Articles | Volume 14, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8309-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8309-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Aug 2014
Research article |
| 19 Aug 2014
Estimating the volcanic emission rate and atmospheric lifetime of SO2 from space: a case study for Kīlauea volcano, Hawai`i
S. Beirle
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
C. Hörmann
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
Institut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
M. Penning de Vries
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
S. Dörner
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, USA
T. Wagner
Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany
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A catalog of point sources of nitrogen oxides was created using satellite observations of NO2. Key for the identification of point sources was the divergence, i.e., the difference between upwind and downwind levels of NO2.
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Holger Sihler, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Marloes Gutenstein-Penning de Vries, Christoph Hörmann, Christian Borger, Simon Warnach, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3989–4031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, 2021
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Thomas Wagner, Steffen Dörner, Steffen Beirle, Sebastian Donner, and Stefan Kinne
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Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Christian Borger, and Roeland Van Malderen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5315–5353, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5315-2021, 2021
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Bianca Lauster, Steffen Dörner, Steffen Beirle, Sebastian Donner, Sergey Gromov, Katharina Uhlmannsiek, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 769–783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-769-2021, 2021
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Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Udo Frieß, François Hendrick, Carlos Alberti, Marc Allaart, Arnoud Apituley, Alkis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Stijn Berkhout, Kristof Bognar, Tim Bösch, Ilya Bruchkouski, Alexander Cede, Ka Lok Chan, Mirjam den Hoed, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Arnoud Frumau, Lou Gast, Clio Gielen, Laura Gomez-Martín, Nan Hao, Arjan Hensen, Bas Henzing, Christian Hermans, Junli Jin, Karin Kreher, Jonas Kuhn, Johannes Lampel, Ang Li, Cheng Liu, Haoran Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Alexis Merlaud, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Ankie Piters, Ulrich Platt, Olga Puentedura, Andreas Richter, Stefan Schmitt, Elena Spinei, Deborah Stein Zweers, Kimberly Strong, Daan Swart, Frederik Tack, Martin Tiefengraber, René van der Hoff, Michel van Roozendael, Tim Vlemmix, Jan Vonk, Thomas Wagner, Yang Wang, Zhuoru Wang, Mark Wenig, Matthias Wiegner, Folkard Wittrock, Pinhua Xie, Chengzhi Xing, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Xiaoyi Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1-2021, 2021
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Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is a ground-based remote sensing measurement technique that derives atmospheric aerosol and trace gas vertical profiles from skylight spectra. In this study, consistency and reliability of MAX-DOAS profiles are assessed by applying nine different evaluation algorithms to spectral data recorded during an intercomparison campaign in the Netherlands and by comparing the results to colocated supporting observations.
Vinod Kumar, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Sebastian Donner, Yang Wang, Vinayak Sinha, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14183–14235, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, 2020
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We present the first long-term MAX-DOAS measurements of aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde tropospheric columns, vertical distributions, and temporal variation from Mohali in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. We investigate the effect of various emission sources and meteorological conditions on the measured pollutants and how they control ozone formation. These measurements are also used to validate the corresponding satellite observations and are also compared against in situ observations.
Yang Wang, Arnoud Apituley, Alkiviadis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Nuria Benavent, Alexander Borovski, Ilya Bruchkouski, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Henning Finkenzeller, Martina M. Friedrich, Udo Frieß, David Garcia-Nieto, Laura Gómez-Martín, François Hendrick, Andreas Hilboll, Junli Jin, Paul Johnston, Theodore K. Koenig, Karin Kreher, Vinod Kumar, Aleksandra Kyuberis, Johannes Lampel, Cheng Liu, Haoran Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Oleg L. Polyansky, Oleg Postylyakov, Richard Querel, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Stefan Schmitt, Xin Tian, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Michel Van Roozendael, Rainer Volkamer, Zhuoru Wang, Pinhua Xie, Chengzhi Xing, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5087–5116, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5087-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5087-2020, 2020
Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, Gaia Pinardi, José Granville, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Sander Niemeijer, Bruno Rino, Alkis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Folkert Boersma, John P. Burrows, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk Eskes, Florence Goutail, François Hendrick, Alba Lorente, Andrea Pazmino, Ankie Piters, Enno Peters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Jos van Geffen, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, and Jean-Christopher Lambert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8017–8045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, 2020
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Tropospheric and stratospheric NO2 columns from the OMI QA4ECV NO2 satellite product are validated by comparison with ground-based measurements at 11 sites. The OMI stratospheric column has a small negative bias, and the OMI tropospheric column has a stronger negative bias relative to the ground-based data. Discrepancies are attributed to comparison errors (e.g. difference in horizontal smoothing) and measurement errors (e.g. clouds, aerosols, vertical smoothing and a priori profile assumptions).
Christian Borger, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Holger Sihler, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2751–2783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2751-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2751-2020, 2020
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We present a total column water vapour (TCWV) retrieval analysing measurements from S-5P/TROPOMI in the visible blue spectral range. The retrieval can well capture the global water vapour distribution with similar sensitivity over the land and ocean and agrees well with various reference data sets within the estimated TCWV uncertainties of typically around 10 %–20 %.
Sebastian Donner, Jonas Kuhn, Michel Van Roozendael, Alkiviadis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Tim Bösch, Kristof Bognar, Ilya Bruchkouski, Ka Lok Chan, Steffen Dörner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Udo Frieß, François Hendrick, Christian Hermans, Junli Jin, Ang Li, Jianzhong Ma, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Andreas Richter, Stefan F. Schreier, André Seyler, Kimberly Strong, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Yang Wang, Pinhua Xie, Jin Xu, Xiaoyi Zhao, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 685–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-685-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-685-2020, 2020
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The calibration of the elevation angles of MAX-DOAS instruments is important for the correct interpretation of such MAX-DOAS measurements. We present and evaluate different methods for the elevation calibration of MAX-DOAS instruments which were applied during the CINDI-2 field campaign.
Fei Liu, Bryan N. Duncan, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Lok N. Lamsal, Steffen Beirle, Debora Griffin, Chris A. McLinden, Daniel L. Goldberg, and Zifeng Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 99–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-99-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-99-2020, 2020
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We present a novel method to infer CO2 emissions from individual power plants, based on satellite observations of co-emitted NO2. We find that the CO2 emissions estimated by our satellite-based method during 2005–2017 are in reasonable agreement with the CEMS measurements for US power plants. The broader implication of our methodology is that it has the potential to provide an additional constraint on CO2 emissions from power plants in regions of the world without reliable emissions accounting.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Nuria Benavent, Tim Bösch, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Caroline Fayt, Udo Frieß, David García-Nieto, Clio Gielen, David González-Bartolome, Laura Gomez, François Hendrick, Bas Henzing, Jun Li Jin, Johannes Lampel, Jianzhong Ma, Kornelia Mies, Mónica Navarro, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Olga Puentedura, Janis Puķīte, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Reza Shaiganfar, Holger Sihler, Michel Van Roozendael, Yang Wang, and Margarita Yela
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2745–2817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2745-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2745-2019, 2019
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In this study the consistency between MAX-DOAS measurements and radiative transfer simulations of the atmospheric O4 absorption is investigated. The study is based on measurements (2 selected days during the MADCAT campaign) as well as synthetic spectra. The uncertainties of all relevant aspects (spectral retrieval and radiative transfer simulations) are quantified. For one of the selected days, measurements and simulations do not agree within their uncertainties.
Udo Frieß, Steffen Beirle, Leonardo Alvarado Bonilla, Tim Bösch, Martina M. Friedrich, François Hendrick, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Michel van Roozendael, Vladimir V. Rozanov, Elena Spinei, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Tim Vlemmix, Thomas Wagner, and Yang Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2155–2181, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2155-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2155-2019, 2019
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Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is a widely used measurement technique for the detection of a variety of atmospheric trace gases. It enables the retrieval of aerosol and trace gas vertical profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer using appropriate retrieval algorithms. In this study, the ability of eight profile retrieval algorithms to reconstruct vertical profiles is assessed on the basis of synthetic measurements.
Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Julia Remmers, Yang Wang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1785–1806, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1785-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1785-2019, 2019
Song Liu, Pieter Valks, Gaia Pinardi, Isabelle De Smedt, Huan Yu, Steffen Beirle, and Andreas Richter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1029–1057, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1029-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1029-2019, 2019
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays significant roles in both stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry, and the observations from satellites enable reliable monitoring of NO2 columns on a global scale and on long time scales. This work presents a refined algorithm for the retrieval of NO2 columns from the satellite instrument Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2), which shows a clear improvement comparing to the previous algorithm.
K. Folkert Boersma, Henk J. Eskes, Andreas Richter, Isabelle De Smedt, Alba Lorente, Steffen Beirle, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Marina Zara, Enno Peters, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ronald J. van der A, Joanne Nightingale, Anne De Rudder, Hitoshi Irie, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, and Steven C. Compernolle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6651–6678, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, 2018
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This paper describes a new, improved data record of 22+ years of coherent nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution measurements from different satellite instruments. Our work helps to ensure that climate data are of sufficient quality to draw reliable conclusions and shape decisions. It shows how dedicated intercomparisons of retrieval sub-steps have led to improved NO2 measurements from the GOME, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2(A), and OMI sensors, and how quality assurance of the new data product is achieved.
Eloise A. Marais, Daniel J. Jacob, Sungyeon Choi, Joanna Joiner, Maria Belmonte-Rivas, Ronald C. Cohen, Steffen Beirle, Lee T. Murray, Luke D. Schiferl, Viral Shah, and Lyatt Jaeglé
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17017–17027, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, 2018
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We intercompare two new products of global upper tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We evaluate these products with aircraft observations from NASA DC8 aircraft campaigns and interpret the useful information these products can provide about nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the global upper troposphere using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model.
Roeland Van Malderen, Eric Pottiaux, Gintautas Stankunavicius, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Hugues Brenot, and Carine Bruyninx
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1170, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1170, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
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The study investigates the long-term time variability of the integrated water vapour retrieved by different techniques (GPS, UV/VIS satellites and numerical weather prediction reanalyses) for a global dataset of almost 120 sites and for the time period 1995–2010. A stepwise multiple linear regression technique is applied to ascribe the time variability of integrated water vapour to surface measurements at the sites, but also using teleconnection patterns or climate/oceanic indices.
Marina Zara, K. Folkert Boersma, Isabelle De Smedt, Andreas Richter, Enno Peters, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Michel Van Roozendael, Sergey Marchenko, Lok N. Lamsal, and Henk J. Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4033–4058, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, 2018
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Nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde satellite data are used for air quality and climate studies. We quantify and characterise slant column uncertainties from different research groups. Our evaluation is motivated by recently improved techniques and by a desire to provide fully traceable uncertainty budget for climate records generated within the QA4ECV project. The improved slant columns are in agreement but with substantial differences in the reported uncertainties between groups and instruments.
Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Thomas Danckaert, Christophe Lerot, Steven Compernolle, Michel Van Roozendael, Andreas Richter, Andreas Hilboll, Enno Peters, Mattia Pedergnana, Diego Loyola, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, Klaas Folkert Boersma, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2395–2426, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, 2018
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This paper introduces the formaldehyde (HCHO) tropospheric vertical column retrieval algorithm implemented in the TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor operational processor, and comprehensively describes its various retrieval steps. Furthermore, algorithmic improvements developed in the framework of the EU FP7-project QA4ECV are described for future updates of the processor. Detailed error estimates are discussed in the light of Copernicus user requirements and needs for validation are highlighted.
Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Yang Wang, Kornelia Mies, Steffen Dörner, Margherita Grossi, Diego Loyola, Angelika Dehn, Anja Danielczok, Marc Schröder, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 449–468, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-449-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-449-2018, 2018
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We present time series of the global distribution of water vapor over more than 2 decades based on satellite measurements from different sensors. A particular focus is the consistency amongst the different sensors to avoid jumps from one instrument to another. This is reached by applying robust and simple retrieval settings consistently. The resulting
Climateproduct allows the study of the temporal evolution of water vapor over the last 20 years on a global scale.
Johannes Lampel, Yang Wang, Andreas Hilboll, Steffen Beirle, Holger Sihler, Janis Puķīte, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4819–4831, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4819-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4819-2017, 2017
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Experience of differential atmospheric absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) shows that a spectral shift between measurement and reference spectrum is frequently required in order to achieve optimal fit results. The shift is often attributed to temporal instabilities of the instrument but implicitly solved the problem of the tilt effect discussed in this paper. The tilt effect results from the finite resolution of the measurements and amounts to 2 pm for the example data set.
Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Francois Hendrick, Andreas Hilboll, Junli Jin, Aleksandra A. Kyuberis, Johannes Lampel, Ang Li, Yuhan Luo, Lorenzo Lodi, Jianzhong Ma, Monica Navarro, Ivan Ortega, Enno Peters, Oleg L. Polyansky, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Olga Puentedura, Michel Van Roozendael, André Seyler, Jonathan Tennyson, Rainer Volkamer, Pinhua Xie, Nikolai F. Zobov, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3719–3742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3719-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3719-2017, 2017
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Slant column densities of nitrous acid (HONO) derived from different MAX-DOAS instruments and retrieval software are systematically compared for the first time during the Multi Axis DOAS – Comparison campaign for Aerosols and Trace gases (MAD-CAT) campaign held at MPIC in Mainz, Germany, from June to October 2013. Through the inter-comparisons and sensitivity studies we quantified the uncertainties in the DOAS fits of HONO from different sources and concluded a recommended setting.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Ronald J. van der A, Bo Zheng, Dan Tong, and Kebin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9261–9275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, 2017
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We assess NOx emission trends over Chinese cities based on satellite NO2 observations using a method independent of chemical transport models. NOx emissions over 48 Chinese cities have decreased significantly since 2011. Cities with different dominant emission sources (i.e. power, industrial, and transportation sectors) showed variable emission decline timelines that corresponded to the schedules for emission control in different sectors.
Reza Shaiganfar, Steffen Beirle, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Sander Jonkers, Jeroen Kuenen, Herve Petetin, Qijie Zhang, Matthias Beekmann, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7853–7890, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7853-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7853-2017, 2017
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We determine NOx emissions for Paris in summer 2009 and winter 2009/2010 by combining car MAX-DOAS measurements of NO2 with wind fields. We compare the results with simulations from the CHIMERE model. We derive daily average NOx emissions for Paris of 4.0 × 1025 molecules s−1 for summer and of 6.9 × 1025 molecules s−1 in winter. These values are a factor of about 1.4 and 2.0 larger than the corresponding emissions in the MACC-III emission inventory.
Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Mariliza Koukouli, Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Ang Li, Dexia Wu, Pinhua Xie, Cheng Liu, Michel Van Roozendael, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5007–5033, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5007-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5007-2017, 2017
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A long-term MAX-DOAS measurement from 2011 to 2014 was operated in Wuxi, part of the most industrialized area of the Yangtze River delta region of China. The tropospheric VCDs and vertical profiles of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from the MAX-DOAS are used to validate the products derived from OMI and GOME-2A/B by different scientific teams (daily- and bimonthly-averaged data). We investigate the effects of clouds, aerosols and a priori profile shapes on satellite retrievals of tropospheric VCDs.
Holger Sihler, Peter Lübcke, Rüdiger Lang, Steffen Beirle, Martin de Graaf, Christoph Hörmann, Johannes Lampel, Marloes Penning de Vries, Julia Remmers, Ed Trollope, Yang Wang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 881–903, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-881-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-881-2017, 2017
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This paper presents the independent and simple IFR method to retrieve the FOV of an instrument, i.e. the two-dimensional sensitivity distribution. IFR relies on correlated measurements featuring a higher spatial resolution and was applied to two satellite instruments, GOME-2 and OMI, and a DOAS instrument integrated in an SO2 camera. Our results confirm the commonly applied FOV distributions. IFR is applicable for verification exercises as well as degradation monitoring in the field.
