Articles | Volume 24, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1415-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1415-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 30 Jan 2024
| 30 Jan 2024
Estimation of the atmospheric hydroxyl radical oxidative capacity using multiple hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, 2007 Kjeller, Norway
Stephen A. Montzka
Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Martin K. Vollmer
Laboratory for Air Pollution and Environmental Technology, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Jgor Arduini
Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Urbino, 61029, Italy
Molly Crotwell
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Paul B. Krummel
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, Victoria, 3195, Australia
Chris Lunder
Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, 2007 Kjeller, Norway
Jens Mühle
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Simon O'Doherty
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK
Ronald G. Prinn
Center for Global Change Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Stefan Reimann
Laboratory for Air Pollution and Environmental Technology, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Isaac Vimont
Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Hsiang Wang
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340, USA
Ray F. Weiss
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Dickon Young
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK
Related authors
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Rona L. Thompson, Pallav Purohit, Kieran Stanley, Simon O’Doherty, Dickon Young, Joe Pitt, Xin Lan, and Andreas Stohl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1095, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1095, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We determine European emissions of the highly potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride from 2005 to 2021 – focusing on high-emitting countries and the aggregated EU-27 emissions. Emissions declined in most regions, likely due to EU F-gas regulations. However, our results reveal that most studied countries underestimate their emissions in their national reports. Our sensitivity tests highlight the importance of dense observational networks for reliable inversion-based emission estimates.
Zhu Deng, Philippe Ciais, Liting Hu, Adrien Martinez, Marielle Saunois, Rona L. Thompson, Kushal Tibrewal, Wouter Peters, Brendan Byrne, Giacomo Grassi, Paul I. Palmer, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Zhu Liu, Junjie Liu, Xuekun Fang, Tengjiao Wang, Hanqin Tian, Katsumasa Tanaka, Ana Bastos, Stephen Sitch, Benjamin Poulter, Clément Albergel, Aki Tsuruta, Shamil Maksyutov, Rajesh Janardanan, Yosuke Niwa, Bo Zheng, Joël Thanwerdas, Dmitry Belikov, Arjo Segers, and Frédéric Chevallier
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1121–1152, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1121-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1121-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study reconciles national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories with updated atmospheric inversion results to evaluate discrepancies for three principal GHG fluxes at the national level. Compared to our previous study, new satellite-based CO2 inversions were included and an updated mask of managed lands was used, improving agreement for Brazil and Canada. The proposed methodology can be regularly applied as a check to assess the gap between top-down inversions and bottom-up inventories.
Rona Louise Thompson, Nalini Krishnankutty, Ignacio Pisso, Philipp Schneider, Kerstin Stebel, Motoki Sasakawa, Andreas Stohl, and Stephen Platt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-147, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-147, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite remote sensing of atmospheric mixing ratios of greenhouse gases (GHGs) can provide information on the emissions of these GHGs. This study presents a novel method to use atmospheric column mixing ratios with a Lagrangian model of atmospheric transport to estimate GHG emissions. This method can reduce model errors resulting from how an observation is represented by an atmospheric model potentially reducing the errors in the GHG emissions derived.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Saurabh Annadate, Sunyoung Park, Gawon Lee, Pallav Purohit, Florian Lindl, Xin Lan, Jens Mühle, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12465–12493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We constrain the global emissions of the very potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) between 2005 and 2021. We show that SF6 emissions are decreasing in the USA and in the EU, while they are substantially growing in China, leading overall to an increasing global emission trend. The national reports for the USA, EU, and China all underestimated their SF6 emissions. However, stringent mitigation measures can successfully reduce SF6 emissions, as can be seen in the EU emission trend.
Lucie Bakels, Daria Tatsii, Anne Tipka, Rona Thompson, Marina Dütsch, Michael Blaschek, Petra Seibert, Katharina Baier, Silvia Bucci, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Pirmin Kaufmann, Vincent Lechner, Christian Maurer, Marie D. Mulder, Ignacio Pisso, Andreas Plach, Rakesh Subramanian, Martin Vojta, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7595–7627, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7595-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7595-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Computer models are essential for improving our understanding of how gases and particles move in the atmosphere. We present an update of the atmospheric transport model FLEXPART. FLEXPART 11 is more accurate due to a reduced number of interpolations and a new scheme for wet deposition. It can simulate non-spherical aerosols and includes linear chemical reactions. It is parallelised using OpenMP and includes new user options. A new user manual details how to use FLEXPART 11.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Glen P. Peters, Richard Engelen, Sander Houweling, Dominik Brunner, Aki Tsuruta, Bradley Matthews, Prabir K. Patra, Dmitry Belikov, Rona L. Thompson, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Wenxin Zhang, Arjo J. Segers, Giuseppe Etiope, Giancarlo Ciotoli, Philippe Peylin, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Robbie M. Andrew, David Bastviken, Antoine Berchet, Grégoire Broquet, Giulia Conchedda, Stijn N. C. Dellaert, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Johannes Gütschow, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Ronny Lauerwald, Tiina Markkanen, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Isabelle Pison, Pierre Regnier, Espen Solum, Marko Scholze, Maria Tenkanen, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, and John R. Worden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4325–4350, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an overview of data availability from observation- and inventory-based CH4 emission estimates. It systematically compares them and provides recommendations for robust comparisons, aiming to steadily engage more parties in using observational methods to complement their UNFCCC submissions. Anticipating improvements in atmospheric modelling and observations, future developments need to resolve knowledge gaps in both approaches and to better quantify remaining uncertainty.
Haklim Choi, Alison L. Redington, Hyeri Park, Jooil Kim, Rona L. Thompson, Jens Mühle, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Ray F. Weiss, Alistair J. Manning, and Sunyoung Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7309–7330, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7309-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7309-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed with an inversion model the atmospheric abundance of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases, from 2008 to 2020 at Gosan station in South Korea and revealed a significant increase in emissions, especially from eastern China and Japan. This increase contradicts reported data, underscoring the need for accurate monitoring and reporting. Our findings are crucial for understanding and managing global HFCs emissions, highlighting the importance of efforts to reduce HFCs.
