köhler, Christian Frankenberg, Luis Guanter, and Alessandro Cescatti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1101–1116, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1101-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1101-2020, 2020
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Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is a valuable indicator of vegetation productivity, but our capacity to measure it from space using satellite remote techniques has been hampered by a lack of spatial detail. Based on prior knowledge of how ecosystems should respond to growing conditions in some modelling along with ancillary satellite observations, we provide here a new enhanced dataset with higher spatial resolution that better represents the spatial patterns of vegetation growth over land.
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
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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
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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.
P. Köhler, L. Guanter, and J. Joiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2589–2608, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2589-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2589-2015, 2015
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The paper presents recent developments for the retrieval of sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) from medium spectral resolution space-borne spectrometers such as the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2) and the Scanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric ChartographY (SCIAMACHY). Beside using simulated radiances to evaluate the retrieval performance, the method has also been used to estimate SIF at 740 nm using real spectra from GOME-2 and for the first time, from SCIAMACHY.
L. Guanter, I. Aben, P. Tol, J. M. Krijger, A. Hollstein, P. Köhler, A. Damm, J. Joiner, C. Frankenberg, and J. Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1337–1352, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1337-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1337-2015, 2015
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This paper investigates the potential of the upcoming TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) instrument for the retrieval of the chlorophyll fluorescence signal emitted in the 650–850nm spectral range by the photosynthetic machinery of green plants. We find that TROPOMI will allow substantial improvements in the space monitoring of fluorescence with respect to current spaceborne instruments such as GOME-2 and SCIAMACHY.
J. Joiner, L. Guanter, R. Lindstrot, M. Voigt, A. P. Vasilkov, E. M. Middleton, K. F. Huemmrich, Y. Yoshida, and C. Frankenberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2803–2823, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2803-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2803-2013, 2013
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Solar occultation measurement of mesospheric ozone by SAGE III/ISS: impact of variations along the line of sight caused by photochemistry
TROPOMI/S5P Total Column Water Vapor validation against AERONET ground-based measurements
Assessing the consistency of satellite-derived upper tropospheric humidity measurements
A comparison of carbon monoxide retrievals between the MOPITT satellite and Canadian high-Arctic ground-based NDACC and TCCON FTIR measurements
Long-term validation of MIPAS ESA operational products using MIPAS-B measurements
Comparison of OCO-2 target observations to MUCCnet – is it possible to capture urban XCO2 gradients from space?
SAGE III/ISS ozone and NO2 validation using diurnal scaling factors
An improved OSIRIS NO2 profile retrieval in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere and intercomparison with ACE-FTS and SAGE III/ISS
TROPESS/CrIS carbon monoxide profile validation with NOAA GML and ATom in situ aircraft observations
Validation of Copernicus Sentinel-3/OLCI Level 2 Land Integrated Water Vapour product
Evaluation of MOPITT and TROPOMI carbon monoxide retrievals using AirCore in situ vertical profiles
Horizontal distribution of tropospheric NO2 and aerosols derived by dual-scan multi-wavelength multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements in Uccle, Belgium
On the influence of underlying elevation data on Sentinel-5 Precursor TROPOMI satellite methane retrievals over Greenland
Satellite measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate from the Cross-Track Infrared Sounder: comparison with ATom aircraft measurements
The SPARC Water Vapor Assessment II: assessment of satellite measurements of upper tropospheric humidity
Benedikt Herkommer, Carlos Alberti, Paolo Castracane, Jia Chen, Angelika Dehn, Florian Dietrich, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Matthias Max Frey, Jochen Groß, Lawson Gillespie, Frank Hase, Isamu Morino, Nasrin Mostafavi Pak, Brittany Walker, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3467–3494, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3467-2024, 2024
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The Total Carbon Column Observing Network is a network of ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers used mainly for satellite validation. To ensure the highest-quality validation data, the network needs to be highly consistent. This is a major challenge, which so far is solved by site comparisons with airborne in situ measurements. In this work, we describe the use of a portable FTIR spectrometer as a travel standard for evaluating the consistency of TCCON sites.
Karen De Los Ríos, Paulina Ordoñez, Gabriele P. Stiller, Piera Raspollini, Marco Gai, Kaley A. Walker, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, and Luis Acosta
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3401–3418, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3401-2024, 2024
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This study examines newer versions of H2O and HDO retrievals from Envisat/MIPAS and SCISAT/ACE-FTS. Results reveal a better agreement in stratospheric H2O profiles than in HDO profiles. The H2O tape recorder signal is consistent across databases, but δD tape recorder composites show differences that impact the interpretation of water vapour transport. These findings enhance the need for intercomparisons to refine our insights.