Alba Lorente, K. Folkert Boersma, Huan Yu, Steffen Dörner, Andreas Hilboll, Andreas Richter, Mengyao Liu, Lok N. Lamsal, Michael Barkley, Isabelle De Smedt, Michel Van Roozendael, Yang Wang, Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Jin-Tai Lin, Nickolay Krotkov, Piet Stammes, Ping Wang, Henk J. Eskes, and Maarten Krol
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 759–782, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-759-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-759-2017, 2017
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Choices and assumptions made to represent the state of the atmosphere introduce an uncertainty of 42 % in the air mass factor calculation in trace gas satellite retrievals in polluted regions. The AMF strongly depends on the choice of a priori trace gas profile, surface albedo data set and the correction method to account for clouds and aerosols. We call for well-designed validation exercises focusing on situations when AMF structural uncertainty has the highest impact on satellite retrievals.
Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Christophe Lerot, Holger Sihler, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 581–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-581-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-581-2017, 2017
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We propose to parameterize the instrumental spectral response function (ISRF) as a "super-Gaussian", which can reproduce a variety of shapes, from point-hat to boxcar shape, by just adding one parameter to the "classical" Gaussian.
In addition, the super-Gaussian allows for a straightforward parametrization of the effect of ISRF changes.
Yang Wang, Johannes Lampel, Pinhua Xie, Steffen Beirle, Ang Li, Dexia Wu, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2189–2215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2189-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2189-2017, 2017
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The air pollution in the Yangtze River delta (YRD), the largest economic region in China, threatens the health of the inhabitants in this region. A long-term MAX-DOAS observation in Wuxi, China (belonging to YRD), is used to characterize vertical distributions (VD) of the aerosols and the precursor trace gases in the boundary to identify the dominating sources. The results are valuable for further validation of satellite products and chemical transport modelings.
Johannes Lampel, Denis Pöhler, Oleg L. Polyansky, Aleksandra A. Kyuberis, Nikolai F. Zobov, Jonathan Tennyson, Lorenzo Lodi, Udo Frieß, Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1271–1295, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1271-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1271-2017, 2017
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Water vapour is known to absorb radiation from the microwave region to the blue part of the visible spectrum.
Ab initio approaches to model individual absorption lines of the gaseous water molecule predict absorption lines
until its dissociation limit at 243 nm.
We present first evidence of water vapour absorption near 363 nm from field measurements using data
from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) and long-path (LP)-DOAS measurements.
Christoph Hörmann, Holger Sihler, Steffen Beirle, Marloes Penning de Vries, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13015–13034, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13015-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13015-2016, 2016
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We present 10 years of bromine monoxide (BrO) satellite observations by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over the Rann of Kutch salt marsh. The measurements reveal a typical seasonal cycle of BrO with maximum concentrations during April/May. The results indicate that the Rann of Kutch is probably one of the strongest natural point sources of reactive bromine compounds outside the polar regions and is thought to have a significant impact on local and regional ozone chemistry.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Julia Remmers, Reza Shaiganfar, and Yang Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4803–4823, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4803-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4803-2016, 2016
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A method is developed for the calibration of the colour index (CI) and the O4 absorption derived from differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements of scattered sunlight. Calibrated measurements of the CI and the O4 absorption are important for the detection and classification of clouds from MAX-DOAS observations.
Jan Zörner, Marloes Penning de Vries, Steffen Beirle, Holger Sihler, Patrick R. Veres, Jonathan Williams, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9457–9487, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, 2016
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We present a top-down approach to infer and quantify rain-induced emission pulses of nitrogen oxides from soils using satellite-borne measurements of NO2. We found strong enhancements of NO2 induced by the first intense precipitation after prolonged droughts in many semi-arid regions of the world, in particular in the Sahel. Apart from the clear first-day peak, NO2 VCDs are moderately enhanced compared to background over the following 2 weeks suggesting potential further emissions.
U. Frieß, H. Klein Baltink, S. Beirle, K. Clémer, F. Hendrick, B. Henzing, H. Irie, G. de Leeuw, A. Li, M. M. Moerman, M. van Roozendael, R. Shaiganfar, T. Wagner, Y. Wang, P. Xie, S. Yilmaz, and P. Zieger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3205–3222, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3205-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3205-2016, 2016
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This article describes the first direct comparison of aerosol extinction profiles from Multi-Axis DOAS measurements of the oxygen collision complex using five different retrieval algorithms. A comparison of the retrieved profiles with co-located aerosol measurements shows good agreement with respect to profile shape and aerosol optical thickness. This study shows that MAX-DOAS is a simple, versatile and cost-effective method for the measurement of aerosol properties in the lower troposphere.
Steffen Beirle, Christoph Hörmann, Patrick Jöckel, Song Liu, Marloes Penning de Vries, Andrea Pozzer, Holger Sihler, Pieter Valks, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2753–2779, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2753-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2753-2016, 2016
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Steffen Dörner, Kebin He, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5283–5298, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5283-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5283-2016, 2016
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We present a new method to quantify NOx emissions and corresponding atmospheric lifetimes from OMI NO2 observations together with ECMWF wind fields without further model input for sources located in polluted background. The derived NOx emissions show generally good agreement with bottom-up inventories for power plants and cities. Global inventory significantly underestimated NOx emissions in Chinese cities, most likely due to uncertainties associated with downscaling approaches.
Y. Wang, M. Penning de Vries, P. H. Xie, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, J. Remmers, A. Li, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5133–5156, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5133-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5133-2015, 2015
T. Wagner, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, M. Penning de Vries, J. Remmers, A. Rozanov, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4265–4280, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4265-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4265-2015, 2015
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We present a new method for the absolute calibration of atmospheric radiance measurements. Existing methods are based on laboratory measurements, but our method uses the atmospheric radiance measurements themselves. For selected sky conditions these measurements are compared to radiative transfer simulations. The method is very accurate (better than 7%) and might be used for a variety of scientific applications, as well as for the determination of the energy yield of photovoltaic cells.
M. J. M. Penning de Vries, S. Beirle, C. Hörmann, J. W. Kaiser, P. Stammes, L. G. Tilstra, O. N. E. Tuinder, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10597–10618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10597-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10597-2015, 2015
M. Beekmann, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, J. Sciare, S. N. Pandis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Crippa, F. Freutel, L. Poulain, V. Ghersi, E. Rodriguez, S. Beirle, P. Zotter, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, M. Bressi, C. Fountoukis, H. Petetin, S. Szidat, J. Schneider, A. Rosso, I. El Haddad, A. Megaritis, Q. J. Zhang, V. Michoud, J. G. Slowik, S. Moukhtar, P. Kolmonen, A. Stohl, S. Eckhardt, A. Borbon, V. Gros, N. Marchand, J. L. Jaffrezo, A. Schwarzenboeck, A. Colomb, A. Wiedensohler, S. Borrmann, M. Lawrence, A. Baklanov, and U. Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9577–9591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, 2015
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A detailed characterization of air quality in the Paris (France) agglomeration, a megacity, during two summer and winter intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations, revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported into the megacity from upwind regions. Unexpectedly, a major part of organic PM is of modern origin (woodburning and cooking activities, secondary formation from biogenic VOC).
R. Shaiganfar, S. Beirle, H. Petetin, Q. Zhang, M. Beekmann, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2827–2852, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2827-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2827-2015, 2015
M. Grossi, P. Valks, D. Loyola, B. Aberle, S. Slijkhuis, T. Wagner, S. Beirle, and R. Lang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1111–1133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1111-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1111-2015, 2015
S. Beirle, W. Koshak, R. Blakeslee, and T. Wagner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2715–2726, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2715-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2715-2014, 2014
R. Van Malderen, H. Brenot, E. Pottiaux, S. Beirle, C. Hermans, M. De Mazière, T. Wagner, H. De Backer, and C. Bruyninx
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2487–2512, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2487-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2487-2014, 2014
T. Wagner, A. Apituley, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, U. Friess, J. Remmers, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1289–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1289-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1289-2014, 2014
C. Liu, S. Beirle, T. Butler, P. Hoor, C. Frankenberg, P. Jöckel, M. Penning de Vries, U. Platt, A. Pozzer, M. G. Lawrence, J. Lelieveld, H. Tost, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1717–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, 2014
J. Yoon, A. Pozzer, P. Hoor, D. Y. Chang, S. Beirle, T. Wagner, S. Schloegl, J. Lelieveld, and H. M. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11307–11316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, 2013
T. Wagner, S. Beirle, H. Sihler, and K. Mies
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2593–2605, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2593-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2593-2013, 2013
C. Hörmann, H. Sihler, N. Bobrowski, S. Beirle, M. Penning de Vries, U. Platt, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4749–4781, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4749-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4749-2013, 2013
S. Beirle, H. Sihler, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 661–675, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-661-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-661-2013, 2013
J. Z. Ma, S. Beirle, J. L. Jin, R. Shaiganfar, P. Yan, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1547–1567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1547-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1547-2013, 2013
T. Wagner, M. O. Andreae, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, K. Mies, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 131–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-131-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-131-2013, 2013
Steffen Beirle and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3439–3453, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3439-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3439-2024, 2024
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We present a new method for estimating emissions and lifetimes for nitrogen oxides emitted from large cities by using satellite NO2 observations combined with wind fields. The estimate is based on the simultaneous evaluation of the downwind plumes for opposing wind directions. This allows us to derive seasonal mean emissions and lifetimes for 100 cities around the globe.
Leon Kuhn, Steffen Beirle, Sergey Osipov, Andrea Pozzer, and Thomas Wagner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1196, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1196, 2024
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This paper presents a new machine-learning model, which allows to compute NO2 concentration profiles from satellite observations. The neural network was trained on synthetic data from the regional chemistry and transport model WRF-Chem. It is the first model of this kind. We present a thorough model validation study, including different seasons and regions of the world.
Kezia Lange, Andreas Richter, Tim Bösch, Bianca Zilker, Miriam Latsch, Lisa K. Behrens, Chisom M. Okafor, Hartmut Bösch, John P. Burrows, Alexis Merlaud, Gaia Pinardi, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Michel Van Roozendael, Steffen Ziegler, Simona Ripperger-Lukosiunaite, Leon Kuhn, Bianca Lauster, Thomas Wagner, Hyunkee Hong, Donghee Kim, Lim-Seok Chang, Kangho Bae, Chang-Keun Song, and Hanlim Lee
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-617, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-617, 2024
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Instruments for air quality observations on geostationary satellites provide multiple observations per day and allow for the analysis of the diurnal variation of important air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over large areas. The South Korean instrument GEMS, launched in February 2020, is the first instrument in geostationary orbit and covers a large part of Asia. Our investigations show the observed diurnal evolution of NO2 at different measurement sites.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Joanna Joiner, Sungyeon Choi, Zhining Tao, K. Emma Knowland, Steven J. Smith, Daniel Q. Tong, Siqi Ma, Zachary T. Fasnacht, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3717–3728, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, 2024
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Using satellite data, we developed a coupled method independent of the chemical transport model to map NOx emissions across US cities. After validating our technique with synthetic data, we charted NOx emissions from 2018–2021 in 39 cities. Our results closely matched EPA estimates but also highlighted some inconsistencies in both magnitude and spatial distribution. This research can help refine strategies for monitoring and managing air quality.
Thomas Wagner and Jānis Puķīte
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 277–297, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-277-2024, 2024
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We present a radiance calibration method based on the comparison of measurements and radiative transfer simulations of the zenith-scattered sun radiance during twilight. Cloud-free conditions are required. The method can be applied to measurements in the filed, and no laboratory measurements are required. The accuracy is estimated to range from about 4 % at 340 nm to about 10 % at 700 nm.
Glenn-Michael Oomen, Jean-François Müller, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Isabelle De Smedt, Thomas Blumenstock, Rigel Kivi, Maria Makarova, Mathias Palm, Amelie Röhling, Yao Té, Corinne Vigouroux, Martina M. Friedrich, Udo Frieß, François Hendrick, Alexis Merlaud, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Michel Van Roozendael, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 449–474, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-449-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-449-2024, 2024
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Natural emissions from vegetation have a profound impact on air quality for their role in the formation of harmful tropospheric ozone and organic aerosols, yet these emissions are highly uncertain. In this study, we quantify emissions of organic gases over Europe using high-quality satellite measurements of formaldehyde. These satellite observations suggest that emissions from vegetation are much higher than predicted by models, especially in southern Europe.
Leon Kuhn, Steffen Beirle, Vinod Kumar, Sergey Osipov, Andrea Pozzer, Tim Bösch, Rajesh Kumar, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 185–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-185-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-185-2024, 2024
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NO₂ is an important air pollutant. It was observed that the WRF-Chem model shows significant deviations in NO₂ abundance when compared to measurements. We use a 1-month simulation over central Europe to show that these deviations can be mostly resolved by reparameterization of the vertical mixing routine. In order to validate our results, they are compared to in situ, satellite, and MAX-DOAS measurements.
Tim Trent, Marc Schroeder, Shu-Peng Ho, Steffen Beirle, Ralf Bennartz, Eva Borbas, Christian Borger, Helene Brogniez, Xavier Calbet, Elisa Castelli, Gilbert P. Compo, Wesley Ebisuzaki, Ulrike Falk, Frank Fell, John Forsythe, Hans Hersbach, Misako Kachi, Shinya Kobayashi, Robert E. Kursinsk, Diego Loyola, Zhengzao Luo, Johannes K. Nielsen, Enzo Papandrea, Laurence Picon, Rene Preusker, Anthony Reale, Lei Shi, Laura Slivinski, Joao Teixeira, Tom Vonder Haar, and Thomas Wagner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2808, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2808, 2023
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In a warmer future, water vapour will spend more time in the atmosphere changing global rainfall patterns. In this study, we analysed the performance of 28 water vapour records between 1988 & 2014. We find sensitivity to surface warming generally outside expected ranges, attributed to breakpoints in individual record trends & differing representations of climate variability. The implication is that longer records are required for high confidence in assessing climate trends
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
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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.
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
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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.
Herizo Narivelo, Paul David Hamer, Virginie Marécal, Luke Surl, Tjarda Roberts, Sophie Pelletier, Béatrice Josse, Jonathan Guth, Mickaël Bacles, Simon Warnach, Thomas Wagner, Stefano Corradini, Giuseppe Salerno, and Lorenzo Guerrieri
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10533–10561, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10533-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10533-2023, 2023
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Volcanic emissions emit large quantities of gases and primary aerosols that can play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. We present a study of the fate of volcanic bromine emissions from the eruption of Mount Etna around Christmas 2018. Using a numerical model and satellite observations, we analyse the impact of the volcanic plume and how it modifies the composition of the air over the whole Mediterranean basin, in particular on tropospheric ozone through the bromine-explosion cycle.
Steffen Beirle, Christian Borger, Adrian Jost, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3051–3073, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3051-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3051-2023, 2023
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We present a catalog of nitrogen oxide emissions from point sources (like power plants or metal smelters) based on satellite observations of NO2 combined with meteorological wind fields.
Christian Borger, Steffen Beirle, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3023–3049, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3023-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3023-2023, 2023
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This study presents a long-term data set of monthly mean total column water vapour (TCWV) based on measurements of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) covering the time range from January 2005 to December 2020. We describe how the TCWV values are retrieved from UV–Vis satellite spectra and demonstrate that the OMI TCWV data set is in good agreement with various different reference data sets. Moreover, we also show that it fulfills typical stability requirements for climate data records.
Ka Lok Chan, Pieter Valks, Klaus-Peter Heue, Ronny Lutz, Pascal Hedelt, Diego Loyola, Gaia Pinardi, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Thomas Wagner, Vinod Kumar, Alkis Bais, Ankie Piters, Hitoshi Irie, Hisahiro Takashima, Yugo Kanaya, Yongjoo Choi, Kihong Park, Jihyo Chong, Alexander Cede, Udo Frieß, Andreas Richter, Jianzhong Ma, Nuria Benavent, Robert Holla, Oleg Postylyakov, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, and Mark Wenig
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1831–1870, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1831-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1831-2023, 2023
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This paper presents the theoretical basis as well as verification and validation of the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) daily and monthly level-3 products.
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
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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.
Siyang Cheng, Xinghong Cheng, Jianzhong Ma, Xiangde Xu, Wenqian Zhang, Jinguang Lv, Gang Bai, Bing Chen, Siying Ma, Steffen Ziegler, Sebastian Donner, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3655–3677, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3655-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3655-2023, 2023
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We made mobile MAX-DOAS measurements in the background atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau in summer 2021. We retrieved the tropospheric NO2 and HCHO vertical column densities (VCDs) along extended driving routes and found a decreasing trend of the VCDs with altitude. Elevated NO2 VCDs along the driving routes could be attributed to enhanced traffic emissions from the towns crossed. The spatio-temporal distribution of the HCHO VCDs correlated strongly with the surface temperature.