Hanqin Tian, Naiqing Pan, Rona L. Thompson, Josep G. Canadell, Parvadha Suntharalingam, Pierre Regnier, Eric A. Davidson, Michael Prather, Philippe Ciais, Marilena Muntean, Shufen Pan, Wilfried Winiwarter, Sönke Zaehle, Feng Zhou, Robert B. Jackson, Hermann W. Bange, Sarah Berthet, Zihao Bian, Daniele Bianchi, Alexander F. Bouwman, Erik T. Buitenhuis, Geoffrey Dutton, Minpeng Hu, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Aurich Jeltsch-Thömmes, Fortunat Joos, Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Paul B. Krummel, Xin Lan, Angela Landolfi, Ronny Lauerwald, Ya Li, Chaoqun Lu, Taylor Maavara, Manfredi Manizza, Dylan B. Millet, Jens Mühle, Prabir K. Patra, Glen P. Peters, Xiaoyu Qin, Peter Raymond, Laure Resplandy, Judith A. Rosentreter, Hao Shi, Qing Sun, Daniele Tonina, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Nicolas Vuichard, Junjie Wang, Kelley C. Wells, Luke M. Western, Chris Wilson, Jia Yang, Yuanzhi Yao, Yongfa You, and Qing Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2543–2604, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide, have increased by 25 % since the preindustrial period, with the highest observed growth rate in 2020 and 2021. This rapid growth rate has primarily been due to a 40 % increase in anthropogenic emissions since 1980. Observed atmospheric N2O concentrations in recent years have exceeded the worst-case climate scenario, underscoring the importance of reducing anthropogenic N2O emissions.
Matthew J. McGrath, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Philippe Peylin, Robbie M. Andrew, Bradley Matthews, Frank Dentener, Juraj Balkovič, Vladislav Bastrikov, Meike Becker, Gregoire Broquet, Philippe Ciais, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Raphael Ganzenmüller, Giacomo Grassi, Ian Harris, Matthew Jones, Jürgen Knauer, Matthias Kuhnert, Guillaume Monteil, Saqr Munassar, Paul I. Palmer, Glen P. Peters, Chunjing Qiu, Mart-Jan Schelhaas, Oksana Tarasova, Matteo Vizzarri, Karina Winkler, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Antoine Berchet, Peter Briggs, Patrick Brockmann, Frédéric Chevallier, Giulia Conchedda, Monica Crippa, Stijn N. C. Dellaert, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Sara Filipek, Pierre Friedlingstein, Richard Fuchs, Michael Gauss, Christoph Gerbig, Diego Guizzardi, Dirk Günther, Richard A. Houghton, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Ronny Lauerwald, Bas Lerink, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Géraud Moulas, Marilena Muntean, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Aurélie Paquirissamy, Lucia Perugini, Wouter Peters, Roberto Pilli, Julia Pongratz, Pierre Regnier, Marko Scholze, Yusuf Serengil, Pete Smith, Efisio Solazzo, Rona L. Thompson, Francesco N. Tubiello, Timo Vesala, and Sophia Walther
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4295–4370, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4295-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4295-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate estimation of fluxes of carbon dioxide from the land surface is essential for understanding future impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate system. A wide variety of methods currently exist to estimate these sources and sinks. We are continuing work to develop annual comparisons of these diverse methods in order to clarify what they all actually calculate and to resolve apparent disagreement, in addition to highlighting opportunities for increased understanding.
Hyeri Park, Jooil Kim, Haklim Choi, Sohyeon Geum, Yeaseul Kim, Rona L. Thompson, Jens Mühle, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O'Doherty, Paul J. Fraser, Peter G. Simmonds, Paul B. Krummel, Ray F. Weiss, Ronald G. Prinn, and Sunyoung Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9401–9411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9401-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9401-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Based on atmospheric HFC-23 observations, the first estimate of post-CDM HFC-23 emissions in eastern Asia for 2008–2019 shows that these emissions contribute significantly to the global emissions rise. The observation-derived emissions were much larger than the bottom-up estimates expected to approach zero after 2015 due to national abatement activities. These discrepancies could be attributed to unsuccessful factory-level HFC-23 abatement and inaccurate quantification of emission reductions.
Sophie Wittig, Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Marielle Saunois, Joël Thanwerdas, Adrien Martinez, Jean-Daniel Paris, Toshinobu Machida, Motoki Sasakawa, Douglas E. J. Worthy, Xin Lan, Rona L. Thompson, Espen Sollum, and Mikhail Arshinov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6457–6485, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6457-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6457-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here, an inverse modelling approach is applied to estimate CH4 sources and sinks in the Arctic from 2008 to 2019. We study the magnitude, seasonal patterns and trends from different sources during recent years. We also assess how the current observation network helps to constrain fluxes. We find that constraints are only significant for North America and, to a lesser extent, West Siberia, where the observation network is relatively dense. We find no clear trend over the period of inversion.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Chunjing Qiu, Matthew J. McGrath, Philippe Peylin, Glen P. Peters, Philippe Ciais, Rona L. Thompson, Aki Tsuruta, Dominik Brunner, Matthias Kuhnert, Bradley Matthews, Paul I. Palmer, Oksana Tarasova, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, David Bastviken, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Wilfried Winiwarter, Giuseppe Etiope, Tuula Aalto, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Vladislav Bastrikov, Antoine Berchet, Patrick Brockmann, Giancarlo Ciotoli, Giulia Conchedda, Monica Crippa, Frank Dentener, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Diego Guizzardi, Dirk Günther, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Sander Houweling, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Massaer Kouyate, Adrian Leip, Antti Leppänen, Emanuele Lugato, Manon Maisonnier, Alistair J. Manning, Tiina Markkanen, Joe McNorton, Marilena Muntean, Gabriel D. Oreggioni, Prabir K. Patra, Lucia Perugini, Isabelle Pison, Maarit T. Raivonen, Marielle Saunois, Arjo J. Segers, Pete Smith, Efisio Solazzo, Hanqin Tian, Francesco N. Tubiello, Timo Vesala, Guido R. van der Werf, Chris Wilson, and Sönke Zaehle
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1197–1268, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1197-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study updates the state-of-the-art scientific overview of CH4 and N2O emissions in the EU27 and UK in Petrescu et al. (2021a). Yearly updates are needed to improve the different respective approaches and to inform on the development of formal verification systems. It integrates the most recent emission inventories, process-based model and regional/global inversions, comparing them with UNFCCC national GHG inventories, in support to policy to facilitate real-time verification procedures.