Ming Luo, Helen M. Worden, Robert D. Field, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Gregory S. Elsaesser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2611–2624, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2611-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2611-2024, 2024
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The TROPESS CrIS single-pixel CO profile retrievals are compared to the MOPITT CO products in steps of adjusting them to the common a priori assumptions. The two data sets are found to agree within 5 %. We also demonstrated and analyzed the proper steps in evaluating GISS ModelE CO simulations using satellite CO retrieval products for the western US wildfire events in September 2020.
Matthew S. Johnson, Alexei Rozanov, Mark Weber, Nora Mettig, John Sullivan, Michael J. Newchurch, Shi Kuang, Thierry Leblanc, Fernando Chouza, Timothy A. Berkoff, Guillaume Gronoff, Kevin B. Strawbridge, Raul J. Alvarez, Andrew O. Langford, Christoph J. Senff, Guillaume Kirgis, Brandi McCarty, and Larry Twigg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2559–2582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2559-2024, 2024
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Monitoring tropospheric ozone (O3), a harmful pollutant negatively impacting human health, is primarily done using ground-based measurements and ozonesondes. However, these observation types lack the coverage to fully understand tropospheric O3. Satellites can retrieve tropospheric ozone with near-daily global coverage; however, they are known to have biases and errors. This study uses ground-based lidars to validate multiple satellites' ability to observe tropospheric O3.
Johan Mellqvist, Nathalia T. Vechi, Charlotte Scheutz, Marc Durif, Francois Gautier, John Johansson, Jerker Samuelsson, Brian Offerle, and Samuel Brohede
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2465–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2465-2024, 2024
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The solar occultation flux method retrieves ammonia gas columns from the solar spectrum. Emissions are obtained by multiplying the integrated plume concentration by the wind speed profile. The methodology for uncertainty estimation was established considering an error budget with systematic and random components, resulting in an expanded uncertainty in the range of 20 % to 30 %. The method was validated in a controlled release, and its application was demonstrated in different farms.
Felicia Kolonjari, Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, David A. Plummer, Andreas Engel, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Tanja Schuck, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Geoffrey C. Toon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2429–2449, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, 2024
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The Canadian Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) satellite instrument is currently providing the only vertically resolved chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) measurements from space. This study assesses the most current ACE-FTS HCFC-22 data product in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, as well as modelled HCFC-22 from a 39-year run of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM39) in the same region.
Emily Dowd, Alistair J. Manning, Bryn Orth-Lashley, Marianne Girard, James France, Rebecca E. Fisher, Dave Lowry, Mathias Lanoisellé, Joseph R. Pitt, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Glen Thistlethwaite, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Emanuel Gloor, and Chris Wilson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1599–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, 2024
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We provide the first validation of the satellite-derived emission estimates using surface-based mobile greenhouse gas surveys of an active gas leak detected near Cheltenham, UK. GHGSat’s emission estimates broadly agree with the surface-based mobile survey and steps were taken to fix the leak, highlighting the importance of satellite data in identifying emissions and helping to reduce our human impact on climate change.
Astrid Müller, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Takafumi Sugita, Prabir K. Patra, Shin-ichiro Nakaoka, Toshinobu Machida, Isamu Morino, André Butz, and Kei Shiomi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1297–1316, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024, 2024
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Satellite CH4 observations with high accuracy are needed to understand changes in atmospheric CH4 concentrations. But over oceans, reference data are limited. We combine various ship and aircraft observations with the help of atmospheric chemistry models to derive observation-based column-averaged mixing ratios of CH4 (obs. XCH4). We discuss three different approaches and demonstrate the applicability of the new reference dataset for carbon cycle studies and satellite evaluation.
Marcel Bühler, Christoph Häni, Albrecht Neftel, Patrice Bühler, Christof Ammann, and Thomas Kupper
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-258, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-258, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Methane was released from an artificial source inside a barn to test the applicability of the inverse dispersion method (IDM). Multiple open-path concentration devices and ultrasonic anemometers were used at the site. It is concluded that for the present study case, the effect of a building and a tree in the main wind axis led to a systematic underestimation of the IDM derived emission rate probably due to deviations of the wind field and turbulent dispersion from the ideal assumptions.