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.
Bianca Lauster, Steffen Dörner, Carl-Fredrik Enell, Udo Frieß, Myojeong Gu, Janis Puķīte, Uwe Raffalski, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15925–15942, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15925-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15925-2022, 2022
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Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are an important component in ozone chemistry. Here, we use two differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instruments in the Antarctic and Arctic to investigate the occurrence of PSCs based on the colour index, i.e. the colour of the zenith sky. Additionally using radiative transfer simulations, the variability and the seasonal cycle of PSC occurrence are analysed and an unexpectedly high signal during spring suggests the influence of volcanic aerosol.
Miriam Latsch, Andreas Richter, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Ping Wang, Pepijn Veefkind, Ronny Lutz, Diego Loyola, Athina Argyrouli, Pieter Valks, Thomas Wagner, Holger Sihler, Michel van Roozendael, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Richard Siddans, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, 2022
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The article investigates different S5P TROPOMI cloud retrieval algorithms for tropospheric trace gas retrievals. The cloud products show differences primarily over snow and ice and for scenes under sun glint. Some issues regarding across-track dependence are found for the cloud fractions as well as for the cloud heights.
Maximilian Herrmann, Moritz Schöne, Christian Borger, Simon Warnach, Thomas Wagner, Ulrich Platt, and Eva Gutheil
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13495–13526, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13495-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13495-2022, 2022
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Ozone depletion events (ODEs) are a common occurrence in the boundary layer during Arctic spring. Ozone is depleted by bromine species in an autocatalytic reaction cycle. Previous modeling studies assumed an infinite bromine source at the ground. An alternative emission scheme is presented in which a finite amount of bromide in the snow is tracked over time. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to study ODEs in the Arctic from February to May 2019.
Christian Borger, Steffen Beirle, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10603–10621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10603-2022, 2022
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In this study, we analyse trends of total column water vapour (TCWV) using multiple years of satellite observations and find, on the global average, an increase in the TCWV amount by about 0.21 % per year. Further investigations of the hydrological cycle reveal that the assumption of temporally invariant relative humidity is not always fulfilled and that the response of the global water vapour turnover time to global warming is 2 to 3 times higher than previously reported values.
Gaia Pinardi, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Andreas Richter, Pieter Valks, Ramina Alwarda, Kristof Bognar, Udo Frieß, José Granville, Myojeong Gu, Paul Johnston, Cristina Prados-Roman, Richard Querel, Kimberly Strong, Thomas Wagner, Folkard Wittrock, and Margarita Yela Gonzalez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3439–3463, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3439-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3439-2022, 2022
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We report on the GOME-2A and GOME-2B OClO dataset (2007 to 2016, from the EUMETSAT's AC SAF) validation using data from nine NDACC zenith-scattered-light DOAS (ZSL-DOAS) instruments distributed in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Specific sensitivity tests are performed on the ground-based data to estimate the impact of the different OClO DOAS analysis settings and their typical errors. Good agreement is found for both the inter-annual variability and the overall OClO seasonal behavior.
Gerrit Kuhlmann, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Ying Zhu, Marc Schwaerzel, Steffen Dörner, Jia Chen, Andreas Hueni, Duc Hai Nguyen, Alexander Damm, Annette Schütt, Florian Dietrich, Dominik Brunner, Cheng Liu, Brigitte Buchmann, Thomas Wagner, and Mark Wenig
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1609–1629, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1609-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1609-2022, 2022
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an air pollutant whose concentration often exceeds air quality guideline values, especially in urban areas. To map the spatial distribution of NO2 in Munich, we conducted the Munich NO2 Imaging Campaign (MuNIC), where NO2 was measured with stationary, mobile, and airborne in situ and remote sensing instruments. The campaign provides a unique dataset that has been used to compare the different instruments and to study the spatial variability of NO2 and its sources.
Leon Kuhn, Jonas Kuhn, Thomas Wagner, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1395–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1395-2022, 2022
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We present a novel instrument for imaging measurements of NO2 with high spatiotemporal resolution based on gas correlation spectroscopy, called the GCS NO2 camera. The instrument works by placing two gas cells (cuvettes) in front of two photosensor arrays, one filled with air and one filled with a high concentration of NO2, acting as a non-dispersive spectral filter. NO2 images are then generated on the basis of the signal ratio of the two channels in the spectral region of 430–445 nm.
Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Martina Michaela Friedrich, Steffen Beirle, Alkiviadis Bais, François Hendrick, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Ilias Fountoulakis, Angelos Karanikolas, Paraskevi Tzoumaka, Michel Van Roozendael, Dimitris Balis, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1269–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1269-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1269-2022, 2022
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In this study we focus on the retrieval of aerosol, NO2, and HCHO vertical profiles from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations for the first time over Thessaloniki, Greece. We use two independent inversion algorithms for the profile retrievals. We evaluate their performance, we intercompare their results, and we validate their products with ancillary data, measured by other co-located reference instruments.
Steffen Beirle, Christian Borger, Steffen Dörner, Vinod Kumar, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 987–1006, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-987-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-987-2022, 2022
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We present a formalism that relates the vertical column density (VCD) of the oxygen collision complex O4 to surface values of temperature and pressure, based on physical laws. In addition, we propose an empirical modification which also accounts for surface relative humidity (RH). This allows for simple and quick but still accurate calculation of the O4 VCD without the need for constructing full vertical profiles, which is expected to be useful in particular for MAX-DOAS applications.
Fei Liu, Zhining Tao, Steffen Beirle, Joanna Joiner, Yasuko Yoshida, Steven J. Smith, K. Emma Knowland, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1333–1349, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1333-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1333-2022, 2022
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In this work, we present a novel method to infer NOx emissions and lifetimes based on tropospheric NO2 observations together with reanalysis wind fields for cities located in polluted backgrounds. We evaluate the accuracy of the method using synthetic NO2 observations derived from a high-resolution model simulation. Our work provides an estimate for uncertainties in satellite-derived emissions inferred from chemical transport model (CTM)-independent approaches.
Tobias Küchler, Stefan Noël, Heinrich Bovensmann, John Philip Burrows, Thomas Wagner, Christian Borger, Tobias Borsdorff, and Andreas Schneider
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 297–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-297-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-297-2022, 2022
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We applied the air-mass-corrected differential optical absorption spectroscopy (AMC-DOAS) method to derive total column water vapour (TCWV) from Sentinel-5P measurements and compared it to independent data sets. The correlation coefficients of typically more than 0.9 and the small deviations up to 2.5 kg m−2 reveal good agreement between our data product and other TCWV data sets. In particular for the different Sentinel-5P water vapour products, the deviations are around 1 kg m−2.
Jānis Puķīte, Christian Borger, Steffen Dörner, Myojeong Gu, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 245–272, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-245-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-245-2022, 2022
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Chlorine dioxide (OClO) is an indicator for chlorine activation. New OClO data by TROPOMI (S5P) are interpreted in a meteorological context and related to CALIOP PSC observations. We report very high OClO levels for the northern hemispheric winter 2019/20 with an extraordinarily long period with a stable polar vortex. A minor stratospheric warming in the Southern Hemisphere was also observed in September 2019, where usual OClO values rapidly deactivated 1–2 weeks earlier.
Jonas Kuhn, Nicole Bobrowski, Thomas Wagner, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7873–7892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7873-2021, 2021
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We propose spectrograph implementations using Fabry–Pérot interferometers for atmospheric trace gas remote sensing. Compared with widely used grating spectrographs, we find substantial light throughput and mobility advantages for high resolving powers. Besides lowering detection limits and increasing the spatial and temporal resolution of many atmospheric trace gas measurements, this approach might enable remote sensing of further important gases such as tropospheric OH radicals.
Christophe Lerot, François Hendrick, Michel Van Roozendael, Leonardo M. A. Alvarado, Andreas Richter, Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Jonas Vlietinck, Huan Yu, Jeroen Van Gent, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, Pieter Valks, Diego Loyola, Hitoshi Irie, Vinod Kumar, Thomas Wagner, Stefan F. Schreier, Vinayak Sinha, Ting Wang, Pucai Wang, and Christian Retscher
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7775–7807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7775-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7775-2021, 2021
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Global measurements of glyoxal tropospheric columns from the satellite instrument TROPOMI are presented. Such measurements can contribute to the estimation of atmospheric emissions of volatile organic compounds. This new glyoxal product has been fully characterized with a comprehensive error budget, with comparison with other satellite data sets as well as with validation based on independent ground-based remote sensing glyoxal observations.
Jānis Puķīte, Christian Borger, Steffen Dörner, Myojeong Gu, Udo Frieß, Andreas Carlos Meier, Carl-Fredrik Enell, Uwe Raffalski, Andreas Richter, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7595–7625, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7595-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7595-2021, 2021
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Chlorine dioxide (OClO) is used as an indicator for chlorine activation. We present a new differential optical absorption spectroscopy retrieval algorithm for OClO from measurements of TROPOMI on the Sentinel-5P satellite. To achieve a substantially improved accuracy for the weak absorber OClO, we consider several additional fit parameters accounting for various higher-order spectral effects. The retrieved OClO slant column densities are compared with ground-based zenith sky measurements.
Song Liu, Pieter Valks, Gaia Pinardi, Jian Xu, Ka Lok Chan, Athina Argyrouli, Ronny Lutz, Steffen Beirle, Ehsan Khorsandi, Frank Baier, Vincent Huijnen, Alkiviadis Bais, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Myrto Gratsea, François Hendrick, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Kezia Lange, Ankie J. M. Piters, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, Mark Wenig, and Diego G. Loyola
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7297–7327, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7297-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7297-2021, 2021
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In this work, an improved tropospheric NO2 retrieval algorithm from TROPOMI measurements over Europe is presented. The stratospheric estimation is implemented with correction for the dependency of the stratospheric NO2 on the viewing geometry. The AMF calculation is implemented using improved surface albedo, a priori NO2 profiles, and cloud correction. The improved tropospheric NO2 data show good correlations with ground-based MAX-DOAS measurements.
Nicolas Theys, Vitali Fioletov, Can Li, Isabelle De Smedt, Christophe Lerot, Chris McLinden, Nickolay Krotkov, Debora Griffin, Lieven Clarisse, Pascal Hedelt, Diego Loyola, Thomas Wagner, Vinod Kumar, Antje Innes, Roberto Ribas, François Hendrick, Jonas Vlietinck, Hugues Brenot, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16727–16744, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16727-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16727-2021, 2021
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We present a new algorithm to retrieve sulfur dioxide from space UV measurements. We apply the technique to high-resolution TROPOMI measurements and demonstrate the high sensitivity of the approach to weak SO2 emissions worldwide with an unprecedented limit of detection of 8 kt yr−1. This result has broad implications for atmospheric science studies dealing with improving emission inventories and identifying and quantifying missing sources, in the context of air quality and climate.
Ulrich Platt, Thomas Wagner, Jonas Kuhn, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6867–6883, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6867-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6867-2021, 2021
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Absorption spectroscopy of scattered sunlight is extremely useful for the analysis of atmospheric trace gas distributions. A central parameter for the achievable sensitivity of spectroscopic instruments is the light throughput, which can be enhanced in a number of ways. We present new ideas and considerations of how instruments could be optimized. Particular emphasis is on arrays of massively parallel instruments. Such arrays can reduce the size and weight of instruments by orders of magnitude.
Xin Tian, Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Pinhua Xie, Thomas Wagner, Jin Xu, Ang Li, Steffen Dörner, Bo Ren, and Xiaomei Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12867–12894, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12867-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12867-2021, 2021
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The performances of two MAX-DOAS inversion algorithms were evaluated for various aerosol pollution scenarios. One inversion algorithm is based on optimal estimation; the other uses a parameterized approach. In this analysis, three types of profile shapes for aerosols and NO2 were considered: exponential, Boltzmann, and Gaussian. The evaluation results can effectively guide the application of the two inversion algorithms in the actual atmosphere and improve the accuracy of the actual inversion.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
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The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Isabelle De Smedt, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Steven Compernolle, Alkis Bais, Nuria Benavent, Folkert Boersma, Ka-Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Pascal Hedelt, François Hendrick, Hitoshi Irie, Vinod Kumar, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Bavo Langerock, Christophe Lerot, Cheng Liu, Diego Loyola, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Fabian Romahn, Robert George Ryan, Vinayak Sinha, Nicolas Theys, Jonas Vlietinck, Thomas Wagner, Ting Wang, Huan Yu, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12561–12593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, 2021
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This paper assess the performances of the TROPOMI formaldehyde observations compared to its predecessor OMI at different spatial and temporal scales. We also use a global network of MAX-DOAS instruments to validate both satellite datasets for a large range of HCHO columns. The precision obtained with daily TROPOMI observations is comparable to monthly OMI observations. We present clear detection of weak HCHO column enhancements related to shipping emissions in the Indian Ocean.
Anoop S. Mahajan, Mriganka S. Biswas, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Anja Schönhardt, Nuria Benavent, and Alfonso Saiz-Lopez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11829–11842, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11829-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11829-2021, 2021
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Iodine plays a vital role in oxidation chemistry over Antarctica, with past observations showing highly elevated levels of iodine oxide (IO) leading to severe depletion of boundary layer ozone. We present IO observations over three summers (2015–2017) at the Indian Antarctic bases of Bharati and Maitri. IO was observed during all campaigns with mixing ratios below 2 pptv, which is lower than the peak levels observed in West Antarctica, showing the differences in regional chemistry and emissions.
Vinod Kumar, Julia Remmers, Steffen Beirle, Joachim Fallmann, Astrid Kerkweg, Jos Lelieveld, Mariano Mertens, Andrea Pozzer, Benedikt Steil, Marc Barra, Holger Tost, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5241–5269, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5241-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5241-2021, 2021
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We present high-resolution regional atmospheric chemistry model simulations focused around Germany. We highlight the importance of spatial resolution of the model itself as well as the input emissions inventory and short-scale temporal variability of emissions for simulations. We propose a consistent approach for evaluating the simulated vertical distribution of NO2 using MAX-DOAS measurements while also considering its spatial sensitivity volume and change in sensitivity within this volume.
Steffen Beirle, Christian Borger, Steffen Dörner, Henk Eskes, Vinod Kumar, Adrianus de Laat, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2995–3012, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2995-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2995-2021, 2021
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A catalog of point sources of nitrogen oxides was created using satellite observations of NO2. Key for the identification of point sources was the divergence, i.e., the difference between upwind and downwind levels of NO2.
The catalog lists 451 locations, of which 242 could be automatically matched to power plants. Other point sources are metal smelters, cement plants, or industrial areas. The catalog thus allows checking and improving of existing emission inventories.
Florian Dinger, Timo Kleinbek, Steffen Dörner, Nicole Bobrowski, Ulrich Platt, Thomas Wagner, Martha Ibarra, and Eveling Espinoza
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9367–9404, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9367-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9367-2021, 2021
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Monitoring magnitude or chemical composition of volcanic gas emissions can help to forecast volcanic eruptions and provides empirical data on the impact of volcanoes on the chemistry in the local and global atmosphere. This study reports and discusses continuous time series of the sulfur and bromine emission fluxes of Masaya from 2014 to 2020. We observed an annual cyclicity in the BrO / SO2 molar ratio, possibly caused by the annual variability in the atmospheric humidity.
Holger Sihler, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Marloes Gutenstein-Penning de Vries, Christoph Hörmann, Christian Borger, Simon Warnach, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3989–4031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, 2021
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MICRU is an algorithm for the retrieval of effective cloud fractions (CFs) from satellite measurements. CFs describe the amount of clouds, which have a significant impact on the vertical sensitivity profile of trace gases like NO2 and HCHO. MICRU retrieves small CFs with an accuracy of 0.04 over the entire satellite swath. It features an empirical surface reflectivity model accounting for physical anisotropy (BRDF, sun glitter) and instrumental effects. MICRU is also applicable to imager data.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Dörner, Steffen Beirle, Sebastian Donner, and Stefan Kinne
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3871–3893, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3871-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3871-2021, 2021
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We compare measured and simulated O4 absorptions for conditions of extremely low aerosol optical depth, for which the uncertainties related to imperfect knowledge of aerosol properties do not significantly affect the comparison results. The simulations underestimate the measurements by 15 % to 20 %. Even if no aerosols are considered, the simulated O4 absorptions are systematically lower than the measurements. Our results indicate a fundamental inconsistency between simulations and measurements.