Rona L. Thompson and Ignacio Pisso
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 235–246, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-235-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric networks are used for monitoring air quality and greenhouse gases and can provide essential information about the sources and sinks. The design of the network, specifically where to place the observations, is a critical question in order to maximize the information provided while minimizing the cost. Here, a novel method of designing atmospheric networks is presented with two examples, one on monitoring sources of methane and the second on monitoring fossil fuel emissions of CO2.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 8295–8323, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In light of recent global warming, we aim to improve methods for modeling greenhouse gas emissions in order to support the successful implementation of the Paris Agreement. In this study, we investigate certain aspects of a Bayesian inversion method that uses computer simulations and atmospheric observations to improve estimates of greenhouse gas emissions. We explore method limitations, discuss problems, and suggest improvements.
Zhu Deng, Philippe Ciais, Zitely A. Tzompa-Sosa, Marielle Saunois, Chunjing Qiu, Chang Tan, Taochun Sun, Piyu Ke, Yanan Cui, Katsumasa Tanaka, Xin Lin, Rona L. Thompson, Hanqin Tian, Yuanzhi Yao, Yuanyuan Huang, Ronny Lauerwald, Atul K. Jain, Xiaoming Xu, Ana Bastos, Stephen Sitch, Paul I. Palmer, Thomas Lauvaux, Alexandre d'Aspremont, Clément Giron, Antoine Benoit, Benjamin Poulter, Jinfeng Chang, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Steven J. Davis, Zhu Liu, Giacomo Grassi, Clément Albergel, Francesco N. Tubiello, Lucia Perugini, Wouter Peters, and Frédéric Chevallier
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1639–1675, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1639-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1639-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In support of the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement on climate change, we proposed a method for reconciling the results of global atmospheric inversions with data from UNFCCC national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs). Here, based on a new global harmonized database that we compiled from the UNFCCC NGHGIs and a comprehensive framework presented in this study to process the results of inversions, we compared their results of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Antoine Berchet, Espen Sollum, Rona L. Thompson, Isabelle Pison, Joël Thanwerdas, Grégoire Broquet, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Adrien Berchet, Peter Bergamaschi, Dominik Brunner, Richard Engelen, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Christoph Gerbig, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Sander Houweling, Ute Karstens, Werner L. Kutsch, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Guillaume Monteil, Paul I. Palmer, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Wouter Peters, Philippe Peylin, Elise Potier, Christian Rödenbeck, Marielle Saunois, Marko Scholze, Aki Tsuruta, and Yuanhong Zhao
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5331–5354, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present here the Community Inversion Framework (CIF) to help rationalize development efforts and leverage the strengths of individual inversion systems into a comprehensive framework. The CIF is a programming protocol to allow various inversion bricks to be exchanged among researchers.
The ensemble of bricks makes a flexible, transparent and open-source Python-based tool. We describe the main structure and functionalities and demonstrate it in a simple academic case.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Chunjing Qiu, Philippe Ciais, Rona L. Thompson, Philippe Peylin, Matthew J. McGrath, Efisio Solazzo, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Francesco N. Tubiello, Peter Bergamaschi, Dominik Brunner, Glen P. Peters, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, David Bastviken, Aki Tsuruta, Wilfried Winiwarter, Prabir K. Patra, Matthias Kuhnert, Gabriel D. Oreggioni, Monica Crippa, Marielle Saunois, Lucia Perugini, Tiina Markkanen, Tuula Aalto, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Hanqin Tian, Yuanzhi Yao, Chris Wilson, Giulia Conchedda, Dirk Günther, Adrian Leip, Pete Smith, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Antti Leppänen, Alistair J. Manning, Joe McNorton, Patrick Brockmann, and Albertus Johannes Dolman
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2307–2362, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2307-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2307-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study is topical and provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview of data availability from bottom-up and top-down CH4 and N2O emissions in the EU27 and UK. The data integrate recent emission inventories with process-based model data and regional/global inversions for the European domain, aiming at reconciling them with official country-level UNFCCC national GHG inventories in support to policy and to facilitate real-time verification procedures.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Matthew J. McGrath, Robbie M. Andrew, Philippe Peylin, Glen P. Peters, Philippe Ciais, Gregoire Broquet, Francesco N. Tubiello, Christoph Gerbig, Julia Pongratz, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Giacomo Grassi, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, Matthias Kuhnert, Juraj Balkovič, Mart-Jan Schelhaas, Hugo A. C. Denier van der
Gon, Efisio Solazzo, Chunjing Qiu, Roberto Pilli, Igor B. Konovalov, Richard A. Houghton, Dirk Günther, Lucia Perugini, Monica Crippa, Raphael Ganzenmüller, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Pete Smith, Saqr Munassar, Rona L. Thompson, Giulia Conchedda, Guillaume Monteil, Marko Scholze, Ute Karstens, Patrick Brockmann, and Albertus Johannes Dolman
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2363–2406, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study is topical and provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview of data availability from bottom-up and top-down CO2 fossil emissions and CO2 land fluxes in the EU27+UK. The data integrate recent emission inventories with ecosystem data, land carbon models and regional/global inversions for the European domain, aiming at reconciling CO2 estimates with official country-level UNFCCC national GHG inventories in support to policy and facilitating real-time verification procedures.