Evan D. Sherwin, Sahar H. El Abbadi, Philippine M. Burdeau, Zhan Zhang, Zhenlin Chen, Jeffrey S. Rutherford, Yuanlei Chen, and Adam R. Brandt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 765–782, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-765-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-765-2024, 2024
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Countries and companies increasingly rely on a growing fleet of satellites to find large emissions of climate-warming methane, particularly from oil and natural gas systems across the globe. We independently assessed the performance of nine such systems by releasing controlled, undisclosed amounts of methane as satellites passed overhead. The tested systems produced reliable detection and quantification results, including the smallest-ever emission detected from space in such a test.
Luis F. Millán, Matthew D. Lebsock, Ken B. Cooper, Jose V. Siles, Robert Dengler, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Amin Nehrir, Rory A. Barton-Grimley, James E. Collins, Claire E. Robinson, Kenneth L. Thornhill, and Holger Vömel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 539–559, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-539-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-539-2024, 2024
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In this study, we describe and validate a new technique in which three radar tones are used to estimate the water vapor inside clouds and precipitation. This instrument flew on board NASA's P-3 aircraft during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) campaign and the Synergies Of Active optical and Active microwave Remote Sensing Experiment (SOA2RSE) campaign.
Ouyang Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Yangyan Lin, Cheng Fan, Ying Zhang, Kaitao Li, Peng Zhang, Yuanyuan Wei, Tianzeng Chen, Jiantao Dong, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 377–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a trace gas which is important for atmospheric chemistry and may affect human health. To understand processes leading to harmful concentrations, it is important to monitor NO2 concentrations near the surface and higher up. To this end, a Pandora instrument has been installed in Beijing. An overview of the first year of data shows the large variability on diurnal to seasonal timescales and how this is affected by wind speed and direction and chemistry.
Arno Keppens, Serena Di Pede, Daan Hubert, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Pepijn Veefkind, Maarten Sneep, Johan De Haan, Mark ter Linden, Thierry Leblanc, Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, José Granville, Oindrila Nath, Ann Mari Fjaeraa, Ian Boyd, Sander Niemeijer, Roeland Van Malderen, Herman G. J. Smit, Valentin Duflot, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Bryan J. Johnson, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, David W. Tarasick, Debra E. Kollonige, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Angelika Dehn, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-264, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-264, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The Sentinel-5P satellite operated by the European Space Agency carries the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) around the Earth since October 2017. This mission also produces vertical ozone profile data, which is described in detail for the period May 2018 to April 2023. Independent validation using ground-based reference measurements demonstrates that the operational ozone profile product mostly fully and at least partially complies with all mission requirements.
Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Xuehui Guo, Rui Wang, April B. Leytem, Chase Calkins, Elizabeth Berry, Kang Sun, Markus Müller, Armin Wisthaler, Vivienne H. Payne, Mark W. Shephard, Mark A. Zondlo, and Valentin Kantchev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 15–36, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024, 2024
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Ammonia is a significant precursor of PM2.5 particles and thus contributes to poor air quality in many regions. Furthermore, ammonia concentrations are rising due to the increase of large-scale, intensive agricultural activities. Here we evaluate satellite measurements of ammonia against aircraft and surface network data, and show that there are differences in magnitude, but the satellite data are spatially and temporally well correlated with the in situ data.
Alana K. Ayasse, Daniel Cusworth, Kelly O'Neill, Justin Fisk, Andrew K. Thorpe, and Riley Duren
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 6065–6074, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6065-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6065-2023, 2023
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Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and a significant portion of methane comes from large individual plumes. Recently, airplane-mounted infrared technologies have proven very good at detecting and quantifying these plumes. In order to extract the methane signal from the infrared image, there are two widely used approaches. In this study, we assess the performance of both approaches using controlled-release experiments. We also examine the minimum detection limit of the infrared technology.
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
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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.
Neil Humpage, Hartmut Boesch, William Okello, Jia Chen, Florian Dietrich, Mark F. Lunt, Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, and Frank Hase
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-234, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-234, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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We used a Bruker EM27/SUN spectrometer within an automated weatherproof enclosure to measure greenhouse gas column concentrations over a three-month period in Jinja, Uganda. The portability of the EM27/SUN allows us to evaluate satellite and model data in locations not covered by traditional validation networks. This is of particular value in tropical Africa, where extensive terrestrial ecosystems are a significant store of carbon and play a key role in the atmospheric budgets of CO2 and CH4.
