01 Feb 2010
01 Feb 2010
Global estimates of CO sources with high resolution by adjoint inversion of multiple satellite datasets (MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, TES)
M. Kopacz1,*, D. J. Jacob1, J. A. Fisher1, J. A. Logan1, L. Zhang1, I. A. Megretskaia1, R. M. Yantosca1, K. Singh2, D. K. Henze3, J. P. Burrows4, M. Buchwitz4, I. Khlystova4, W. W. McMillan5, J. C. Gille6, D. P. Edwards6, A. Eldering7, V. Thouret8,9, and P. Nedelec8,9
M. Kopacz et al.
M. Kopacz1,*, D. J. Jacob1, J. A. Fisher1, J. A. Logan1, L. Zhang1, I. A. Megretskaia1, R. M. Yantosca1, K. Singh2, D. K. Henze3, J. P. Burrows4, M. Buchwitz4, I. Khlystova4, W. W. McMillan5, J. C. Gille6, D. P. Edwards6, A. Eldering7, V. Thouret8,9, and P. Nedelec8,9
- 1School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- 2Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO, USA
- 4Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- 5Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
- 6National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 7Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA
- 8Universit de Toulouse, UPS, LA (Laboratoire d'Arologie), 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France
- 9CNRS, LA (Laboratoire d'A'erologie), 31400 Toulouse, France
- *now at: Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- 1School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- 2Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO, USA
- 4Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- 5Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
- 6National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 7Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA
- 8Universit de Toulouse, UPS, LA (Laboratoire d'Arologie), 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France
- 9CNRS, LA (Laboratoire d'A'erologie), 31400 Toulouse, France
- *now at: Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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Received: 18 Aug 2009 – Discussion started: 24 Sep 2009 – Revised: 12 Jan 2010 – Accepted: 12 Jan 2010 – Published: 01 Feb 2010
We combine CO column measurements from the MOPITT, AIRS, SCIAMACHY, and TES satellite instruments in a full-year (May 2004–April 2005) global inversion of CO sources at 4°×5° spatial resolution and monthly temporal resolution. The inversion uses the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) and its adjoint applied to MOPITT, AIRS, and SCIAMACHY. Observations from TES, surface sites (NOAA/GMD), and aircraft (MOZAIC) are used for evaluation of the a posteriori solution. Using GEOS-Chem as a common intercomparison platform shows global consistency between the different satellite datasets and with the in situ data. Differences can be largely explained by different averaging kernels and a priori information. The global CO emission from combustion as constrained in the inversion is 1350 Tg a−1. This is much higher than current bottom-up emission inventories. A large fraction of the correction results from a seasonal underestimate of CO sources at northern mid-latitudes in winter and suggests a larger-than-expected CO source from vehicle cold starts and residential heating. Implementing this seasonal variation of emissions solves the long-standing problem of models underestimating CO in the northern extratropics in winter-spring. A posteriori emissions also indicate a general underestimation of biomass burning in the GFED2 inventory. However, the tropical biomass burning constraints are not quantitatively consistent across the different datasets.