Guillaume Monteil, Grégoire Broquet, Marko Scholze, Matthew Lang, Ute Karstens, Christoph Gerbig, Frank-Thomas Koch, Naomi E. Smith, Rona L. Thompson, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Emily White, Antoon Meesters, Philippe Ciais, Anita L. Ganesan, Alistair Manning, Michael Mischurow, Wouter Peters, Philippe Peylin, Jerôme Tarniewicz, Matt Rigby, Christian Rödenbeck, Alex Vermeulen, and Evie M. Walton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12063–12091, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12063-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12063-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents the first results from the EUROCOM project, a regional atmospheric inversion intercomparison exercise involving six European research groups. It aims to produce an estimate of the net carbon flux between the European terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere for the period 2006–2015, based on constraints provided by observed CO2 concentrations and using inverse modelling techniques. The use of six different models enables us to investigate the robustness of the results.
Ignacio Pisso, Espen Sollum, Henrik Grythe, Nina I. Kristiansen, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Delia Arnold, Don Morton, Rona L. Thompson, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Harald Sodemann, Leopold Haimberger, Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, John F. Burkhart, Anne Fouilloux, Jerome Brioude, Anne Philipp, Petra Seibert, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4955–4997, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the latest release of the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART, which simulates the transport, diffusion, dry and wet deposition, radioactive decay, and 1st-order chemical reactions of atmospheric tracers. The model has been recently updated both technically and in the representation of physicochemical processes. We describe the changes, document the most recent input and output files, provide working examples, and introduce testing capabilities.
Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Rona L. Thompson, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Toshinobu Machida, Jean-Daniel Paris, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Colm Sweeney, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 4469–4487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A Lagrangian particle dispersion model is used to simulate global fields of methane, constrained by observations through nudging. We show that this rather simple and computationally inexpensive method can give results similar to or as good as a computationally expensive Eulerian chemistry transport model with a data assimilation scheme. The three-dimensional methane fields are of interest to applications such as inverse modelling and satellite retrievals.
Nikolaos Evangeliou, Rona L. Thompson, Sabine Eckhardt, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15307–15327, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15307-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15307-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present BC inversions at high northern latitudes in 2013–2015. The emissions were high close to the gas flaring regions in Russia and in western Canada. The posterior emissions of BC at latitudes > 50° N were estimated as 560 ± 171 kt yr-1, smaller than in bottom-up inventories. Posterior concentrations over the Arctic compared with independent observations from flight and ship campaigns showed small biases. Seasonal maxima were estimated in summer months due to biomass burning, mainly in Europe.
Nikolaos Evangeliou, Vladimir P. Shevchenko, Karl Espen Yttri, Sabine Eckhardt, Espen Sollum, Oleg S. Pokrovsky, Vasily O. Kobelev, Vladimir B. Korobov, Andrey A. Lobanov, Dina P. Starodymova, Sergey N. Vorobiev, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 963–977, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-963-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-963-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present EC measurements from an uncertain region in terms of emissions (Russia). Its origin is quantified with a Lagrangian model that uses a recently developed feature that allows backward estimation of the specific source locations that contribute to the deposited mass. In NW European Russia transportation and domestic combustion from Finland was important. A systematic underestimation was found in W Siberia at places where gas flaring was important, implying miscalculation or sources.
Dominik Brunner, Tim Arnold, Stephan Henne, Alistair Manning, Rona L. Thompson, Michela Maione, Simon O'Doherty, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10651–10674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and SF6 are industrially produced gases with a large greenhouse-gas warming potential. In this study, we estimated the emissions of HFCs and SF6 over Europe by combining measurements at three background stations with four different model systems. We identified significant differences between our estimates and nationally reported numbers, but also found that the network of only three sites in Europe is insufficient to reliably attribute emissions to individual countries.
Rona L. Thompson, Motoki Sasakawa, Toshinobu Machida, Tuula Aalto, Doug Worthy, Jost V. Lavric, Cathrine Lund Myhre, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3553–3572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3553-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3553-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Methane (CH4) fluxes were estimated for the high northern latitudes for 2005–2013 based on observations of atmospheric CH4 mixing ratios. Methane fluxes were found to be higher than prior estimates in northern Eurasia and Canada, especially in the Western Siberian Lowlands and the Canadian province Alberta. Significant inter-annual variations in the fluxes were found as well as a small positive trend. In Canada, the trend may be related to an increase in soil temperature over the study period.
E. J. Morgan, J. V. Lavrič, T. Seifert, T. Chicoine, A. Day, J. Gomez, R. Logan, J. Sack, T. Shuuya, E. G. Uushona, K. Vincent, U. Schultz, E.-G. Brunke, C. Labuschagne, R. L. Thompson, S. Schmidt, A. C. Manning, and M. Heimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2233–2250, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2233-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2233-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the analytical techniques used in the creation of a new background site for continuous measurements of greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, and atmospheric oxygen in the Namib Desert. The measurement system is semi-automated and optimized for operation in a remote locale. Measurement uncertainties, gas handling, calibration schemes, drift corrections, and instrument performance are discussed.