Bart Dils, Minqiang Zhou, Claude Camy-Peyret, Martine De Mazière, Yannick Kangah, Bavo Langerock, Pascal Prunet, Carmine Serio, Richard Siddans, and Brian Kerridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-237, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-237, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Here we looked at two very distinct methane products from the IASI instrument onboard the MetOp-A satellite. One (referred to as LMD NLISv8.3) uses a machine learning approach while the other (RALv2.0) uses a more conventional optimal estimation approach. We used a variety of model and independent reference measurement data to assess both product’s overall quality, their differences, and specific aspects of each product that would benefit from further analysis by the product development teams.
Kanghyun Baek, Jae Hwan Kim, Juseon Bak, David P. Haffner, Mina Kang, and Hyunkee Hong
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5461–5478, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5461-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5461-2023, 2023
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The GEMS mission was the first mission of the geostationary satellite constellation for hourly atmospheric composition monitoring. The GEMS ozone measurements were cross-compared to those of Pandora, OMPS, and TROPOMI satellite sensors and excellent agreement was found. GEMS has proven to be a powerful new instrument for monitoring and assessing the diurnal variation in atmospheric ozone. This experience can be used to advance research with future geostationary environmental satellite missions.
Tobias Christoph Valentin Werner Riess, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Ward Van Roy, Jos de Laat, Enrico Dammers, and Jasper van Vliet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5287–5304, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5287-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5287-2023, 2023
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Satellite retrievals of trace gases require prior knowledge of the vertical distribution of the pollutant, which is usually obtained from models. Using aircraft-measured vertical NO2 profiles over the North Sea in summer 2021, we evaluate the Transport Model 5 profiles used in the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval. We conclude that driven by the low horizontal resolution and the overestimated vertical mixing, resulting NO2 columns are 20 % too low. This has important implications for emission estimates.
Thomas Trickl, Martin Adelwart, Dina Khordakova, Ludwig Ries, Christian Rolf, Michael Sprenger, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Hannes Vogelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5145–5165, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, 2023
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Tropospheric ozone have been measured for more than a century. Highly quantitative ozone measurements have been made at monitoring stations. However, deficits have been reported for vertical sounding systems. Here, we report a thorough intercomparison effort between a differential-absorption lidar system and two types of balloon-borne ozone sondes, also using ozone sensors at nearby mountain sites as references. The sondes agree very well with the lidar after offset corrections.
Rodriguez Yombo Phaka, Alexis Merlaud, Gaia Pinardi, Martina M. Friedrich, Michel Van Roozendael, Jean-François Müller, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Isabelle De Smedt, François Hendrick, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Richard Bopili Mbotia Lepiba, Edmond Phuku Phuati, Buenimio Lomami Djibi, Lars Jacobs, Caroline Fayt, Jean-Pierre Mbungu Tsumbu, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5029–5050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5029-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5029-2023, 2023
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We present air quality measurements in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, performed with a newly developed instrument which was installed on a roof of the University of Kinshasa in November 2019. The instrument records spectra of the scattered sunlight, from which we derive the abundances of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, two important pollutants. We compare our ground-based measurements with those of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).
Jay Herman, Jerald Ziemke, and Richard McPeters
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4693–4707, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4693-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4693-2023, 2023
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Fourier series multivariate linear regression trends (% per decade) in ozone were estimated from the Merged Ozone Data Set (MOD) from 1979 to 2021 in two different regimes, from 1979 to TA (the date when ozone stopped decreasing) and TA to 2021. The derived TA is a latitude-dependent date, ranging from 1994 to 1998. TA(θ) is a marker for photochemistry dynamics models attempting to represent ozone change over the past 42 years.
Michael Kiefer, Dale F. Hurst, Gabriele P. Stiller, Stefan Lossow, Holger Vömel, John Anderson, Faiza Azam, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Laurent Blanot, Klaus Bramstedt, John P. Burrows, Robert Damadeo, Bianca Maria Dinelli, Patrick Eriksson, Maya García-Comas, John C. Gille, Mark Hervig, Yasuko Kasai, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Donal Murtagh, Gerald E. Nedoluha, Stefan Noël, Piera Raspollini, William G. Read, Karen H. Rosenlof, Alexei Rozanov, Christopher E. Sioris, Takafumi Sugita, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, and Katja Weigel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4589–4642, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4589-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4589-2023, 2023
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We quantify biases and drifts (and their uncertainties) between the stratospheric water vapor measurement records of 15 satellite-based instruments (SATs, with 31 different retrievals) and balloon-borne frost point hygrometers (FPs) launched at 27 globally distributed stations. These comparisons of measurements during the period 2000–2016 are made using robust, consistent statistical methods. With some exceptions, the biases and drifts determined for most SAT–FP pairs are < 10 % and < 1 % yr−1.