Maximilian Herrmann, Holger Sihler, Udo Frieß, Thomas Wagner, Ulrich Platt, and Eva Gutheil
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7611–7638, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7611-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7611-2021, 2021
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Time-dependent 3D numerical simulations of tropospheric bromine release and ozone depletion events (ODEs) in the Arctic polar spring of 2009 are compared to observations. Simulation results agree well with the observations at both Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and at Summit, Greenland. In a parameter study, different settings for the bromine release mechanism are evaluated. An enhancement of the bromine release mechanism improves the agreement regarding the occurrence of ODEs with the observations.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Christian Borger, and Roeland Van Malderen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5315–5353, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5315-2021, 2021
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A global long-term (1995–2015) data set of total column water vapour (TCWV) derived from satellite observations is used to quantify the influence of teleconnections. Based on a newly developed empirical method more than 40 teleconnection indices are significantly detected in our global TCWV data set. After orthogonalisation, only 20 indices are left significant. The global distribution of the cumulative influence of teleconnection indices is strongest in the tropics and high latitudes.
Santiago Arellano, Bo Galle, Fredy Apaza, Geoffroy Avard, Charlotte Barrington, Nicole Bobrowski, Claudia Bucarey, Viviana Burbano, Mike Burton, Zoraida Chacón, Gustavo Chigna, Christian Joseph Clarito, Vladimir Conde, Fidel Costa, Maarten De Moor, Hugo Delgado-Granados, Andrea Di Muro, Deborah Fernandez, Gustavo Garzón, Hendra Gunawan, Nia Haerani, Thor H. Hansteen, Silvana Hidalgo, Salvatore Inguaggiato, Mattias Johansson, Christoph Kern, Manne Kihlman, Philippe Kowalski, Pablo Masias, Francisco Montalvo, Joakim Möller, Ulrich Platt, Claudia Rivera, Armando Saballos, Giuseppe Salerno, Benoit Taisne, Freddy Vásconez, Gabriela Velásquez, Fabio Vita, and Mathieu Yalire
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1167–1188, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1167-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1167-2021, 2021
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This study presents a dataset of volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from 2005–2017. Measurements were obtained by Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC) scanning differential optical absorption spectrometer (ScanDOAS) instruments at 32 volcanoes and processed using a standardized procedure. We show statistics of volcanic gas emissions under a variety of conditions and compare them with averages derived from measurements from space and historical inventories.
Bianca Lauster, Steffen Dörner, Steffen Beirle, Sebastian Donner, Sergey Gromov, Katharina Uhlmannsiek, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 769–783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-769-2021, 2021
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In urban areas, road traffic is a dominant source of nitrogen oxides. In this study, two multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instruments on opposite sides of a motorway were used to measure the nitrogen dioxide absorption near Mainz, Germany. Total nitrogen oxide emissions are estimated for the occurring traffic flux. We show that the measured emissions systematically exceed the maximum expected emissions calculated from the European emission standards.
Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Henk J. Eskes, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Ann Mari Fjæraa, José Granville, Sander Niemeijer, Alexander Cede, Martin Tiefengraber, François Hendrick, Andrea Pazmiño, Alkiviadis Bais, Ariane Bazureau, K. Folkert Boersma, Kristof Bognar, Angelika Dehn, Sebastian Donner, Aleksandr Elokhov, Manuel Gebetsberger, Florence Goutail, Michel Grutter de la Mora, Aleksandr Gruzdev, Myrto Gratsea, Georg H. Hansen, Hitoshi Irie, Nis Jepsen, Yugo Kanaya, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Rigel Kivi, Karin Kreher, Pieternel F. Levelt, Cheng Liu, Moritz Müller, Monica Navarro Comas, Ankie J. M. Piters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Thierry Portafaix, Cristina Prados-Roman, Olga Puentedura, Richard Querel, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, John Rimmer, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Lidia Saavedra de Miguel, Valery P. Sinyakov, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Thomas Wagner, Folkard Wittrock, Margarita Yela González, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 481–510, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, 2021
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This paper reports on the ground-based validation of the NO2 data produced operationally by the TROPOMI instrument on board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite. Tropospheric, stratospheric, and total NO2 columns are compared to measurements collected from MAX-DOAS, ZSL-DOAS, and PGN/Pandora instruments respectively. The products are found to satisfy mission requirements in general, though negative mean differences are found at sites with high pollution levels. Potential causes are discussed.
Marloes Gutenstein, Karsten Fennig, Marc Schröder, Tim Trent, Stephan Bakan, J. Brent Roberts, and Franklin R. Robertson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 121–146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-121-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-121-2021, 2021
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The net exchange of water between the surface and atmosphere is mainly determined by the freshwater flux: the difference between evaporation (E) and precipitation (P), or E−P. Although there is consensus among modelers that with a warming climate E−P will increase, evidence from satellite data is still not conclusive, mainly due to sensor calibration issues. We here investigate the degree of correspondence among six recent
satellite-based climate data records and ERA5 reanalysis E−P data.
Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Udo Frieß, François Hendrick, Carlos Alberti, Marc Allaart, Arnoud Apituley, Alkis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Stijn Berkhout, Kristof Bognar, Tim Bösch, Ilya Bruchkouski, Alexander Cede, Ka Lok Chan, Mirjam den Hoed, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Arnoud Frumau, Lou Gast, Clio Gielen, Laura Gomez-Martín, Nan Hao, Arjan Hensen, Bas Henzing, Christian Hermans, Junli Jin, Karin Kreher, Jonas Kuhn, Johannes Lampel, Ang Li, Cheng Liu, Haoran Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Alexis Merlaud, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Ankie Piters, Ulrich Platt, Olga Puentedura, Andreas Richter, Stefan Schmitt, Elena Spinei, Deborah Stein Zweers, Kimberly Strong, Daan Swart, Frederik Tack, Martin Tiefengraber, René van der Hoff, Michel van Roozendael, Tim Vlemmix, Jan Vonk, Thomas Wagner, Yang Wang, Zhuoru Wang, Mark Wenig, Matthias Wiegner, Folkard Wittrock, Pinhua Xie, Chengzhi Xing, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Xiaoyi Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1-2021, 2021
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Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is a ground-based remote sensing measurement technique that derives atmospheric aerosol and trace gas vertical profiles from skylight spectra. In this study, consistency and reliability of MAX-DOAS profiles are assessed by applying nine different evaluation algorithms to spectral data recorded during an intercomparison campaign in the Netherlands and by comparing the results to colocated supporting observations.
Vinod Kumar, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Sebastian Donner, Yang Wang, Vinayak Sinha, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14183–14235, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, 2020
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We present the first long-term MAX-DOAS measurements of aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde tropospheric columns, vertical distributions, and temporal variation from Mohali in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. We investigate the effect of various emission sources and meteorological conditions on the measured pollutants and how they control ozone formation. These measurements are also used to validate the corresponding satellite observations and are also compared against in situ observations.
Gaia Pinardi, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Nicolas Theys, Nader Abuhassan, Alkiviadis Bais, Folkert Boersma, Alexander Cede, Jihyo Chong, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Anatoly Dzhola, Henk Eskes, Udo Frieß, José Granville, Jay R. Herman, Robert Holla, Jari Hovila, Hitoshi Irie, Yugo Kanaya, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Natalia Kouremeti, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Jianzhong Ma, Enno Peters, Ankie Piters, Oleg Postylyakov, Andreas Richter, Julia Remmers, Hisahiro Takashima, Martin Tiefengraber, Pieter Valks, Tim Vlemmix, Thomas Wagner, and Folkard Wittrock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6141–6174, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6141-2020, 2020
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We validate several GOME-2 and OMI tropospheric NO2 products with 23 MAX-DOAS and 16 direct sun instruments distributed worldwide, highlighting large horizontal inhomogeneities at several sites affecting the validation results. We propose a method for quantification and correction. We show the application of such correction reduces the satellite underestimation in almost all heterogeneous cases, but a negative bias remains over the MAX-DOAS and direct sun network ensemble for both satellites.
Yeyuan Huang, Ang Li, Thomas Wagner, Yang Wang, Zhaokun Hu, Pinhua Xie, Jin Xu, Hongmei Ren, Julia Remmers, Xiaoyi Fang, and Bing Dang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6025–6051, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6025-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6025-2020, 2020
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Mobile DOAS has become an important tool for the quantification of emission sources. In this study, we focused on the error budget of mobile DOAS measurements from NOx and SO2 point sources based on the model simulations, and we also offered recommendations for the optimum settings of such measurements.
Alexis Merlaud, Livio Belegante, Daniel-Eduard Constantin, Mirjam Den Hoed, Andreas Carlos Meier, Marc Allaart, Magdalena Ardelean, Maxim Arseni, Tim Bösch, Hugues Brenot, Andreea Calcan, Emmanuel Dekemper, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Mariana Carmelia Balanica Dragomir, Lucian Georgescu, Anca Nemuc, Doina Nicolae, Gaia Pinardi, Andreas Richter, Adrian Rosu, Thomas Ruhtz, Anja Schönhardt, Dirk Schuettemeyer, Reza Shaiganfar, Kerstin Stebel, Frederik Tack, Sorin Nicolae Vâjâiac, Jeni Vasilescu, Jurgen Vanhamel, Thomas Wagner, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5513–5535, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5513-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5513-2020, 2020
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The AROMAT campaigns took place in Romania in 2014 and 2015. They aimed to test airborne observation systems dedicated to air quality studies and to verify the concept of such campaigns in support of the validation of space-borne atmospheric missions. We show that airborne measurements of NO2 can be valuable for the validation of air quality satellites. For H2CO and SO2, the validation should involve ground-based measurement systems at key locations that the AROMAT measurements help identify.
Yang Wang, Arnoud Apituley, Alkiviadis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Nuria Benavent, Alexander Borovski, Ilya Bruchkouski, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Henning Finkenzeller, Martina M. Friedrich, Udo Frieß, David Garcia-Nieto, Laura Gómez-Martín, François Hendrick, Andreas Hilboll, Junli Jin, Paul Johnston, Theodore K. Koenig, Karin Kreher, Vinod Kumar, Aleksandra Kyuberis, Johannes Lampel, Cheng Liu, Haoran Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Oleg L. Polyansky, Oleg Postylyakov, Richard Querel, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Stefan Schmitt, Xin Tian, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Michel Van Roozendael, Rainer Volkamer, Zhuoru Wang, Pinhua Xie, Chengzhi Xing, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5087–5116, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5087-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5087-2020, 2020
Marc Schwaerzel, Claudia Emde, Dominik Brunner, Randulph Morales, Thomas Wagner, Alexis Berne, Brigitte Buchmann, and Gerrit Kuhlmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4277–4293, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4277-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4277-2020, 2020
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Horizontal homogeneity is often assumed for trace gases remote sensing, although it is not valid where trace gas concentrations have high spatial variability, e.g., in cities. We show the importance of 3D effects for MAX-DOAS and airborne imaging spectrometers using 3D-box air mass factors implemented in the MYSTIC radiative transfer solver. In both cases, 3D information is invaluable for interpreting the measurements, as not considering 3D effects can lead to misinterpretation of measurements.
Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, Gaia Pinardi, José Granville, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Sander Niemeijer, Bruno Rino, Alkis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Folkert Boersma, John P. Burrows, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk Eskes, Florence Goutail, François Hendrick, Alba Lorente, Andrea Pazmino, Ankie Piters, Enno Peters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Jos van Geffen, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, and Jean-Christopher Lambert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8017–8045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, 2020
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Tropospheric and stratospheric NO2 columns from the OMI QA4ECV NO2 satellite product are validated by comparison with ground-based measurements at 11 sites. The OMI stratospheric column has a small negative bias, and the OMI tropospheric column has a stronger negative bias relative to the ground-based data. Discrepancies are attributed to comparison errors (e.g. difference in horizontal smoothing) and measurement errors (e.g. clouds, aerosols, vertical smoothing and a priori profile assumptions).
Jianzhong Ma, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Junli Jin, Siyang Cheng, Junrang Guo, Zhanfeng Zhang, Jianqiong Wang, Peng Liu, Guoqing Zhang, Janis Pukite, Johannes Lampel, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6973–6990, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6973-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6973-2020, 2020
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We made ground-based MAX-DOAS measurements at the Mt. Waliguan WMO GAW global baseline station (WLG) in the Tibetan Plateau during the years 2012–2015. We retrieve the differential slant column densities (dSCDs) of NO2, SO2, HCHO, and BrO from measured spectra at different elevation angles. Mixing ratios of these trace gases in the background troposphere over WLG are derived based on these dSCDs at a 1° elevation angle and the TRACY-2 radiative transfer model simulations.
Christian Borger, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Holger Sihler, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2751–2783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2751-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2751-2020, 2020
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We present a total column water vapour (TCWV) retrieval analysing measurements from S-5P/TROPOMI in the visible blue spectral range. The retrieval can well capture the global water vapour distribution with similar sensitivity over the land and ocean and agrees well with various reference data sets within the estimated TCWV uncertainties of typically around 10 %–20 %.
Karin Kreher, Michel Van Roozendael, Francois Hendrick, Arnoud Apituley, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Udo Frieß, Andreas Richter, Thomas Wagner, Johannes Lampel, Nader Abuhassan, Li Ang, Monica Anguas, Alkis Bais, Nuria Benavent, Tim Bösch, Kristof Bognar, Alexander Borovski, Ilya Bruchkouski, Alexander Cede, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Henning Finkenzeller, David Garcia-Nieto, Clio Gielen, Laura Gómez-Martín, Nan Hao, Bas Henzing, Jay R. Herman, Christian Hermans, Syedul Hoque, Hitoshi Irie, Junli Jin, Paul Johnston, Junaid Khayyam Butt, Fahim Khokhar, Theodore K. Koenig, Jonas Kuhn, Vinod Kumar, Cheng Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Alexis Merlaud, Abhishek K. Mishra, Moritz Müller, Monica Navarro-Comas, Mareike Ostendorf, Andrea Pazmino, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Manuel Pinharanda, Ankie Piters, Ulrich Platt, Oleg Postylyakov, Cristina Prados-Roman, Olga Puentedura, Richard Querel, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Anja Schönhardt, Stefan F. Schreier, André Seyler, Vinayak Sinha, Elena Spinei, Kimberly Strong, Frederik Tack, Xin Tian, Martin Tiefengraber, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Jeroen van Gent, Rainer Volkamer, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Shanshan Wang, Zhuoru Wang, Mark Wenig, Folkard Wittrock, Pinhua H. Xie, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Xiaoyi Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2169–2208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2169-2020, 2020
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In September 2016, 36 spectrometers from 24 institutes measured a number of key atmospheric pollutants during an instrument intercomparison campaign (CINDI-2) at Cabauw, the Netherlands. Here we report on the outcome of this intercomparison exercise. The three major goals were to characterise the differences between the participating instruments, to define a robust methodology for performance assessment, and to contribute to the harmonisation of the measurement settings and retrieval methods.
Zhuoru Wang, Ka Lok Chan, Klaus-Peter Heue, Adrian Doicu, Thomas Wagner, Robert Holla, and Matthias Wiegner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1835–1866, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1835-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1835-2020, 2020
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We present a new aerosol profile retrieval algorithm for MAX-DOAS measurements at high-altitude sites and applied to the MAX-DOAS measurements at UFS. The retrieval algorithm is based on a O4 DSCD lookup table which is dedicated to high-altitude MAX-DOAS measurements. The comparison of retrieved aerosol optical depths (AODs) to sun photometer observations shows good agreement with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.733 and 0.798 at 360 and 477 nm, respectively.