P. Bergamaschi, M. Corazza, U. Karstens, M. Athanassiadou, R. L. Thompson, I. Pison, A. J. Manning, P. Bousquet, A. Segers, A. T. Vermeulen, G. Janssens-Maenhout, M. Schmidt, M. Ramonet, F. Meinhardt, T. Aalto, L. Haszpra, J. Moncrieff, M. E. Popa, D. Lowry, M. Steinbacher, A. Jordan, S. O'Doherty, S. Piacentino, and E. Dlugokencky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 715–736, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-715-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-715-2015, 2015
X. Fang, R. L. Thompson, T. Saito, Y. Yokouchi, J. Kim, S. Li, K. R. Kim, S. Park, F. Graziosi, and A. Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4779–4791, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4779-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4779-2014, 2014
M. Fiebig, D. Hirdman, C. R. Lunder, J. A. Ogren, S. Solberg, A. Stohl, and R. L. Thompson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3083–3093, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3083-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3083-2014, 2014
R. L. Thompson, F. Chevallier, A. M. Crotwell, G. Dutton, R. L. Langenfelds, R. G. Prinn, R. F. Weiss, Y. Tohjima, T. Nakazawa, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, P. Fraser, S. O'Doherty, K. Ishijima, and S. Aoki
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1801–1817, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1801-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1801-2014, 2014
Marielle Saunois, Adrien Martinez, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Peter A. Raymond, Pierre Regnier, Josep G. Canadell, Robert B. Jackson, Prabir K. Patra, Philippe Bousquet, Philippe Ciais, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Xin Lan, George H. Allen, David Bastviken, David J. Beerling, Dmitry A. Belikov, Donald R. Blake, Simona Castaldi, Monica Crippa, Bridget R. Deemer, Fraser Dennison, Giuseppe Etiope, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Meredith A. Holgerson, Peter O. Hopcroft, Gustaf Hugelius, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Rajesh Janardanan, Matthew S. Johnson, Thomas Kleinen, Paul B. Krummel, Ronny Lauerwald, Tingting Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle C. McDonald, Joe R. Melton, Jens Mühle, Jurek Müller, Fabiola Murguia-Flores, Yosuke Niwa, Sergio Noce, Shufen Pan, Robert J. Parker, Changhui Peng, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Gerard Rocher-Ros, Judith A. Rosentreter, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Steven J. Smith, Emily H. Stanley, Joël Thanwerdas, Hanqin Tian, Aki Tsuruta, Francesco N. Tubiello, Thomas S. Weber, Guido R. van der Werf, Douglas E. J. Worthy, Yi Xi, Yukio Yoshida, Wenxin Zhang, Bo Zheng, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, and Qianlai Zhuang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1873–1958, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1873-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1873-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Methane (CH4) is the second most important human-influenced greenhouse gas in terms of climate forcing after carbon dioxide (CO2). A consortium of multi-disciplinary scientists synthesise and update the budget of the sources and sinks of CH4. This edition benefits from important progress in estimating emissions from lakes and ponds, reservoirs, and streams and rivers. For the 2010s decade, global CH4 emissions are estimated at 575 Tg CH4 yr-1, including ~65 % from anthropogenic sources.
Timur Cinay, Dickon Young, Nazaret Narváez Jimenez, Cristina Vintimilla-Palacios, Ariel Pila Alonso, Paul B. Krummel, William Vizuete, and Andrew R. Babbin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4703–4718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4703-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4703-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present the initial 15 months of nitrous oxide measurements from the Galapagos Emissions Monitoring Station. The observed variability in atmospheric mole fractions during this period can be linked to several factors: seasonal variations in trade wind speed and direction across the eastern Pacific, differences in the transport history of air masses sampled, and spatiotemporal heterogeneity in regional marine nitrous oxide emissions from the coastal upwelling systems of Peru and Chile.
Piers M. Forster, Chris Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Christophe Cassou, Mathias Hauser, Zeke Hausfather, June-Yi Lee, Matthew D. Palmer, Karina von Schuckmann, Aimée B. A. Slangen, Sophie Szopa, Blair Trewin, Jeongeun Yun, Nathan P. Gillett, Stuart Jenkins, H. Damon Matthews, Krishnan Raghavan, Aurélien Ribes, Joeri Rogelj, Debbie Rosen, Xuebin Zhang, Myles Allen, Lara Aleluia Reis, Robbie M. Andrew, Richard A. Betts, Alex Borger, Jiddu A. Broersma, Samantha N. Burgess, Lijing Cheng, Pierre Friedlingstein, Catia M. Domingues, Marco Gambarini, Thomas Gasser, Johannes Gütschow, Masayoshi Ishii, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Paul B. Krummel, Aurélien Liné, Didier P. Monselesan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Jan C. Minx, Matthew Rigby, Robert Rohde, Abhishek Savita, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Peter Thorne, Christopher Wells, Luke M. Western, Guido R. van der Werf, Susan E. Wijffels, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-250, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-250, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. Here we compile monitoring datasets to track real-world changes over time. To make our work relevant to policy makers, we follow methods from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Human activities are increasing the Earth's energy imbalance and driving faster sea-level rise compared to the IPCC assessment.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Rona L. Thompson, Pallav Purohit, Kieran Stanley, Simon O’Doherty, Dickon Young, Joe Pitt, Xin Lan, and Andreas Stohl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1095, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1095, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We determine European emissions of the highly potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride from 2005 to 2021 – focusing on high-emitting countries and the aggregated EU-27 emissions. Emissions declined in most regions, likely due to EU F-gas regulations. However, our results reveal that most studied countries underestimate their emissions in their national reports. Our sensitivity tests highlight the importance of dense observational networks for reliable inversion-based emission estimates.
Zhu Deng, Philippe Ciais, Liting Hu, Adrien Martinez, Marielle Saunois, Rona L. Thompson, Kushal Tibrewal, Wouter Peters, Brendan Byrne, Giacomo Grassi, Paul I. Palmer, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Zhu Liu, Junjie Liu, Xuekun Fang, Tengjiao Wang, Hanqin Tian, Katsumasa Tanaka, Ana Bastos, Stephen Sitch, Benjamin Poulter, Clément Albergel, Aki Tsuruta, Shamil Maksyutov, Rajesh Janardanan, Yosuke Niwa, Bo Zheng, Joël Thanwerdas, Dmitry Belikov, Arjo Segers, and Frédéric Chevallier
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1121–1152, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1121-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1121-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study reconciles national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories with updated atmospheric inversion results to evaluate discrepancies for three principal GHG fluxes at the national level. Compared to our previous study, new satellite-based CO2 inversions were included and an updated mask of managed lands was used, improving agreement for Brazil and Canada. The proposed methodology can be regularly applied as a check to assess the gap between top-down inversions and bottom-up inventories.