Tim A. van Kempen, Tim J. Rotmans, Richard M. van Hees, Carol Bruegge, Dejian Fu, Ruud Hoogeveen, Thomas J. Pongetti, Robert Rosenberg, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4507–4527, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4507-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4507-2023, 2023
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Validation of satellite measurements is essential for providing reliable and consistent products. In this paper, a validation method for TROPOMI-SWIR (Tropospheric Measurement Instrument in the short-wavelength infrared) is explored. TROPOMI-SWIR has been shown to be exceptionally stable, a necessity to explore the methodology. Railroad Valley, Nevada, is a prime location to perform the necessary measurements to validate the satellite measurements of TROPOMI-SWIR.
Serin Kim, Daewon Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Lim-Seok Chang, Hanlim Lee, Deok-Rae Kim, Donghee Kim, Jeong-Ah Yu, Dongwon Lee, Ukkyo Jeong, Chang-Kuen Song, Sang-Woo Kim, Sang Seo Park, Jhoon Kim, Thomas F. Hanisco, Junsung Park, Wonei Choi, and Kwangyul Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3959–3972, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3959-2023, 2023
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A first evaluation of the Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) NO2 was carried out via comparison with the NO2 data obtained from the ground-based Pandora direct-sun measurements at four sites in Seosan, Republic of Korea. Comparisons between GEMS NO2 and Pandora NO2 were performed according to GEMS cloud fraction. GEMS NO2 showed good agreement with that of Pandora NO2 under less cloudy conditions.
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
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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.
Thomas E. Taylor, Christopher W. O'Dell, David Baker, Carol Bruegge, Albert Chang, Lars Chapsky, Abhishek Chatterjee, Cecilia Cheng, Frédéric Chevallier, David Crisp, Lan Dang, Brian Drouin, Annmarie Eldering, Liang Feng, Brendan Fisher, Dejian Fu, Michael Gunson, Vance Haemmerle, Graziela R. Keller, Matthäus Kiel, Le Kuai, Thomas Kurosu, Alyn Lambert, Joshua Laughner, Richard Lee, Junjie Liu, Lucas Mandrake, Yuliya Marchetti, Gregory McGarragh, Aronne Merrelli, Robert R. Nelson, Greg Osterman, Fabiano Oyafuso, Paul I. Palmer, Vivienne H. Payne, Robert Rosenberg, Peter Somkuti, Gary Spiers, Cathy To, Brad Weir, Paul O. Wennberg, Shanshan Yu, and Jia Zong
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3173–3209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3173-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3173-2023, 2023
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NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 and 3 (OCO-2 and OCO-3, respectively) provide complementary spatiotemporal coverage from a sun-synchronous and precession orbit, respectively. Estimates of total column carbon dioxide (XCO2) derived from the two sensors using the same retrieval algorithm show broad consistency over a 2.5-year overlapping time record. This suggests that data from the two satellites may be used together for scientific analysis.
Lena Katharina Jänicke, Rene Preusker, Marco Celesti, Marin Tudoroiu, Jürgen Fischer, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and Matthias Drusch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3101–3121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3101-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3101-2023, 2023
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To compare two top-of-atmosphere radiances measured by instruments with different spectral characteristics, a transfer function has been developed. It is applied to a tandem data set of Sentinel-3A and B, for which OLCI-B mimicked the ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer FLEX. We found that OLCI-A measured radiances about 2 % brighter than OLCI-FLEX. Only at larger wavelengths were OLCI-A measurements about 5 % darker. The method is thus successful, being sensitive to calibration and processing issues.
Luis F. Millán, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Michaela I. Hegglin, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Thierry Leblanc, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Kaley Walker, Krzysztof Wargan, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2957–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, 2023
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The determination of atmospheric composition trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is still highly uncertain. We present the creation of dynamical diagnostics to map several ozone datasets (ozonesondes, lidars, aircraft, and satellite measurements) in geophysically based coordinate systems. The diagnostics can also be used to analyze other greenhouse gases relevant to surface climate and UTLS chemistry.