Sebastian Donner, Jonas Kuhn, Michel Van Roozendael, Alkiviadis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Tim Bösch, Kristof Bognar, Ilya Bruchkouski, Ka Lok Chan, Steffen Dörner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Udo Frieß, François Hendrick, Christian Hermans, Junli Jin, Ang Li, Jianzhong Ma, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Andreas Richter, Stefan F. Schreier, André Seyler, Kimberly Strong, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Yang Wang, Pinhua Xie, Jin Xu, Xiaoyi Zhao, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 685–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-685-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-685-2020, 2020
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The calibration of the elevation angles of MAX-DOAS instruments is important for the correct interpretation of such MAX-DOAS measurements. We present and evaluate different methods for the elevation calibration of MAX-DOAS instruments which were applied during the CINDI-2 field campaign.
Fei Liu, Bryan N. Duncan, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Lok N. Lamsal, Steffen Beirle, Debora Griffin, Chris A. McLinden, Daniel L. Goldberg, and Zifeng Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 99–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-99-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-99-2020, 2020
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We present a novel method to infer CO2 emissions from individual power plants, based on satellite observations of co-emitted NO2. We find that the CO2 emissions estimated by our satellite-based method during 2005–2017 are in reasonable agreement with the CEMS measurements for US power plants. The broader implication of our methodology is that it has the potential to provide an additional constraint on CO2 emissions from power plants in regions of the world without reliable emissions accounting.
Florian Dinger, Stefan Bredemeyer, Santiago Arellano, Nicole Bobrowski, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Solid Earth, 10, 725–740, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-725-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-725-2019, 2019
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Evidence for tidal impacts on volcanism have been gathered by numerous empirical studies. This paper elucidates whether a causal link from the tidal forces to a variation in the volcanic degassing can be traced analytically. We model the response of a simplified magmatic system to the local tidal gravity variations, find that the tide-induced dynamics may significantly alter the bubble coalescence rate, and discuss the consequences for volcanic degassing behaviour.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Nuria Benavent, Tim Bösch, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Caroline Fayt, Udo Frieß, David García-Nieto, Clio Gielen, David González-Bartolome, Laura Gomez, François Hendrick, Bas Henzing, Jun Li Jin, Johannes Lampel, Jianzhong Ma, Kornelia Mies, Mónica Navarro, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Olga Puentedura, Janis Puķīte, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Reza Shaiganfar, Holger Sihler, Michel Van Roozendael, Yang Wang, and Margarita Yela
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2745–2817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2745-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2745-2019, 2019
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In this study the consistency between MAX-DOAS measurements and radiative transfer simulations of the atmospheric O4 absorption is investigated. The study is based on measurements (2 selected days during the MADCAT campaign) as well as synthetic spectra. The uncertainties of all relevant aspects (spectral retrieval and radiative transfer simulations) are quantified. For one of the selected days, measurements and simulations do not agree within their uncertainties.
Yang Wang, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Sebastian Böhnke, Isabelle De Smedt, Russell R. Dickerson, Zipeng Dong, Hao He, Zhanqing Li, Zhengqiang Li, Donghui Li, Dong Liu, Xinrong Ren, Nicolas Theys, Yuying Wang, Yang Wang, Zhenzhu Wang, Hua Xu, Jiwei Xu, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5417–5449, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5417-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5417-2019, 2019
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A MAX-DOAS instrument was operated to derive tropospheric vertical profiles of NO2, SO2, HONO, HCHO, CHOCHO and aerosols in the central western North China Plain in May and June 2016. The MAX-DOAS results are verified by comparisons with a collocated Raman lidar, overpass aircraft measurements, a sun photometer and in situ measurements. The contributions of regional transports and local emissions to the pollutants are evaluated based on case studies and statistic analysis.
Udo Frieß, Steffen Beirle, Leonardo Alvarado Bonilla, Tim Bösch, Martina M. Friedrich, François Hendrick, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Michel van Roozendael, Vladimir V. Rozanov, Elena Spinei, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Tim Vlemmix, Thomas Wagner, and Yang Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2155–2181, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2155-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2155-2019, 2019
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Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is a widely used measurement technique for the detection of a variety of atmospheric trace gases. It enables the retrieval of aerosol and trace gas vertical profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer using appropriate retrieval algorithms. In this study, the ability of eight profile retrieval algorithms to reconstruct vertical profiles is assessed on the basis of synthetic measurements.
Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Julia Remmers, Yang Wang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1785–1806, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1785-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1785-2019, 2019
Song Liu, Pieter Valks, Gaia Pinardi, Isabelle De Smedt, Huan Yu, Steffen Beirle, and Andreas Richter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1029–1057, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1029-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1029-2019, 2019
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays significant roles in both stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry, and the observations from satellites enable reliable monitoring of NO2 columns on a global scale and on long time scales. This work presents a refined algorithm for the retrieval of NO2 columns from the satellite instrument Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2), which shows a clear improvement comparing to the previous algorithm.
Jonas Kuhn, Ulrich Platt, Nicole Bobrowski, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 735–747, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-735-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-735-2019, 2019
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We study a novel remote-sensing technique for atmospheric trace gases absorbing in the UV and visible spectral range. Using Fabry–Perot interferometers with a spectral transmission matched to the trace gas's spectral absorption allows for imaging trace gases with high sensitivity and selectivity. The thereby achieved high spatio-temporal resolution enables the study of small-scale and dynamic processes in the atmosphere. We present sample calculations and a proof-of-concept study.
Mengyao Liu, Jintai Lin, K. Folkert Boersma, Gaia Pinardi, Yang Wang, Julien Chimot, Thomas Wagner, Pinhua Xie, Henk Eskes, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Pucai Wang, Ting Wang, Yingying Yan, Lulu Chen, and Ruijing Ni
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1–21, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1-2019, 2019
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China has become the world’s largest emitter of NOx, which mainly comes from vehicle exhaust, power plants, etc. However, there are no official ground-based measurements before 2013, so satellites have been widely used to monitor and analyze NOx pollution here. Aerosol is the key factor influencing the accuracy of the satellite NOx product. Our study provides a more accurate way to account for aerosol's influence compared to current widely used products.
K. Folkert Boersma, Henk J. Eskes, Andreas Richter, Isabelle De Smedt, Alba Lorente, Steffen Beirle, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Marina Zara, Enno Peters, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ronald J. van der A, Joanne Nightingale, Anne De Rudder, Hitoshi Irie, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, and Steven C. Compernolle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6651–6678, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, 2018
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This paper describes a new, improved data record of 22+ years of coherent nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution measurements from different satellite instruments. Our work helps to ensure that climate data are of sufficient quality to draw reliable conclusions and shape decisions. It shows how dedicated intercomparisons of retrieval sub-steps have led to improved NO2 measurements from the GOME, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2(A), and OMI sensors, and how quality assurance of the new data product is achieved.
Eloise A. Marais, Daniel J. Jacob, Sungyeon Choi, Joanna Joiner, Maria Belmonte-Rivas, Ronald C. Cohen, Steffen Beirle, Lee T. Murray, Luke D. Schiferl, Viral Shah, and Lyatt Jaeglé
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17017–17027, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, 2018
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We intercompare two new products of global upper tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We evaluate these products with aircraft observations from NASA DC8 aircraft campaigns and interpret the useful information these products can provide about nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the global upper troposphere using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model.
Roeland Van Malderen, Eric Pottiaux, Gintautas Stankunavicius, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Hugues Brenot, and Carine Bruyninx
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1170, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1170, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
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The study investigates the long-term time variability of the integrated water vapour retrieved by different techniques (GPS, UV/VIS satellites and numerical weather prediction reanalyses) for a global dataset of almost 120 sites and for the time period 1995–2010. A stepwise multiple linear regression technique is applied to ascribe the time variability of integrated water vapour to surface measurements at the sites, but also using teleconnection patterns or climate/oceanic indices.
Jorge Saturno, Florian Ditas, Marloes Penning de Vries, Bruna A. Holanda, Mira L. Pöhlker, Samara Carbone, David Walter, Nicole Bobrowski, Joel Brito, Xuguang Chi, Alexandra Gutmann, Isabella Hrabe de Angelis, Luiz A. T. Machado, Daniel Moran-Zuloaga, Julian Rüdiger, Johannes Schneider, Christiane Schulz, Qiaoqiao Wang, Manfred Wendisch, Paulo Artaxo, Thomas Wagner, Ulrich Pöschl, Meinrat O. Andreae, and Christopher Pöhlker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10391–10405, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10391-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10391-2018, 2018
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This study uses satellite observations to track volcanic emissions in eastern Congo and their subsequent transport across the Atlantic Ocean into the Amazon Basin. Aircraft and ground-based observations are used to characterize the influence of volcanogenic aerosol on the chemical and microphysical properties of Amazonian aerosols. Further, this work is an illustrative example of the conditions and dynamics driving the transatlantic transport of African emissions to South America.
Marina Zara, K. Folkert Boersma, Isabelle De Smedt, Andreas Richter, Enno Peters, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Michel Van Roozendael, Sergey Marchenko, Lok N. Lamsal, and Henk J. Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4033–4058, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, 2018
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Nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde satellite data are used for air quality and climate studies. We quantify and characterise slant column uncertainties from different research groups. Our evaluation is motivated by recently improved techniques and by a desire to provide fully traceable uncertainty budget for climate records generated within the QA4ECV project. The improved slant columns are in agreement but with substantial differences in the reported uncertainties between groups and instruments.
Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Thomas Danckaert, Christophe Lerot, Steven Compernolle, Michel Van Roozendael, Andreas Richter, Andreas Hilboll, Enno Peters, Mattia Pedergnana, Diego Loyola, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, Klaas Folkert Boersma, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2395–2426, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, 2018
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This paper introduces the formaldehyde (HCHO) tropospheric vertical column retrieval algorithm implemented in the TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor operational processor, and comprehensively describes its various retrieval steps. Furthermore, algorithmic improvements developed in the framework of the EU FP7-project QA4ECV are described for future updates of the processor. Detailed error estimates are discussed in the light of Copernicus user requirements and needs for validation are highlighted.
Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Yang Wang, Kornelia Mies, Steffen Dörner, Margherita Grossi, Diego Loyola, Angelika Dehn, Anja Danielczok, Marc Schröder, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 449–468, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-449-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-449-2018, 2018
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We present time series of the global distribution of water vapor over more than 2 decades based on satellite measurements from different sensors. A particular focus is the consistency amongst the different sensors to avoid jumps from one instrument to another. This is reached by applying robust and simple retrieval settings consistently. The resulting
Climateproduct allows the study of the temporal evolution of water vapor over the last 20 years on a global scale.
Florian Dinger, Nicole Bobrowski, Simon Warnach, Stefan Bredemeyer, Silvana Hidalgo, Santiago Arellano, Bo Galle, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Solid Earth, 9, 247–266, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-247-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-247-2018, 2018
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We monitored the bromine monoxide-to-sulfur dioxide molar ratio in the effusive gas plume of Cotopaxi volcano in order to gain insight into the geological processes which control the pressure regime of the volcanic system. We observed a conspicuous periodic pattern with a periodicity of about 2 weeks, which significantly correlates with the Earth tidal forcing. Our results support a possible Earth tidal impact on volcanic activity, in particular for the Cotopaxi eruption 2015.
Johannes Lampel, Johannes Zielcke, Stefan Schmitt, Denis Pöhler, Udo Frieß, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1671–1683, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1671-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1671-2018, 2018
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Previous publications on the absorptions of the oxygen dimer O2–O2 (or short: O4) list absorption peaks at 328 nm and 419 nm, for which no spectrally resolved literature cross sections are available. As these absorptions potentially influence the spectral retrieval of various other trace gases, their shape and magnitude need to be quantified. We approximate the absorption peaks at 328 nm and 419 nm by their respective neighboring absorption peaks to estimate their magnitude and peak wavelength.
Johannes Lampel, Yang Wang, Andreas Hilboll, Steffen Beirle, Holger Sihler, Janis Puķīte, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4819–4831, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4819-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4819-2017, 2017
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Experience of differential atmospheric absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) shows that a spectral shift between measurement and reference spectrum is frequently required in order to achieve optimal fit results. The shift is often attributed to temporal instabilities of the instrument but implicitly solved the problem of the tilt effect discussed in this paper. The tilt effect results from the finite resolution of the measurements and amounts to 2 pm for the example data set.
Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Francois Hendrick, Andreas Hilboll, Junli Jin, Aleksandra A. Kyuberis, Johannes Lampel, Ang Li, Yuhan Luo, Lorenzo Lodi, Jianzhong Ma, Monica Navarro, Ivan Ortega, Enno Peters, Oleg L. Polyansky, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Olga Puentedura, Michel Van Roozendael, André Seyler, Jonathan Tennyson, Rainer Volkamer, Pinhua Xie, Nikolai F. Zobov, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3719–3742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3719-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3719-2017, 2017
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Slant column densities of nitrous acid (HONO) derived from different MAX-DOAS instruments and retrieval software are systematically compared for the first time during the Multi Axis DOAS – Comparison campaign for Aerosols and Trace gases (MAD-CAT) campaign held at MPIC in Mainz, Germany, from June to October 2013. Through the inter-comparisons and sensitivity studies we quantified the uncertainties in the DOAS fits of HONO from different sources and concluded a recommended setting.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Ronald J. van der A, Bo Zheng, Dan Tong, and Kebin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9261–9275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, 2017
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We assess NOx emission trends over Chinese cities based on satellite NO2 observations using a method independent of chemical transport models. NOx emissions over 48 Chinese cities have decreased significantly since 2011. Cities with different dominant emission sources (i.e. power, industrial, and transportation sectors) showed variable emission decline timelines that corresponded to the schedules for emission control in different sectors.
Reza Shaiganfar, Steffen Beirle, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Sander Jonkers, Jeroen Kuenen, Herve Petetin, Qijie Zhang, Matthias Beekmann, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7853–7890, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7853-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7853-2017, 2017
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We determine NOx emissions for Paris in summer 2009 and winter 2009/2010 by combining car MAX-DOAS measurements of NO2 with wind fields. We compare the results with simulations from the CHIMERE model. We derive daily average NOx emissions for Paris of 4.0 × 1025 molecules s−1 for summer and of 6.9 × 1025 molecules s−1 in winter. These values are a factor of about 1.4 and 2.0 larger than the corresponding emissions in the MACC-III emission inventory.
Peter K. Peterson, Denis Pöhler, Holger Sihler, Johannes Zielcke, Stephan General, Udo Frieß, Ulrich Platt, William R. Simpson, Son V. Nghiem, Paul B. Shepson, Brian H. Stirm, Suresh Dhaniyala, Thomas Wagner, Dana R. Caulton, Jose D. Fuentes, and Kerri A. Pratt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7567–7579, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7567-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7567-2017, 2017
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High-spatial-resolution aircraft measurements in the Arctic showed the sustained transport of reactive bromine in a lofted layer via heterogeneous reactions on aerosol particles. This process provides an explanation for free tropospheric reactive bromine and the significant spatial extent of satellite-observed bromine monoxide. The knowledge gained herein improves our understanding of the fate and transport of atmospheric pollutants in the Arctic.
Andreas Carlos Meier, Anja Schönhardt, Tim Bösch, Andreas Richter, André Seyler, Thomas Ruhtz, Daniel-Eduard Constantin, Reza Shaiganfar, Thomas Wagner, Alexis Merlaud, Michel Van Roozendael, Livio Belegante, Doina Nicolae, Lucian Georgescu, and John Philip Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1831–1857, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1831-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1831-2017, 2017
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We present airborne remote sensing measurements of NO2 in the urban area of Bucharest. NO2 is a harmful pollutant, which is emitted in combustion processes. The measurements presented here enable the creation of maps, showing the horizontal NO2 distribution across the whole city within a relatively short time window of 1.5 h. These data provide new insight into urban pollution levels and their spatial distribution.
Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Mariliza Koukouli, Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Ang Li, Dexia Wu, Pinhua Xie, Cheng Liu, Michel Van Roozendael, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5007–5033, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5007-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5007-2017, 2017
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A long-term MAX-DOAS measurement from 2011 to 2014 was operated in Wuxi, part of the most industrialized area of the Yangtze River delta region of China. The tropospheric VCDs and vertical profiles of NO2, SO2 and HCHO derived from the MAX-DOAS are used to validate the products derived from OMI and GOME-2A/B by different scientific teams (daily- and bimonthly-averaged data). We investigate the effects of clouds, aerosols and a priori profile shapes on satellite retrievals of tropospheric VCDs.
Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, André Seyler, Andreas Richter, Folkard Wittrock, Tim Bösch, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Theano Drosoglou, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Yugo Kanaya, Xiaoyi Zhao, Kimberly Strong, Johannes Lampel, Rainer Volkamer, Theodore Koenig, Ivan Ortega, Olga Puentedura, Mónica Navarro-Comas, Laura Gómez, Margarita Yela González, Ankie Piters, Julia Remmers, Yang Wang, Thomas Wagner, Shanshan Wang, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, David García-Nieto, Carlos A. Cuevas, Nuria Benavent, Richard Querel, Paul Johnston, Oleg Postylyakov, Alexander Borovski, Alexander Elokhov, Ilya Bruchkouski, Haoran Liu, Cheng Liu, Qianqian Hong, Claudia Rivera, Michel Grutter, Wolfgang Stremme, M. Fahim Khokhar, Junaid Khayyam, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 955–978, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-955-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-955-2017, 2017
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This work is about harmonization of differential optical absorption spectroscopy retrieval codes, which is a remote sensing technique widely used to derive atmospheric trace gas amounts. The study is based on ground-based measurements performed during the Multi-Axis DOAS Comparison campaign for Aerosols and Trace gases (MAD-CAT) in Mainz, Germany, in summer 2013. In total, 17 international groups working in the field of the DOAS technique participated in this study.
Holger Sihler, Peter Lübcke, Rüdiger Lang, Steffen Beirle, Martin de Graaf, Christoph Hörmann, Johannes Lampel, Marloes Penning de Vries, Julia Remmers, Ed Trollope, Yang Wang, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 881–903, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-881-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-881-2017, 2017
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This paper presents the independent and simple IFR method to retrieve the FOV of an instrument, i.e. the two-dimensional sensitivity distribution. IFR relies on correlated measurements featuring a higher spatial resolution and was applied to two satellite instruments, GOME-2 and OMI, and a DOAS instrument integrated in an SO2 camera. Our results confirm the commonly applied FOV distributions. IFR is applicable for verification exercises as well as degradation monitoring in the field.
Alba Lorente, K. Folkert Boersma, Huan Yu, Steffen Dörner, Andreas Hilboll, Andreas Richter, Mengyao Liu, Lok N. Lamsal, Michael Barkley, Isabelle De Smedt, Michel Van Roozendael, Yang Wang, Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Jin-Tai Lin, Nickolay Krotkov, Piet Stammes, Ping Wang, Henk J. Eskes, and Maarten Krol
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 759–782, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-759-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-759-2017, 2017
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Choices and assumptions made to represent the state of the atmosphere introduce an uncertainty of 42 % in the air mass factor calculation in trace gas satellite retrievals in polluted regions. The AMF strongly depends on the choice of a priori trace gas profile, surface albedo data set and the correction method to account for clouds and aerosols. We call for well-designed validation exercises focusing on situations when AMF structural uncertainty has the highest impact on satellite retrievals.
Steffen Beirle, Johannes Lampel, Christophe Lerot, Holger Sihler, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 581–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-581-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-581-2017, 2017
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We propose to parameterize the instrumental spectral response function (ISRF) as a "super-Gaussian", which can reproduce a variety of shapes, from point-hat to boxcar shape, by just adding one parameter to the "classical" Gaussian.
In addition, the super-Gaussian allows for a straightforward parametrization of the effect of ISRF changes.
Yang Wang, Johannes Lampel, Pinhua Xie, Steffen Beirle, Ang Li, Dexia Wu, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2189–2215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2189-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2189-2017, 2017
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The air pollution in the Yangtze River delta (YRD), the largest economic region in China, threatens the health of the inhabitants in this region. A long-term MAX-DOAS observation in Wuxi, China (belonging to YRD), is used to characterize vertical distributions (VD) of the aerosols and the precursor trace gases in the boundary to identify the dominating sources. The results are valuable for further validation of satellite products and chemical transport modelings.
Johannes Lampel, Denis Pöhler, Oleg L. Polyansky, Aleksandra A. Kyuberis, Nikolai F. Zobov, Jonathan Tennyson, Lorenzo Lodi, Udo Frieß, Yang Wang, Steffen Beirle, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1271–1295, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1271-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1271-2017, 2017
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Water vapour is known to absorb radiation from the microwave region to the blue part of the visible spectrum.
Ab initio approaches to model individual absorption lines of the gaseous water molecule predict absorption lines
until its dissociation limit at 243 nm.
We present first evidence of water vapour absorption near 363 nm from field measurements using data
from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) and long-path (LP)-DOAS measurements.
Nicolas Theys, Isabelle De Smedt, Huan Yu, Thomas Danckaert, Jeroen van Gent, Christoph Hörmann, Thomas Wagner, Pascal Hedelt, Heiko Bauer, Fabian Romahn, Mattia Pedergnana, Diego Loyola, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 119–153, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-119-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-119-2017, 2017
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This paper provides a thorough description of the algorithm to retrieve SO2 columns from TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor measurements. The different algorithmic steps including error analysis are detailed. Scientific verification of the algorithm and validation needs are also discussed.
Christoph Hörmann, Holger Sihler, Steffen Beirle, Marloes Penning de Vries, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13015–13034, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13015-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13015-2016, 2016
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We present 10 years of bromine monoxide (BrO) satellite observations by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over the Rann of Kutch salt marsh. The measurements reveal a typical seasonal cycle of BrO with maximum concentrations during April/May. The results indicate that the Rann of Kutch is probably one of the strongest natural point sources of reactive bromine compounds outside the polar regions and is thought to have a significant impact on local and regional ozone chemistry.
Thomas Wagner, Steffen Beirle, Julia Remmers, Reza Shaiganfar, and Yang Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4803–4823, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4803-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4803-2016, 2016
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A method is developed for the calibration of the colour index (CI) and the O4 absorption derived from differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements of scattered sunlight. Calibrated measurements of the CI and the O4 absorption are important for the detection and classification of clouds from MAX-DOAS observations.
Buhalqem Mamtimin, Franz X. Meixner, Thomas Behrendt, Moawad Badawy, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10175–10194, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10175-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10175-2016, 2016
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In this study, we focused on the contributions of soil biogenic NO and HONO emissions from a managed hyperarid ecosystem to the regional NOx emissions during growing season. In particular, the second maximum in summer provides substantial evidence to hypothesize that those biogenic emissions from soils of managed drylands in the growing period may be much more important contributors to regional NOx budgets of dryland regions than previously thought.
Erna Frins, Reza Shaiganfar, Ulrich Platt, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-255, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-255, 2016
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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Standard methods like in-situ measurements can hardly register NOx (= NO + NO2) emissions from aircrafts during take-off, when engines run at high load and thus an important amount of fuel is consumed and most of the harmful emissions are produced . The goal of this work is to show that it is possible to measure aircraft emissions generated during take-off (and initial part of the climb) by a remote spectroscopic method like automobile – based – Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS).
Jan Zörner, Marloes Penning de Vries, Steffen Beirle, Holger Sihler, Patrick R. Veres, Jonathan Williams, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9457–9487, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, 2016
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We present a top-down approach to infer and quantify rain-induced emission pulses of nitrogen oxides from soils using satellite-borne measurements of NO2. We found strong enhancements of NO2 induced by the first intense precipitation after prolonged droughts in many semi-arid regions of the world, in particular in the Sahel. Apart from the clear first-day peak, NO2 VCDs are moderately enhanced compared to background over the following 2 weeks suggesting potential further emissions.
U. Frieß, H. Klein Baltink, S. Beirle, K. Clémer, F. Hendrick, B. Henzing, H. Irie, G. de Leeuw, A. Li, M. M. Moerman, M. van Roozendael, R. Shaiganfar, T. Wagner, Y. Wang, P. Xie, S. Yilmaz, and P. Zieger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3205–3222, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3205-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3205-2016, 2016
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This article describes the first direct comparison of aerosol extinction profiles from Multi-Axis DOAS measurements of the oxygen collision complex using five different retrieval algorithms. A comparison of the retrieved profiles with co-located aerosol measurements shows good agreement with respect to profile shape and aerosol optical thickness. This study shows that MAX-DOAS is a simple, versatile and cost-effective method for the measurement of aerosol properties in the lower troposphere.
Steffen Beirle, Christoph Hörmann, Patrick Jöckel, Song Liu, Marloes Penning de Vries, Andrea Pozzer, Holger Sihler, Pieter Valks, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2753–2779, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2753-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2753-2016, 2016
Jānis Puķīte and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2147–2177, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2147-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2147-2016, 2016
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We address specialities of differential optical absorption spectroscopy of scattered light in the presence of strong absorbers (like ozone), where the optical depth becomes a non-linear function of the absorber concentration. We quantify the non-linearity using higher-order terms by expanding the radiative transfer equation in a Taylor series.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Steffen Dörner, Kebin He, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5283–5298, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5283-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5283-2016, 2016
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We present a new method to quantify NOx emissions and corresponding atmospheric lifetimes from OMI NO2 observations together with ECMWF wind fields without further model input for sources located in polluted background. The derived NOx emissions show generally good agreement with bottom-up inventories for power plants and cities. Global inventory significantly underestimated NOx emissions in Chinese cities, most likely due to uncertainties associated with downscaling approaches.
Y. Wang, M. Penning de Vries, P. H. Xie, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, J. Remmers, A. Li, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5133–5156, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5133-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5133-2015, 2015
T. Wagner, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, M. Penning de Vries, J. Remmers, A. Rozanov, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4265–4280, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4265-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4265-2015, 2015
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We present a new method for the absolute calibration of atmospheric radiance measurements. Existing methods are based on laboratory measurements, but our method uses the atmospheric radiance measurements themselves. For selected sky conditions these measurements are compared to radiative transfer simulations. The method is very accurate (better than 7%) and might be used for a variety of scientific applications, as well as for the determination of the energy yield of photovoltaic cells.
M. J. M. Penning de Vries, S. Beirle, C. Hörmann, J. W. Kaiser, P. Stammes, L. G. Tilstra, O. N. E. Tuinder, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10597–10618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10597-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10597-2015, 2015
M. Beekmann, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, J. Sciare, S. N. Pandis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Crippa, F. Freutel, L. Poulain, V. Ghersi, E. Rodriguez, S. Beirle, P. Zotter, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, M. Bressi, C. Fountoukis, H. Petetin, S. Szidat, J. Schneider, A. Rosso, I. El Haddad, A. Megaritis, Q. J. Zhang, V. Michoud, J. G. Slowik, S. Moukhtar, P. Kolmonen, A. Stohl, S. Eckhardt, A. Borbon, V. Gros, N. Marchand, J. L. Jaffrezo, A. Schwarzenboeck, A. Colomb, A. Wiedensohler, S. Borrmann, M. Lawrence, A. Baklanov, and U. Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9577–9591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, 2015
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A detailed characterization of air quality in the Paris (France) agglomeration, a megacity, during two summer and winter intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations, revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported into the megacity from upwind regions. Unexpectedly, a major part of organic PM is of modern origin (woodburning and cooking activities, secondary formation from biogenic VOC).
R. Shaiganfar, S. Beirle, H. Petetin, Q. Zhang, M. Beekmann, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2827–2852, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2827-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2827-2015, 2015
M. Grossi, P. Valks, D. Loyola, B. Aberle, S. Slijkhuis, T. Wagner, S. Beirle, and R. Lang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1111–1133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1111-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1111-2015, 2015
B. Mamtimin, T. Behrendt, M. M. Badawy, T. Wagner, Y. Qi, Z. Wu, and F. X. Meixner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 867–882, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-867-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-867-2015, 2015
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In the paper, very good agreement between measured NO2 (MAX-DOAS) and simulated local ambient NO2 concentrations originating from enhanced soil biogenic NO emission was found. This agreement is considered as the first successful attempt to prove the validity of the chosen approach to upscale laboratory-derived biogenic NO fluxes to ecosystem field conditions. We believe that these topics and key findings make our article suitable for a wider scientific audience and for the interested public.
F. Vita, C. Kern, and S. Inguaggiato
J. Sens. Sens. Syst., 3, 355–367, https://doi.org/10.5194/jsss-3-355-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/jsss-3-355-2014, 2014
S. Beirle, W. Koshak, R. Blakeslee, and T. Wagner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2715–2726, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2715-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2715-2014, 2014
M. J. M. Penning de Vries, S. Dörner, J. Puķīte, C. Hörmann, M. D. Fromm, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8149–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8149-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8149-2014, 2014
R. Van Malderen, H. Brenot, E. Pottiaux, S. Beirle, C. Hermans, M. De Mazière, T. Wagner, H. De Backer, and C. Bruyninx
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2487–2512, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2487-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2487-2014, 2014
K.-P. Heue, H. Riede, D. Walter, C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer, T. Wagner, U. Frieß, U. Platt, A. Zahn, G. Stratmann, and H. Ziereis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6621–6642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6621-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6621-2014, 2014
Y. Wang, A. Li, P. H. Xie, T. Wagner, H. Chen, W. Q. Liu, and J. G. Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1663–1680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1663-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1663-2014, 2014
T. Wagner, A. Apituley, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, U. Friess, J. Remmers, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1289–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1289-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1289-2014, 2014
C. Liu, S. Beirle, T. Butler, P. Hoor, C. Frankenberg, P. Jöckel, M. Penning de Vries, U. Platt, A. Pozzer, M. G. Lawrence, J. Lelieveld, H. Tost, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1717–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, 2014
J. Yoon, A. Pozzer, P. Hoor, D. Y. Chang, S. Beirle, T. Wagner, S. Schloegl, J. Lelieveld, and H. M. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11307–11316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, 2013
T. Wagner, S. Beirle, H. Sihler, and K. Mies
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2593–2605, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2593-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2593-2013, 2013
C. Hörmann, H. Sihler, N. Bobrowski, S. Beirle, M. Penning de Vries, U. Platt, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4749–4781, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4749-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4749-2013, 2013
P. Lübcke, N. Bobrowski, S. Illing, C. Kern, J. M. Alvarez Nieves, L. Vogel, J. Zielcke, H. Delgado Granados, and U. Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 677–696, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-677-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-677-2013, 2013
S. Beirle, H. Sihler, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 661–675, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-661-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-661-2013, 2013
J. Z. Ma, S. Beirle, J. L. Jin, R. Shaiganfar, P. Yan, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1547–1567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1547-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1547-2013, 2013
T. Wagner, M. O. Andreae, S. Beirle, S. Dörner, K. Mies, and R. Shaiganfar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 131–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-131-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-131-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Ammonia in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS): GLORIA airborne measurements for CAMS model evaluation in the Asian monsoon and in biomass burning plumes above the South Atlantic
A lightweight NO2-to-NOx conversion model for quantifying NOx emissions of point sources from NO2 satellite observations
Towards a sector-specific CO∕CO2 emission ratio: satellite-based observations of CO release from steel production in Germany
Monitoring European anthropogenic NOx emissions from space
Pyrogenic HONO seen from space: insights from global IASI observations
First evaluation of the GEMS formaldehyde product against TROPOMI and ground-based column measurements during the in-orbit test period
High-resolution mapping of nitrogen oxide emissions in large US cities from TROPOMI retrievals of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide columns
Quantifying the tropospheric ozone radiative effect and its temporal evolution in the satellite era
Improving Ground-Level NO2 Estimation in China Using GEMS Measurements and a Nested Machine Learning Model
Quantifying the diurnal variation of atmospheric NO2 from observations of the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS)
Tropical tropospheric ozone distribution and trends from in situ and satellite data
Investigation of satellite vertical sensitivity on long-term retrieved lower tropospheric ozone trends
A satellite chronology of plumes from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent
Investigation of spatial and temporal variability in lower tropospheric ozone from RAL Space UV–Vis satellite products
Two years of satellite-based carbon dioxide emission quantification at the world's largest coal-fired power plants
Tropical tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide distributions: characteristics, origins, and control factors, as seen by IAGOS and IASI
Investigation of the summer 2018 European ozone air pollution episodes using novel satellite data and modelling
Bridging the spatial gaps of the Ammonia Monitoring Network using satellite ammonia measurements
A roadmap to estimating agricultural ammonia volatilization over Europe using satellite observations and simulation data
Investigation of meteorological conditions and BrO during ozone depletion events in Ny-Ålesund between 2010 and 2021
Quantification of carbon monoxide emissions from African cities using TROPOMI
Nitrogen oxides emissions from selected cities in North America, Europe, and East Asia observed by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Remotely sensed and surface measurement- derived mass-conserving inversion of daily NOx emissions and inferred combustion technologies in energy-rich northern China
Examining TROPOMI formaldehyde to nitrogen dioxide ratios in the Lake Michigan region: implications for ozone exceedances
Impact of different sources of precursors on an ozone pollution outbreak over Europe analysed with IASI+GOME2 multispectral satellite observations and model simulations
Monitoring and quantifying CO2 emissions of isolated power plants from space
Technical note: Constraining the hydroxyl (OH) radical in the tropics with satellite observations of its drivers – first steps toward assessing the feasibility of a global observation strategy
Significant contribution of inland ships to the total NOx emissions along the Yangtze River
Characteristics of interannual variability in space-based XCO2 global observations
Toward a versatile spaceborne architecture for immediate monitoring of the global methane pledge
Methane emissions are predominantly responsible for record-breaking atmospheric methane growth rates in 2020 and 2021
Ground solar absorption observations of total column CO, CO2, CH4, and aerosol optical depth from California's Sequoia Lightning Complex Fire: emission factors and modified combustion efficiency at regional scales
Potential of TROPOMI for understanding spatio-temporal variations in surface NO2 and their dependencies upon land use over the Iberian Peninsula
Mobile MAX-DOAS observations of tropospheric NO2 and HCHO during summer over the Three Rivers' Source region in China
Estimating enhancement ratios of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide using satellite observations
Source mechanisms and transport patterns of tropospheric bromine monoxide: findings from long-term multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy measurements at two Antarctic stations
Measurement report: Spatiotemporal variability of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs) over Mexico City from TES and CrIS satellite measurements
Biomass burning CO, PM and fuel consumption per unit burned area estimates derived across Africa using geostationary SEVIRI fire radiative power and Sentinel-5P CO data
Characterization of errors in satellite-based HCHO ∕ NO2 tropospheric column ratios with respect to chemistry, column-to-PBL translation, spatial representation, and retrieval uncertainties
Evaluation of transport processes over North China Plain and Yangtze River Delta using MAX-DOAS observations
Estimation of biomass burning emission of NO2 and CO from 2019–2020 Australia fires based on satellite observations
Quantifying daily NOx and CO2 emissions from Wuhan using satellite observations from TROPOMI and OCO-2
Estimation of OH in urban plumes using TROPOMI-inferred NO2 ∕ CO
Diagnosing ozone–NOx–VOC sensitivity and revealing causes of ozone increases in China based on 2013–2021 satellite retrievals
Towards sector-based attribution using intra-city variations in satellite-based emission ratios between CO2 and CO
Measurement report: Evolution and distribution of NH3 over Mexico City from ground-based and satellite infrared spectroscopic measurements
Peculiar COVID-19 effects in the Greater Tokyo Area revealed by spatiotemporal variabilities of tropospheric gases and light-absorbing aerosols
Quantifying NOx emissions in Egypt using TROPOMI observations
Satellite quantification of oil and natural gas methane emissions in the US and Canada including contributions from individual basins
Evaluating NOx emissions and their effect on O3 production in Texas using TROPOMI NO2 and HCHO
Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Thomas Gulde, Vincent Huijnen, Anne Kleinert, Erik Kretschmer, Guido Maucher, Tom Neubert, Hans Nordmeyer, Christof Piesch, Peter Preusse, Martin Riese, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, Gerald Wetzel, and Wolfgang Woiwode
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8125–8138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, 2024
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We present airborne infrared limb sounding GLORIA measurements of ammonia (NH3) in the upper troposphere of air masses within the Asian monsoon and of those connected with biomass burning. Comparing CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) model data, we find that the model reproduces the measured enhanced NH3 within the Asian monsoon well but not that within biomass burning plumes, where no enhanced NH3 is measured in the upper troposphere but considerable amounts are simulated by CAMS.