Tahereh Alinejadtabrizi, Yi Huang, Francisco Lang, Steven Siems, Michael Manton, Luis Ackermann, Melita Keywood, Ruhi Humphries, Paul Krummel, Alastair Williams, and Greg Ayers
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2631–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2631-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2631-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds over the Southern Ocean are crucial to Earth's energy balance, but understanding the factors that control them is complex. Our research examines how weather patterns affect tiny particles called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which influence cloud properties. Using data from Kennaook / Cape Grim, we found that winter air from Antarctica brings cleaner conditions with lower CCN, while summer patterns from Australia transport more particles. Precipitation also helps reduce CCN in winter.
Rona Louise Thompson, Nalini Krishnankutty, Ignacio Pisso, Philipp Schneider, Kerstin Stebel, Motoki Sasakawa, Andreas Stohl, and Stephen Platt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-147, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-147, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite remote sensing of atmospheric mixing ratios of greenhouse gases (GHGs) can provide information on the emissions of these GHGs. This study presents a novel method to use atmospheric column mixing ratios with a Lagrangian model of atmospheric transport to estimate GHG emissions. This method can reduce model errors resulting from how an observation is represented by an atmospheric model potentially reducing the errors in the GHG emissions derived.
Maitane Iturrate-Garcia, Thérèse Salameh, Paul Schlauri, Annarita Baldan, Martin K. Vollmer, Evdokia Stratigou, Sebastien Dusanter, Jianrong Li, Stefan Persijn, Anja Claude, Rupert Holzinger, Christophe Sutour, Tatiana Macé, Yasin Elshorbany, Andreas Ackermann, Céline Pascale, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 371–403, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-371-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-371-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate and comparable measurements of oxygenated organic compounds (OVOCs) are crucial in assessing tropospheric ozone burdens and trends. However, the monitoring of many OVOCs remains challenging because of their low atmospheric abundance and lack of stable and traceable calibration standards. This paper describes the calibration standards developed for OVOCs at a low amount of substance fractions (<100 nmol mol-1) to transfer traceability of the International System of Units to the field.
Xiansheng Liu, Xun Zhang, Marvin Dufresne, Tao Wang, Lijie Wu, Rosa Lara, Roger Seco, Marta Monge, Ana Maria Yáñez-Serrano, Marie Gohy, Paul Petit, Audrey Chevalier, Marie-Pierre Vagnot, Yann Fortier, Alexia Baudic, Véronique Ghersi, Grégory Gille, Ludovic Lanzi, Valérie Gros, Leïla Simon, Heidi Héllen, Stefan Reimann, Zoé Le Bras, Michelle Jessy Müller, David Beddows, Siqi Hou, Zongbo Shi, Roy M. Harrison, William Bloss, James Dernie, Stéphane Sauvage, Philip K. Hopke, Xiaoli Duan, Taicheng An, Alastair C. Lewis, James R. Hopkins, Eleni Liakakou, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Xiaohu Zhang, Andrés Alastuey, Xavier Querol, and Thérèse Salameh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 625–638, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-625-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-625-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) pollution in urban areas across seven European countries. Analyzing data from 22 monitoring sites, we found traffic and industrial activities significantly impact BTEX levels, with peaks during rush hours. The risk from BTEX exposure remains moderate, especially in high-traffic and industrial zones, highlighting the need for targeted air quality management to protect public health and improve urban air quality.
Dafina Kikaj, Edward Chung, Alan D. Griffiths, Scott D. Chambers, Grant Forster, Angelina Wenger, Penelope Pickers, Chris Rennick, Simon O'Doherty, Joseph Pitt, Kieran Stanley, Dickon Young, Leigh S. Fleming, Karina Adcock, Emmal Safi, and Tim Arnold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 151–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-151-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-151-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a protocol to improve confidence in atmospheric radon measurements, enabling site comparisons and integration with greenhouse gas data. As a natural tracer, radon provides an independent check of transport model performance. This standardized method enhances radon’s use as a metric for model evaluation. Beyond UK observatories, it can support broader networks like ICOS and WMO/GAW, advancing global atmospheric research.
Ryan Hossaini, David Sherry, Zihao Wang, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, David E. Oram, Karina E. Adcock, Stephen A. Montzka, Isobel J. Simpson, Andrea Mazzeo, Amber A. Leeson, Elliot Atlas, and Charles C.-K. Chou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13457–13475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13457-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13457-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
DCE (1,2-dichloroethane) is an industrial chemical used to produce PVC (polyvinyl chloride). We analysed DCE production data to estimate global DCE emissions (2002–2020). The emissions were included in an atmospheric model and evaluated by comparing simulated DCE to DCE measurements in the troposphere. We show that DCE contributes ozone-depleting Cl to the stratosphere and that this has increased with increasing DCE emissions. DCE’s impact on stratospheric O3 is currently small but non-zero.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Saurabh Annadate, Sunyoung Park, Gawon Lee, Pallav Purohit, Florian Lindl, Xin Lan, Jens Mühle, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12465–12493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We constrain the global emissions of the very potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) between 2005 and 2021. We show that SF6 emissions are decreasing in the USA and in the EU, while they are substantially growing in China, leading overall to an increasing global emission trend. The national reports for the USA, EU, and China all underestimated their SF6 emissions. However, stringent mitigation measures can successfully reduce SF6 emissions, as can be seen in the EU emission trend.