Zhihua Zhang, Jianguo Niu, Lawrence E. Flynn, Eric Beach, and Trevor Beck
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2919–2941, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2919-2023, 2023
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This study mainly focused on addressing stability and improvement when using a broadband approach, establishing soft-calibration adjustments for both OMPS S-NPP and N20, analyzing error biases based on multi-sensor bias correction, and comparing total column ozone and aerosol index retrievals from NOAA OMPS with those from other products.
Matthew S. Johnson, Amir H. Souri, Sajeev Philip, Rajesh Kumar, Aaron Naeger, Jeffrey Geddes, Laura Judd, Scott Janz, Heesung Chong, and John Sullivan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2431–2454, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2431-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2431-2023, 2023
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Satellites provide vital information for studying the processes controlling ozone formation. Based on the abundance of particular gases in the atmosphere, ozone formation is sensitive to specific human-induced and natural emission sources. However, errors and biases in satellite retrievals hinder this data source’s application for studying ozone formation sensitivity. We conducted a thorough statistical evaluation of two commonly applied satellites for investigating ozone formation sensitivity.
Kezia Lange, Andreas Richter, Anja Schönhardt, Andreas C. Meier, Tim Bösch, André Seyler, Kai Krause, Lisa K. Behrens, Folkard Wittrock, Alexis Merlaud, Frederik Tack, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Michel Van Roozendael, Vinod Kumar, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Bianca Lauster, Maria Razi, Christian Borger, Katharina Uhlmannsiek, Thomas Wagner, Thomas Ruhtz, Henk Eskes, Birger Bohn, Daniel Santana Diaz, Nader Abuhassan, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1357–1389, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1357-2023, 2023
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We present airborne imaging DOAS and ground-based stationary and car DOAS measurements conducted during the S5P-VAL-DE-Ruhr campaign in the Rhine-Ruhr region. The measurements are used to validate spaceborne NO2 data products from the Sentinel-5 Precursor TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). Auxiliary data of the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval, such as spatially higher resolved a priori NO2 vertical profiles, surface reflectivity, and cloud treatment are investigated to evaluate their impact.
Yolanda Maria Lemes, Christoph Häni, Jesper Nørlem Kamp, and Anders Feilberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1295–1309, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1295-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1295-2023, 2023
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The implementation of a new method, line-averaged concentration measurement with a closed-path analyzer, will enable the measurement of fluxes of multiple gases from different types of sources and will evaluate the effects of mitigation strategies on emissions. In addition, this method allows for continuous online measurements that resolve temporal variation in ammonia emissions and the peak emissions of methane.
Prajjwal Rawat, Manish Naja, Evan Fishbein, Pradeep K. Thapliyal, Rajesh Kumar, Piyush Bhardwaj, Aditya Jaiswal, Sugriva N. Tiwari, Sethuraman Venkataramani, and Shyam Lal
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 889–909, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-889-2023, 2023
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Satellite-based ozone observations have gained importance due to their global coverage. However, satellite-retrieved products are indirect and need to be validated, particularly over mountains. Ozonesondes launched from a Himalayan site are used to assess the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) ozone retrieval. AIRS is shown to overestimate ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, while the differences from ozonesondes are more minor in the middle troposphere and stratosphere.
Murali Natarajan, Robert Damadeo, and David Flittner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 75–87, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-75-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-75-2023, 2023
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Photochemically induced changes in mesospheric O3 concentration at twilight can cause asymmetry in the distribution along the line of sight of solar occultation observations that must be considered in the retrieval algorithm. Correction factors developed from diurnal photochemical model simulations were used to modify the archived SAGE III/ISS mesospheric O3 concentrations. For June 2021 the bias caused by the neglect of diurnal variations is over 30% at 64 km altitude and low latitudes.
Katerina Garane, Ka Lok Chan, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Diego Loyola, and Dimitris Balis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 57–74, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-57-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-57-2023, 2023
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In this work, 2.5 years of TROPOMI/S5P Total Column Water Vapor (TCWV) observations retrieved from the blue wavelength band are validated against co-located precipitable water measurements from NASA AERONET, which uses Cimel Sun photometers globally. Overall, the TCWV product agrees well on a global scale with the ground-based dataset (Pearson correl. coefficient 0.909) and has a mean relative bias of −2.7 ± 4.9 % with respect to the AERONET observations for moderate albedo and cloudiness.
