Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1297-2024
Research article
 | 
23 Feb 2024
Research article |  | 23 Feb 2024

Ship- and aircraft-based XCH4 over oceans as a new tool for satellite validation

Astrid Müller, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Takafumi Sugita, Prabir K. Patra, Shin-ichiro Nakaoka, Toshinobu Machida, Isamu Morino, André Butz, and Kei Shiomi

Data sets

Methane data from 2002 to present derived from satellite observations Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS) https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.b25419f8

CAMS global greenhouse gas reanalysis (EGG4) monthly averaged fields ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/cams-global-ghg-reanalysis-egg4-monthly?tab=overview

CAMS global inversion-optimised greenhouse gas fluxes and concentrations ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/cams-global-greenhouse-gas-inversion?tab=overview

Atmospheric trace gas data from the CONTRAIL flask air sampling over the Pacific Ocean T. Machida, H. Matsueda, Y. Sawa, Y. Niwa, and M. Sasakawa https://doi.org/10.17595/20190828.001

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Short summary
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.