Lucie Bakels, Daria Tatsii, Anne Tipka, Rona Thompson, Marina Dütsch, Michael Blaschek, Petra Seibert, Katharina Baier, Silvia Bucci, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Pirmin Kaufmann, Vincent Lechner, Christian Maurer, Marie D. Mulder, Ignacio Pisso, Andreas Plach, Rakesh Subramanian, Martin Vojta, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7595–7627, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7595-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7595-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Computer models are essential for improving our understanding of how gases and particles move in the atmosphere. We present an update of the atmospheric transport model FLEXPART. FLEXPART 11 is more accurate due to a reduced number of interpolations and a new scheme for wet deposition. It can simulate non-spherical aerosols and includes linear chemical reactions. It is parallelised using OpenMP and includes new user options. A new user manual details how to use FLEXPART 11.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Glen P. Peters, Richard Engelen, Sander Houweling, Dominik Brunner, Aki Tsuruta, Bradley Matthews, Prabir K. Patra, Dmitry Belikov, Rona L. Thompson, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Wenxin Zhang, Arjo J. Segers, Giuseppe Etiope, Giancarlo Ciotoli, Philippe Peylin, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Robbie M. Andrew, David Bastviken, Antoine Berchet, Grégoire Broquet, Giulia Conchedda, Stijn N. C. Dellaert, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Johannes Gütschow, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Ronny Lauerwald, Tiina Markkanen, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Isabelle Pison, Pierre Regnier, Espen Solum, Marko Scholze, Maria Tenkanen, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, and John R. Worden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4325–4350, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an overview of data availability from observation- and inventory-based CH4 emission estimates. It systematically compares them and provides recommendations for robust comparisons, aiming to steadily engage more parties in using observational methods to complement their UNFCCC submissions. Anticipating improvements in atmospheric modelling and observations, future developments need to resolve knowledge gaps in both approaches and to better quantify remaining uncertainty.
Gabrielle Pétron, Andrew M. Crotwell, John Mund, Molly Crotwell, Thomas Mefford, Kirk Thoning, Bradley Hall, Duane Kitzis, Monica Madronich, Eric Moglia, Donald Neff, Sonja Wolter, Armin Jordan, Paul Krummel, Ray Langenfelds, and John Patterson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4803–4823, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4803-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4803-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrogen (H2) is a gas in trace amounts in the Earth’s atmosphere with indirect impacts on climate and air quality. Renewed interest in H2 as a low- or zero-carbon source of energy may lead to increased production, uses, and supply chain emissions. NOAA measurements of weekly air samples collected between 2009 and 2021 at over 50 sites in mostly remote locations are now available, and they complement other datasets to study the H2 global budget.
Benjamin Hmiel, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Christo Buizert, Andrew M. Smith, Michael N. Dyonisius, Philip Place, Bin Yang, Quan Hua, Ross Beaudette, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Christina Harth, Ray F. Weiss, Lindsey Davidge, Melisa Diaz, Matthew Pacicco, James A. Menking, Michael Kalk, Xavier Faïn, Alden Adolph, Isaac Vimont, and Lee T. Murray
The Cryosphere, 18, 3363–3382, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3363-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The main aim of this research is to improve understanding of carbon-14 that is produced by cosmic rays in ice sheets. Measurements of carbon-14 in ice cores can provide a range of useful information (age of ice, past atmospheric chemistry, past cosmic ray intensity). Our results show that almost all (>99 %) of carbon-14 that is produced in the upper layer of ice sheets is rapidly lost to the atmosphere. Our results also provide better estimates of carbon-14 production rates in deeper ice.
Yao Ge, Sverre Solberg, Mathew R. Heal, Stefan Reimann, Willem van Caspel, Bryan Hellack, Thérèse Salameh, and David Simpson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7699–7729, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7699-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7699-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) constitute many species, acting as precursors to ozone and aerosol. Given the uncertainties in VOC emissions, lack of evaluation studies, and recent changes in emissions, this work adapts the EMEP MSC-W to evaluate emission inventories in Europe. We focus on the varying agreement between modelled and measured VOCs across different species and underscore potential inaccuracies in total and sector-specific emission estimates.
Haklim Choi, Alison L. Redington, Hyeri Park, Jooil Kim, Rona L. Thompson, Jens Mühle, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Ray F. Weiss, Alistair J. Manning, and Sunyoung Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7309–7330, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7309-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7309-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed with an inversion model the atmospheric abundance of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases, from 2008 to 2020 at Gosan station in South Korea and revealed a significant increase in emissions, especially from eastern China and Japan. This increase contradicts reported data, underscoring the need for accurate monitoring and reporting. Our findings are crucial for understanding and managing global HFCs emissions, highlighting the importance of efforts to reduce HFCs.
Hanqin Tian, Naiqing Pan, Rona L. Thompson, Josep G. Canadell, Parvadha Suntharalingam, Pierre Regnier, Eric A. Davidson, Michael Prather, Philippe Ciais, Marilena Muntean, Shufen Pan, Wilfried Winiwarter, Sönke Zaehle, Feng Zhou, Robert B. Jackson, Hermann W. Bange, Sarah Berthet, Zihao Bian, Daniele Bianchi, Alexander F. Bouwman, Erik T. Buitenhuis, Geoffrey Dutton, Minpeng Hu, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Aurich Jeltsch-Thömmes, Fortunat Joos, Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Paul B. Krummel, Xin Lan, Angela Landolfi, Ronny Lauerwald, Ya Li, Chaoqun Lu, Taylor Maavara, Manfredi Manizza, Dylan B. Millet, Jens Mühle, Prabir K. Patra, Glen P. Peters, Xiaoyu Qin, Peter Raymond, Laure Resplandy, Judith A. Rosentreter, Hao Shi, Qing Sun, Daniele Tonina, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Nicolas Vuichard, Junjie Wang, Kelley C. Wells, Luke M. Western, Chris Wilson, Jia Yang, Yuanzhi Yao, Yongfa You, and Qing Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2543–2604, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide, have increased by 25 % since the preindustrial period, with the highest observed growth rate in 2020 and 2021. This rapid growth rate has primarily been due to a 40 % increase in anthropogenic emissions since 1980. Observed atmospheric N2O concentrations in recent years have exceeded the worst-case climate scenario, underscoring the importance of reducing anthropogenic N2O emissions.