Lei Shi, Carl J. Schreck III, Viju O. John, Eui-Seok Chung, Theresa Lang, Stefan A. Buehler, and Brian J. Soden
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6949–6963, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6949-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6949-2022, 2022
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Four upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) datasets derived from satellite microwave and infrared sounders are evaluated to assess their consistency as part of the activities for the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) water vapor assessment project. The study shows that the four datasets are consistent in the interannual temporal and spatial variability of the tropics. However, differences are found in the magnitudes of the anomalies and in the changing rates during the common period.
Ali Jalali, Kaley A. Walker, Kimberly Strong, Rebecca R. Buchholz, Merritt N. Deeter, Debra Wunch, Sébastien Roche, Tyler Wizenberg, Erik Lutsch, Erin McGee, Helen M. Worden, Pierre Fogal, and James R. Drummond
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6837–6863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6837-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6837-2022, 2022
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This study validates MOPITT version 8 carbon monoxide measurements over the Canadian high Arctic for the period 2006 to 2019. The MOPITT products from different detector pixels and channels are compared with ground-based measurements from the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. These results show good consistency between the satellite and ground-based measurements and provide guidance on the usage of these MOPITT data at high latitudes.
Gerald Wetzel, Michael Höpfner, Hermann Oelhaf, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Anne Kleinert, Guido Maucher, Miriam Sinnhuber, Janna Abalichin, Angelika Dehn, and Piera Raspollini
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6669–6704, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6669-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6669-2022, 2022
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Satellite measurements of stratospheric trace gases are essential for monitoring distributions and trends of these species on a global scale. Here, we compare the final MIPAS ESA Level 2 version 8 data (temperature and trace gases) with measurements obtained with the balloon version of MIPAS in terms of data agreement of both sensors, including combined errors. For most gases, we find a 5 % to 20 % agreement of the retrieved vertical profiles of both MIPAS instruments in the lower stratosphere.
Maximilian Rißmann, Jia Chen, Gregory Osterman, Xinxu Zhao, Florian Dietrich, Moritz Makowski, Frank Hase, and Matthäus Kiel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6605–6623, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6605-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6605-2022, 2022
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The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) measures atmospheric concentrations of the most potent greenhouse gas, CO2, globally. By comparing its measurements to a ground-based monitoring network in Munich (MUCCnet), we find that the satellite is able to reliably detect urban CO2 concentrations. Furthermore, spatial CO2 differences captured by OCO-2 and MUCCnet are strongly correlated, which indicates that OCO-2 could be helpful in determining urban CO2 emissions from space.
Sarah A. Strode, Ghassan Taha, Luke D. Oman, Robert Damadeo, David Flittner, Mark Schoeberl, Christopher E. Sioris, and Ryan Stauffer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6145–6161, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6145-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6145-2022, 2022
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We use a global atmospheric chemistry model simulation to generate scaling factors that account for the daily cycle of NO2 and ozone. These factors facilitate comparisons between sunrise and sunset observations from SAGE III/ISS and observations from other instruments. We provide the scaling factors as monthly zonal means for different latitudes and altitudes. We find that applying these factors yields more consistent comparisons between observations from SAGE III/ISS and other instruments.
Kimberlee Dubé, Daniel Zawada, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, William Randel, David Flittner, Patrick Sheese, and Kaley Walker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6163–6180, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6163-2022, 2022
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Satellite observations are important for monitoring changes in atmospheric composition. Here we describe an improved version of the NO2 retrieval for the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System. The resulting NO2 profiles are compared to those from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment – Fourier Transform Spectrometer and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station. All datasets agree within 20 % throughout the stratosphere.
Helen M. Worden, Gene L. Francis, Susan S. Kulawik, Kevin W. Bowman, Karen Cady-Pereira, Dejian Fu, Jennifer D. Hegarty, Valentin Kantchev, Ming Luo, Vivienne H. Payne, John R. Worden, Róisín Commane, and Kathryn McKain
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5383–5398, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5383-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5383-2022, 2022
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Satellite observations of global carbon monoxide (CO) are essential for understanding atmospheric chemistry and pollution sources. This paper describes a new data product using radiance measurements from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite that provides vertical profiles of CO from single-field-of-view observations. We show how these satellite CO profiles compare to aircraft observations and evaluate their biases.