Sandro Meier, Erik F. M. Koene, Maarten Krol, Dominik Brunner, Alexander Damm, and Gerrit Kuhlmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7667–7686, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7667-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7667-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are important air pollutants. This study addresses the challenge of accurately estimating NOx emissions from NO2 satellite observations. We develop a realistic model to convert NO2 to NOx by using simulated plumes from various power plants. We apply the model to satellite NO2 observations, significantly reducing biases in estimated NOx emissions. The study highlights the potential for a consistent, high-resolution estimation of NOx emissions using satellite data.
Oliver Schneising, Michael Buchwitz, Maximilian Reuter, Michael Weimer, Heinrich Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, and Hartmut Bösch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7609–7621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7609-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7609-2024, 2024
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Large quantities of CO and CO2 are emitted during conventional steel production. As satellite-based estimates of CO2 emissions at the facility level are challenging, co-emitted CO can indicate the carbon footprint of steel plants. We estimate CO emissions for German steelworks and use CO2 emissions from emissions trading data to derive a sector-specific CO/CO2 emission ratio for the steel industry; it is a prerequisite to use CO as a proxy for CO2 emissions from similar steel production sites.
Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7523–7534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7523-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7523-2024, 2024
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Using observations of the Sentinel-5P satellite and the latest version of the inversion algorithm DECSO, anthropogenic NOx emissions are derived for Europe for the years 2019–2022 with a spatial resolution of 0.2°. The results are compared with European emissions of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Bruno Franco, Lieven Clarisse, Nicolas Theys, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Cathy Clerbaux, and Pierre Coheur
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4973–5007, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4973-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4973-2024, 2024
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Using IASI global infrared measurements, we retrieve nitrous acid (HONO) in fire plumes from space. We detect large enhancements of pyrogenic HONO worldwide, especially from intense wildfires at Northern Hemisphere mid- and high latitudes. Predominance of IASI nighttime over daytime measurements sheds light on HONO's extended lifetime and secondary formation during long-range transport in smoke plumes. Our findings deepen the understanding of atmospheric HONO, crucial for air quality assessment.
Gitaek T. Lee, Rokjin J. Park, Hyeong-Ahn Kwon, Eunjo S. Ha, Sieun D. Lee, Seunga Shin, Myoung-Hwan Ahn, Mina Kang, Yong-Sang Choi, Gyuyeon Kim, Dong-Won Lee, Deok-Rae Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Bavo Langerock, Corinne Vigouroux, Christophe Lerot, Francois Hendrick, Gaia Pinardi, Isabelle De Smedt, Michel Van Roozendael, Pucai Wang, Heesung Chong, Yeseul Cho, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4733–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4733-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4733-2024, 2024
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This study evaluates the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) HCHO product by comparing its vertical column densities (VCDs) with those of TROPOMI and ground-based observations. Based on some sensitivity tests, obtaining radiance references under clear-sky conditions significantly improves HCHO retrieval quality. GEMS HCHO VCDs captured seasonal and diurnal variations well during the first year of observation, showing consistency with TROPOMI and ground-based observations.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Joanna Joiner, Sungyeon Choi, Zhining Tao, K. Emma Knowland, Steven J. Smith, Daniel Q. Tong, Siqi Ma, Zachary T. Fasnacht, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3717–3728, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, 2024
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Using satellite data, we developed a coupled method independent of the chemical transport model to map NOx emissions across US cities. After validating our technique with synthetic data, we charted NOx emissions from 2018–2021 in 39 cities. Our results closely matched EPA estimates but also highlighted some inconsistencies in both magnitude and spatial distribution. This research can help refine strategies for monitoring and managing air quality.
Richard J. Pope, Alexandru Rap, Matilda A. Pimlott, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Anne Boynard, Christian Retscher, Wuhu Feng, Richard Rigby, Sandip S. Dhomse, Catherine Wespes, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3613–3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, 2024
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Tropospheric ozone is an important short-lived climate forcer which influences the incoming solar short-wave radiation and the outgoing long-wave radiation in the atmosphere (8–15 km) where the balance between the two yields a net positive (i.e. warming) effect at the surface. Overall, we find that the tropospheric ozone radiative effect ranges between 1.21 and 1.26 W m−2 with a negligible trend (2008–2017), suggesting that tropospheric ozone influences on climate have remained stable with time.
Naveed Ahmad, Changqing Lin, Alexis K. H. Lau, Jhoon Kim, Fangqun Yu, Chengcai Li, Ying Li, Jimmy C. H. Fung, and Xiang Qian Lao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-558, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-558, 2024
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This study developed a nested machine learning model to convert the GEMS NO2 column measurements into ground-level concentrations across China. The model directly incorporates the NO2 mixing height (NMH) into the methodological framework. The study underscores the importance of considering NMH when estimating ground-level NO2 from satellite column measurements and highlights the significant advantages of new-generation geostationary satellites in air quality monitoring.
David P. Edwards, Sara Martínez-Alonso, Duseong S. Jo, Ivan Ortega, Louisa K. Emmons, John J. Orlando, Helen M. Worden, Jhoon Kim, Hanlim Lee, Junsung Park, and Hyunkee Hong
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-570, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-570, 2024
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Until recently, satellite observations of atmospheric pollutants at any location could only be obtained once-a-day at best. New geostationary satellites stare at a region of the Earth to make hourly measurements, and GEMS is the first looking at Asia. We use GEMS data and atmospheric computer simulations to show how the large change seen during the day for one important pollutant that determines air quality depends on a combination of pollution emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology.
Audrey Gaudel, Ilann Bourgeois, Meng Li, Kai-Lan Chang, Jerald Ziemke, Bastien Sauvage, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Debra E. Kollonige, Nadia Smith, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Juan Cuesta, Klaus-Peter Heue, Pepijn Veefkind, Kenneth Aikin, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Thomas B. Ryerson, Gregory J. Frost, Brian C. McDonald, and Owen R. Cooper
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3095, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3095, 2024
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The study examines tropical tropospheric ozone changes. In situ data from 1994−2019 display increased ozone, notably over India, Southeast Asia, and Malaysia/Indonesia. Sparse in situ data limit trend detection for the 15-year period. In situ and satellite data, with limited sampling, struggle to consistently detect trends. Continuous observations are vital over the tropical Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Western Africa, and South Asia for accurate ozone trend estimation in these regions.
Richard J. Pope, Fiona M. O'Connor, Mohit Dalvi, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Anne Boynard, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, Catherine Wespes, and Richard Rigby
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3109, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3109, 2024
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant in the lower troposphere with adverse impacts on human health. Satellite records of tropospheric ozone currently show large-scale inconsistencies in their long-term trends. Our detailed study of the potential factors (e.g. satellite errors, where the satellite can observe ozone) potentially driving these inconsistencies found that in North America, Europe and East Asia, the underlying trends are typically small with large uncertainties.
Isabelle A. Taylor, Roy G. Grainger, Andrew T. Prata, Simon R. Proud, Tamsin A. Mather, and David M. Pyle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15209–15234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15209-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15209-2023, 2023
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This study looks at sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ash emissions from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière on St Vincent. Using satellite data, 35 eruptive events were identified. Satellite data were used to track SO2 as it was transported around the globe. The majority of SO2 was emitted into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Similarities with the 1979 eruption of La Soufrière highlight the value of studying these eruptions to be better prepared for future eruptions.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, and Richard Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14933–14947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, 2023
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant, and we present the first study to investigate long-term changes in lower tropospheric column ozone (LTCO3) from space. We have constructed a merged LTCO3 dataset from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY and OMI between 1996 and 2017. Comparing LTCO3 between the 1996–2000 and 2013–2017 5-year averages, we find significant positive increases in the tropics/sub-tropics, while in the northern mid-latitudes, we find small-scale differences.
Daniel H. Cusworth, Andrew K. Thorpe, Charles E. Miller, Alana K. Ayasse, Ralph Jiorle, Riley M. Duren, Ray Nassar, Jon-Paul Mastrogiacomo, and Robert R. Nelson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14577–14591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14577-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14577-2023, 2023
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from combustion sources are uncertain in many places across the globe. Satellites have the ability to detect and quantify emissions from large CO2 point sources, including coal-fired power plants. In this study, we tasked two satellites to routinely observe CO2 emissions at 30 coal-fired power plants between 2021 and 2022. These results present the largest dataset of space-based CO2 emission estimates to date.
Maria Tsivlidou, Bastien Sauvage, Yasmine Bennouna, Romain Blot, Damien Boulanger, Hannah Clark, Eric Le Flochmoën, Philippe Nédélec, Valérie Thouret, Pawel Wolff, and Brice Barret
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14039–14063, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14039-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14039-2023, 2023
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The tropics are a region where the ozone increase has been most apparent since 1980 and where observations are sparse. Using aircraft, satellite, and model data, we document the characteristics of tropospheric ozone and CO over the whole tropics for the last 2 decades. We explore the origin of the observed CO anomalies and investigate transport processes driving the tropical CO and O3 distribution. Our study highlights the importance of anthropogenic emissions, mostly over the northern tropics.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Matilda A. Pimlott, Wuhu Feng, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry D. Hayman, Stephen R. Arnold, and Ailish M. Graham
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13235–13253, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, 2023
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In the summer of 2018, Europe experienced several persistent large-scale ozone (O3) pollution episodes. Satellite tropospheric O3 and surface O3 data recorded substantial enhancements in 2018 relative to other years. Targeted model simulations showed that meteorological processes and emissions controlled the elevated surface O3, while mid-tropospheric O3 enhancements were dominated by stratospheric O3 intrusion and advection of North Atlantic O3-rich air masses into Europe.
Rui Wang, Da Pan, Xuehui Guo, Kang Sun, Lieven Clarisse, Martin Van Damme, Pierre-François Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux, Melissa Puchalski, and Mark A. Zondlo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13217–13234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13217-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13217-2023, 2023
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Ammonia (NH3) is a key precursor for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and a primary form of reactive nitrogen, yet it has sparse ground measurements. We perform the first comprehensive comparison between ground observations and satellite retrievals in the US, demonstrating that satellite NH3 data can help fill spatial gaps in the current ground monitoring networks. Trend analyses using both datasets highlight increasing NH3 trends across the US, including the NH3 hotspots and urban areas.
Rimal Abeed, Camille Viatte, William C. Porter, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Cathy Clerbaux, Lieven Clarisse, Martin Van Damme, Pierre-François Coheur, and Sarah Safieddine
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12505–12523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12505-2023, 2023
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Ammonia emissions from agricultural activities will inevitably increase with the rise in population. We use a variety of datasets (satellite, reanalysis, and model simulation) to calculate the first regional map of ammonia emission potential during the start of the growing season in Europe. We then apply our developed method using a climate model to show the effect of the temperature increase on future ammonia columns under two possible climate scenarios.
Bianca Zilker, Andreas Richter, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Peter von der Gathen, Ilias Bougoudis, Sora Seo, Tim Bösch, and John Philip Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9787–9814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9787-2023, 2023
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During Arctic spring, near-surface ozone is depleted by bromine released from salty sea ice and/or snow-covered areas under certain meteorological conditions. To study this ozone depletion and the prevailing meteorological conditions, two ozone data sets from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, have been evaluated. We found that during ozone depletion events lower pressure over the Barents Sea and higher pressure in the Icelandic Low area led to a transport of cold polar air from the north to Ny-Ålesund.
Gijs Leguijt, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Arjo J. Segers, Tobias Borsdorff, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8899–8919, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8899-2023, 2023
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We present a fast method to evaluate carbon monoxide emissions from cities in Africa. Carbon monoxide is important for climate change in an indirect way, as it is linked to ozone, methane, and carbon dioxide. Our measurements are made with a satellite that sees the entire globe every single day. This means that we can check from space whether the current knowledge of emission rates is up to date. We make the comparison and show that the emission rates in northern Africa are underestimated.
Chantelle R. Lonsdale and Kang Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8727–8748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8727-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8727-2023, 2023
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The COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, emerged in 2019, and its still evolving variants have resulted in unprecedented shifts in human activities and anthropogenic emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. We present monthly nitrogen oxide emissions over three major continents from May 2018 to January 2023 to capture variations before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on a diverse collection of 54 cities to quantify the post-COVID-19 perturbations.