Niilo Kalakoski, Viktoria F. Sofieva, René Preusker, Claire Henocq, Matthieu Denisselle, Steffen Dransfeld, and Silvia Scifoni
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5129–5140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5129-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5129-2022, 2022
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Geophysical validation of the Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) product from the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) was performed against reference observations from SUOMINET and IGRA databases. Results for cloud-free matchups over land show a wet bias of 7 %–10 % for OLCI, with a high correlation against the reference observations (0.98 against SUOMINET and 0.90 against IGRA). Special attention is given to validation of uncertainty estimates and cloud flagging.
Sara Martínez-Alonso, Merritt N. Deeter, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn McKain, Helen Worden, Tobias Borsdorff, Colm Sweeney, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4751–4765, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4751-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4751-2022, 2022
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AirCore is a novel balloon sampling system that can measure, among others, vertical profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) from 25–30 km of altitude to near the surface. Our analyses of AirCore and satellite CO data show that AirCore profiles are suited for satellite data validation, the use of shorter aircraft vertical profiles in satellite validation results in small errors (1–3 percent points) mostly at 300 hPa and above, and the error introduced by clouds in TROPOMI land data is small (1–2 %).
Ermioni Dimitropoulou, François Hendrick, Martina Michaela Friedrich, Frederik Tack, Gaia Pinardi, Alexis Merlaud, Caroline Fayt, Christian Hermans, Frans Fierens, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4503–4529, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4503-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4503-2022, 2022
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A total of 2 years of dual-scan ground-based MAX-DOAS measurements of tropospheric NO2 and aerosols in Uccle (Belgium) have been used to develop a new optimal-estimation-based inversion approach to retrieve horizontal profiles of surface NO2 concentration and aerosol extinction profiles. We show that the combination of an appropriate sampling of TROPOMI pixels by ground-based measurements and an adequate a priori NO2 profile shape in TROPOMI retrievals improves the agreement between datasets.
Jonas Hachmeister, Oliver Schneising, Michael Buchwitz, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, John P. Burrows, Justus Notholt, and Matthias Buschmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4063–4074, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4063-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4063-2022, 2022
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Sentinel-5P trace gas retrievals rely on elevation data in their calculations. Outdated or inaccurate data can lead to significant errors in e.g. dry-air mole fractions of methane (XCH4). We show that the use of inadequate elevation data leads to strong XCH4 anomalies in Greenland. Similar problems can be expected for other regions with inaccurate elevation data. However, we expect these to be more localized. We show that updating elevation data used in the retrieval solves this issue.
Vivienne H. Payne, Susan S. Kulawik, Emily V. Fischer, Jared F. Brewer, L. Gregory Huey, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, John R. Worden, Kevin W. Bowman, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred Moore, James W. Elkins, and Julieta Juncosa Calahorrano
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3497–3511, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022, 2022
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We compare new satellite measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) with reference aircraft measurements from two different instruments flown on the same platform. While there is a systematic difference between the two aircraft datasets, both show the same large-scale distribution of PAN and the discrepancy between aircraft datasets is small compared to the satellite uncertainties. The satellite measurements show skill in capturing large-scale variations in PAN.
William G. Read, Gabriele Stiller, Stefan Lossow, Michael Kiefer, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Dale Hurst, Holger Vömel, Karen Rosenlof, Bianca M. Dinelli, Piera Raspollini, Gerald E. Nedoluha, John C. Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Patrick Eriksson, Christopher E. Sioris, Kaley A. Walker, Katja Weigel, John P. Burrows, and Alexei Rozanov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3377–3400, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3377-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3377-2022, 2022
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This paper attempts to provide an assessment of the accuracy of 21 satellite-based instruments that remotely measure atmospheric humidity in the upper troposphere of the Earth's atmosphere. The instruments made their measurements from 1984 to the present time; however, most of these instruments began operations after 2000, and only a few are still operational. The objective of this study is to quantify the accuracy of each satellite humidity data set.
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Executive editor
Accurate detection and quantification of methane emissions are urgently needed for climate change mitigation. Multiple observations and measurement approaches can contribute to this challenge. This study shows how Sentinel-2 can provide useful coverage and spatial resolution for methane plumes, despite limited spectral sensitivity for methane absorption.
Accurate detection and quantification of methane emissions are urgently needed for climate...
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.
We present a methane flux rate retrieval methodology using the Sentinel-2 mission, validating...