Xiaolu Li, Jason Blake Cohen, Kai Qin, Hong Geng, Xiaohui Wu, Liling Wu, Chengli Yang, Rui Zhang, and Liqin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8001–8019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8001-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8001-2023, 2023
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Remotely sensed NO2 and surface NOx are combined with a mathematical method to estimate daily NOx emissions. The results identify new sources and improve existing estimates. The estimation is driven by three flexible factors: thermodynamics of combustion, chemical loss, and atmospheric transport. The thermodynamic term separates power, iron, and cement from coking, boilers, and aluminum. This work finds three causes for the extremes: emissions, UV radiation, and transport.
Juanito Jerrold Mariano Acdan, Robert Bradley Pierce, Angela F. Dickens, Zachariah Adelman, and Tsengel Nergui
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7867–7885, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7867-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7867-2023, 2023
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Ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to human health. Near the surface of Earth, ozone is created when other pollutants react in the presence of sunlight. This study uses satellite data to investigate how ozone levels can be decreased in the Lake Michigan region of the United States. Our results indicate that ozone levels can be decreased by decreasing volatile organic compound emissions in urban areas and decreasing nitrogen oxide emissions in the region as a whole.
Sachiko Okamoto, Juan Cuesta, Matthias Beekmann, Gaëlle Dufour, Maxim Eremenko, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Cathy Boonne, Hiroshi Tanimoto, and Hajime Akimoto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7399–7423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7399-2023, 2023
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We present a detailed analysis of the daily evolution of the lowermost tropospheric ozone documented by IASI+GOME2 multispectral satellite observations and that of its precursors from TCR-2 tropospheric chemistry reanalysis. It reveals that the ozone outbreak across Europe in July 2017 was produced during favorable condition for photochemical production of ozone and was associated with multiple sources of ozone precursors: biogenic, anthropogenic, and biomass burning emissions.
Xiaojuan Lin, Ronald van der A, Jos de Laat, Henk Eskes, Frédéric Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Zhu Deng, Yuanhao Geng, Xuanren Song, Xiliang Ni, Da Huo, Xinyu Dou, and Zhu Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6599–6611, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, 2023
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Satellite observations provide evidence for CO2 emission signals from isolated power plants. We use these satellite observations to quantify emissions. We found that for power plants with multiple observations, the correlation of estimated and reported emissions is significantly improved compared to a single observation case. This demonstrates that accurate estimation of power plant emissions can be achieved by monitoring from future satellite missions with more frequent observations.
Daniel C. Anderson, Bryan N. Duncan, Julie M. Nicely, Junhua Liu, Sarah A. Strode, and Melanie B. Follette-Cook
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6319–6338, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6319-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6319-2023, 2023
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We describe a methodology that combines machine learning, satellite observations, and 3D chemical model output to infer the abundance of the hydroxyl radical (OH), a chemical that removes many trace gases from the atmosphere. The methodology successfully captures the variability of observed OH, although further observations are needed to evaluate absolute accuracy. Current satellite observations are of sufficient quality to infer OH, but retrieval validation in the remote tropics is needed.
Xiumei Zhang, Ronald van der A, Jieying Ding, Xin Zhang, and Yan Yin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5587–5604, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, 2023
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We compiled a ship emission inventory based on automatic identification system (AIS) signals in the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River. This ship emission inventory was compared with Chinese bottom-up inventories and the satellite-derived emissions from TROPOMI. The result shows a consistent spatial distribution, with riverine cities having high NOx emissions. Inland ship emissions of NOx are shown to contribute at least 40 % to air pollution along the river.
Yifan Guan, Gretchen Keppel-Aleks, Scott C. Doney, Christof Petri, Dave Pollard, Debra Wunch, Frank Hase, Hirofumi Ohyama, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Kei Shiomi, Kim Strong, Rigel Kivi, Matthias Buschmann, Nicholas Deutscher, Paul Wennberg, Ralf Sussmann, Voltaire A. Velazco, and Yao Té
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5355–5372, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5355-2023, 2023
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We characterize spatial–temporal patterns of interannual variability (IAV) in atmospheric CO2 based on NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). CO2 variation is strongly impacted by climate events, with higher anomalies during El Nino years. We show high correlation in IAV between space-based and ground-based CO2 from long-term sites. Because OCO-2 has near-global coverage, our paper provides a roadmap to study IAV where in situ observation is sparse, such as open oceans and remote lands.
Yuchen Wang, Xvli Guo, Yajie Huo, Mengying Li, Yuqing Pan, Shaocai Yu, Alexander Baklanov, Daniel Rosenfeld, John H. Seinfeld, and Pengfei Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5233–5249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5233-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5233-2023, 2023
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Substantial advances have been made in recent years toward detecting and quantifying methane super-emitters from space. However, such advances have rarely been expanded to measure the global methane pledge because large-scale swaths and high-resolution sampling have not been coordinated. Here we present a versatile spaceborne architecture that can juggle planet-scale and plant-level methane retrievals, challenge official emission reports, and remain relevant for stereoscopic measurements.
Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, Robert J. Parker, Mark F. Lunt, and Hartmut Bösch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4863–4880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4863-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4863-2023, 2023
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Our understanding of recent changes in atmospheric methane has defied explanation. Since 2007, the atmospheric growth of methane has accelerated to record-breaking values in 2020 and 2021. We use satellite observations of methane to show that (1) increasing emissions over the tropics are mostly responsible for these recent atmospheric changes, and (2) changes in the OH sink during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown can explain up to 34% of changes in atmospheric methane for that year.
Isis Frausto-Vicencio, Sajjan Heerah, Aaron G. Meyer, Harrison A. Parker, Manvendra Dubey, and Francesca M. Hopkins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4521–4543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4521-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4521-2023, 2023
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Wildfires are increasing in the western USA, making it critical to understand the impacts of greenhouse gases and air pollutants on the atmosphere. We used a ground-based remote sensing technique to measure the greenhouse gases and aerosol in the atmosphere. We isolate a large smoke plume from a nearby wildfire and calculate variables to understand the fuel properties and combustion phases. We find that a significant amount of methane is emitted from the 2020 California wildfire season.
Hervé Petetin, Marc Guevara, Steven Compernolle, Dene Bowdalo, Pierre-Antoine Bretonnière, Santiago Enciso, Oriol Jorba, Franco Lopez, Albert Soret, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3905–3935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3905-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3905-2023, 2023
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This study analyses the potential of the TROPOMI space sensor for monitoring the variability of NO2 pollution over the Iberian Peninsula. A reduction of NO2 levels is observed during the weekend and in summer, especially over most urbanized areas, in agreement with surface observations. An enhancement of NO2 is found during summer with TROPOMI over croplands, potentially related to natural soil NO emissions, which illustrates the outstanding value of TROPOMI for complementing surface networks.
Siyang Cheng, Xinghong Cheng, Jianzhong Ma, Xiangde Xu, Wenqian Zhang, Jinguang Lv, Gang Bai, Bing Chen, Siying Ma, Steffen Ziegler, Sebastian Donner, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3655–3677, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3655-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3655-2023, 2023
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We made mobile MAX-DOAS measurements in the background atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau in summer 2021. We retrieved the tropospheric NO2 and HCHO vertical column densities (VCDs) along extended driving routes and found a decreasing trend of the VCDs with altitude. Elevated NO2 VCDs along the driving routes could be attributed to enhanced traffic emissions from the towns crossed. The spatio-temporal distribution of the HCHO VCDs correlated strongly with the surface temperature.
Cameron G. MacDonald, Jon-Paul Mastrogiacomo, Joshua L. Laughner, Jacob K. Hedelius, Ray Nassar, and Debra Wunch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3493–3516, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3493-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3493-2023, 2023
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We use three satellites measuring carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to calculate atmospheric enhancements of these gases from 27 urban areas. We calculate enhancement ratios between the species and compare those to ratios derived from four globally gridded anthropogenic emission inventories. We find that the global inventories generally underestimate CO emissions in many North American and European cities relative to our observed enhancement ratios.
Udo Frieß, Karin Kreher, Richard Querel, Holger Schmithüsen, Dan Smale, Rolf Weller, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3207–3232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3207-2023, 2023
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Reactive bromine compounds, emitted by the sea ice during polar spring, play an important role in the atmospheric chemistry of the coastal regions of Antarctica. We investigate the sources and impacts of reactive bromine in detail using many years of measurements at two Antarctic sites located at opposite sides of the Antarctic continent. Using a multitude of meteorological observations, we were able to identify the main triggers and source regions for reactive bromine in Antarctica.
Madison J. Shogrin, Vivienne H. Payne, Susan S. Kulawik, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, and Emily V. Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2667–2682, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2667-2023, 2023
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We evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of peroxy acyl nitrates (PANs), important photochemical pollutants, over Mexico City using satellite observations. PANs exhibit a seasonal cycle that maximizes in spring. Wildfires contribute to observed interannual variability, and the satellite indicates several areas of frequent outflow. Recent changes in NOx emissions are not accompanied by changes in PANs. This work demonstrates analysis approaches that can be applied to other megacities.
Hannah M. Nguyen, Jiangping He, and Martin J. Wooster
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2089–2118, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2089-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2089-2023, 2023
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This work presents novel advances in the estimation of open biomass burning emissions via the first fully "top-down" approach to exploit satellite-derived observations of fire radiative power and carbon monoxide over Africa. We produce a 16-year record of fire-generated CO emissions and dry matter consumed per unit area for Africa and evaluate these emissions estimates through their use in an atmospheric model, whose simulation output is then compared to independent satellite observations of CO.
Amir H. Souri, Matthew S. Johnson, Glenn M. Wolfe, James H. Crawford, Alan Fried, Armin Wisthaler, William H. Brune, Donald R. Blake, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Bavo Langerock, Sungyeon Choi, Lok Lamsal, Lei Zhu, Shuai Sun, Ronald C. Cohen, Kyung-Eun Min, Changmin Cho, Sajeev Philip, Xiong Liu, and Kelly Chance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1963–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, 2023
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We have rigorously characterized different sources of error in satellite-based HCHO / NO2 tropospheric columns, a widely used metric for diagnosing near-surface ozone sensitivity. Specifically, the errors were categorized/quantified into (i) an inherent chemistry error, (ii) the decoupled relationship between columns and the near-surface concentration, (iii) the spatial representativeness error of ground satellite pixels, and (iv) the satellite retrieval errors.
Yuhang Song, Chengzhi Xing, Cheng Liu, Jinan Lin, Hongyu Wu, Ting Liu, Hua Lin, Chengxin Zhang, Wei Tan, Xiangguang Ji, Haoran Liu, and Qihua Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1803–1824, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1803-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1803-2023, 2023
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Using the MAX-DOAS network, we successfully analyzed three typical transport types (regional, dust, and transboundary long-range transport), emphasizing the unique advantages provided by the network in monitoring pollutant transport. We think that our findings provide the public with a thorough understanding of pollutant transport phenomena and a reference for designing collaborative air pollution control strategies.
Nenghan Wan, Xiaozhen Xiong, Gerard J. Kluitenberg, J. M. Shawn Hutchinson, Robert Aiken, Haidong Zhao, and Xiaomao Lin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 711–724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-711-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-711-2023, 2023
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This study used new TROPOMI measurements of NO2 and CO to characterize regional biomass burning characteristics and efficiency. We found that the NO2 / CO emission ratio was consistent with recent studies over temperate forest fires but slightly lower in savanna vegetation fires. Our results can help identify the relative contribution of smoldering and flaming activities as well as their impacts on the regional atmospheric composition and air quality.
Qianqian Zhang, K. Folkert Boersma, Bin Zhao, Henk Eskes, Cuihong Chen, Haotian Zheng, and Xingying Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 551–563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-551-2023, 2023
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We developed an improved superposition column model and used the latest released (v2.3.1) TROPOMI satellite NO2 observations to estimate daily city-scale NOx and CO2 emissions. The results are verified against bottom-up emissions and OCO-2 XCO2 observations. We obtained the day-to-day variation of city NOx and CO2 emissions, allowing policymakers to gain real-time information on spatial–temporal emission patterns and the effectiveness of carbon and nitrogen regulation in urban environments.
Srijana Lama, Sander Houweling, K. Folkert Boersma, Ilse Aben, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, and Maarten C. Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 16053–16071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16053-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-16053-2022, 2022
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Hydroxyl radical (OH) is the important chemical species that determines the lifetime of some greenhouse gases and trace gases. OH plays a vital role in air pollution chemistry. OH has a short lifetime and is extremely difficult to measure directly. OH concentrations derived from the chemistry transport model (CTM) have uncertainties of >50 %. Therefore, in this study, OH is derived indirectly using satellite date in urban plumes.
Jie Ren, Fangfang Guo, and Shaodong Xie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15035–15047, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15035-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15035-2022, 2022
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O3–NOx–VOC sensitivity in China is diagnosed by deriving regional satellite HCHO / NO2 thresholds between O3 production regimes. VOC-limited regimes are found widely over megacity clusters and developed cities. VOCs and NOx emissions are tracked with satellite HCHO and NO2 to evaluate O3 responses to precursors changes. The significant reduction in NOx emissions without effective VOC control since the Clean Air Action Plan in 2013 is responsible for the increase in O3 concentrations in China.
Dien Wu, Junjie Liu, Paul O. Wennberg, Paul I. Palmer, Robert R. Nelson, Matthäus Kiel, and Annmarie Eldering
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14547–14570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14547-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14547-2022, 2022
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Prior studies have derived the combustion efficiency for a region/city using observed CO2 and CO. We further zoomed into the urban domain and accounted for factors affecting the calculation of spatially resolved combustion efficiency from two satellites. The intra-city variability in combustion efficiency was linked to heavy industry within Shanghai and LA without relying on emission inventories. Such an approach can be applied when analyzing data from future geostationary satellites.
Beatriz Herrera, Alejandro Bezanilla, Thomas Blumenstock, Enrico Dammers, Frank Hase, Lieven Clarisse, Adolfo Magaldi, Claudia Rivera, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Camille Viatte, Martin Van Damme, and Michel Grutter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14119–14132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14119-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14119-2022, 2022
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This work investigates atmospheric ammonia (NH3), a key trace gas with consequences for the environment and human health, in Mexico City. The results from the ground-based and satellite instruments show the variability and spatial distribution of NH3 over this region. NH3 in Mexico City has been increasing for the past 10 years and most of its sources are urban. This work contributes to a better understanding of NH3 sources and variability in urban and remote areas.
Alessandro Damiani, Hitoshi Irie, Dmitry A. Belikov, Shuei Kaizuka, Hossain Mohammed Syedul Hoque, and Raul R. Cordero
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12705–12726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12705-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12705-2022, 2022
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We analyzed the variabilities in tropospheric gases and aerosols within the Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Beyond highlighting air quality changes caused by the pandemic during the lockdown, we found that the degree of weekly cycling of most gases and aerosols was enhanced during the whole of 2020. The changes were unprecedented in recent years and potentially related to coincident reduced mobility in Japan, which, in contrast to other countries, was anomalously low on weekends in 2020.
Anthony Rey-Pommier, Frédéric Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Grégoire Broquet, Theodoros Christoudias, Jonilda Kushta, Didier Hauglustaine, and Jean Sciare
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11505–11527, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11505-2022, 2022
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Emission inventories for air pollutants can be uncertain in developing countries. In order to overcome these uncertainties, we model nitrogen oxide emissions in Egypt using satellite retrievals. We detect a weekly cycle reflecting Egyptian social norms, an annual cycle consistent with electricity consumption and an activity drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, discrepancies with inventories remain high, illustrating the needs for additional data to improve the potential of our method.
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
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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.
Daniel L. Goldberg, Monica Harkey, Benjamin de Foy, Laura Judd, Jeremiah Johnson, Greg Yarwood, and Tracey Holloway
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10875–10900, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10875-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10875-2022, 2022
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TROPOMI measurements offer a valuable means to validate emissions inventories and ozone formation regimes, with important limitations. Lightning NOx is important to account for in Texas and can contribute up to 24 % of the column NO2 in rural areas and 8 % in urban areas. Modeled NO2 in urban areas agrees with TROPOMI NO2 to within 20 % in most circumstances, with a small underestimate in Dallas (−13 %) and Houston (−20 %). Near Texas power plants, the satellite appears to underrepresent NO2.
Cited articles
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