Piers M. Forster, Chris Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Bradley Hall, Mathias Hauser, Aurélien Ribes, Debbie Rosen, Nathan P. Gillett, Matthew D. Palmer, Joeri Rogelj, Karina von Schuckmann, Blair Trewin, Myles Allen, Robbie Andrew, Richard A. Betts, Alex Borger, Tim Boyer, Jiddu A. Broersma, Carlo Buontempo, Samantha Burgess, Chiara Cagnazzo, Lijing Cheng, Pierre Friedlingstein, Andrew Gettelman, Johannes Gütschow, Masayoshi Ishii, Stuart Jenkins, Xin Lan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Paul B. Krummel, Jan C. Minx, Gunnar Myhre, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Sophie Szopa, Peter Thorne, Mahesh V. M. Kovilakam, Elisa Majamäki, Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, Margreet van Marle, Rachel M. Hoesly, Robert Rohde, Dominik Schumacher, Guido van der Werf, Russell Vose, Kirsten Zickfeld, Xuebin Zhang, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2625–2658, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper tracks some key indicators of global warming through time, from 1850 through to the end of 2023. It is designed to give an authoritative estimate of global warming to date and its causes. We find that in 2023, global warming reached 1.3 °C and is increasing at over 0.2 °C per decade. This is caused by all-time-high greenhouse gas emissions.
Jin Ma, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Norbert Glatthor, Stephen A. Montzka, Marc von Hobe, Thomas Röckmann, and Maarten C. Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6047–6070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6047-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The global budget of atmospheric COS can be optimised by inverse modelling using TM5-4DVAR, with the co-constraints of NOAA surface observations and MIPAS satellite data. We found reduced COS biosphere uptake from inversions and improved land and ocean separation using MIPAS satellite data assimilation. Further improvements are expected from better quantification of COS ocean and biosphere fluxes.
Yiming Xu, Qianlai Zhuang, Bailu Zhao, Michael Billmire, Christopher Cook, Jeremy Graham, Nancy French, and Ronald Prinn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1324, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1324, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
We use a process-based model to simulate the fire impacts on soil thermal and hydrological dynamics and carbon budget of forest ecosystems in Northern Eurasia based on satellite-derived burn severity data. We find that fire severity generally increases in this region during the study period. Simulations indicate that fires increase soil temperature and water runoff. Fires lead the forest ecosystems to lose 2.3 Pg C, shifting the forests from a carbon sink to a source in this period.
Felicia Kolonjari, Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, Chris D. Boone, David A. Plummer, Andreas Engel, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Tanja Schuck, Gabriele P. Stiller, and Geoffrey C. Toon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2429–2449, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2429-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Canadian Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) satellite instrument is currently providing the only vertically resolved chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) measurements from space. This study assesses the most current ACE-FTS HCFC-22 data product in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, as well as modelled HCFC-22 from a 39-year run of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM39) in the same region.
Emily Dowd, Alistair J. Manning, Bryn Orth-Lashley, Marianne Girard, James France, Rebecca E. Fisher, Dave Lowry, Mathias Lanoisellé, Joseph R. Pitt, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Glen Thistlethwaite, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Emanuel Gloor, and Chris Wilson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1599–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1599-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We provide the first validation of the satellite-derived emission estimates using surface-based mobile greenhouse gas surveys of an active gas leak detected near Cheltenham, UK. GHGSat’s emission estimates broadly agree with the surface-based mobile survey and steps were taken to fix the leak, highlighting the importance of satellite data in identifying emissions and helping to reduce our human impact on climate change.
Gabrielle B. Dreyfus, Stephen A. Montzka, Stephen O. Andersen, and Richard Ferris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2023–2032, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2023-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2023-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Montreal Protocol has put the ozone layer on a path to recovery by phasing out 99 % of banned ozone-damaging substances. Most of these substances are also potent greenhouse gases. Atmospheric monitoring has detected unexpected increases in emissions in several of these banned substances. Here we present an approach for quantifying damage to ozone, climate and health for these emissions and offset by preventing the equivalent emissions of ozone-damaging substances.
Douglas E. J. Worthy, Michele K. Rauh, Lin Huang, Felix R. Vogel, Alina Chivulescu, Kenneth A. Masarie, Ray L. Langenfelds, Paul B. Krummel, Colin E. Allison, Andrew M. Crotwell, Monica Madronich, Gabrielle Pétron, Ingeborg Levin, Samuel Hammer, Sylvia Michel, Michel Ramonet, Martina Schmidt, Armin Jordan, Heiko Moossen, Michael Rothe, Ralph Keeling, and Eric J. Morgan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5909–5935, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5909-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5909-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Network compatibility is important for inferring greenhouse gas fluxes at global or regional scales. This study is the first assessment of the measurement agreement among seven individual programs within the World Meteorological Organization community. It compares co-located flask air measurements at the Alert Observatory in Canada over a 17-year period. The results provide stronger confidence in the uncertainty estimation while using those datasets in various data interpretation applications.
John D. Patterson, Murat Aydin, Andrew M. Crotwell, Gabrielle Pétron, Jeffery P. Severinghaus, Paul B. Krummel, Ray L. Langenfelds, Vasilii V. Petrenko, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 19, 2535–2550, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2535-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2535-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric levels of molecular hydrogen (H2) can impact climate and air quality. Constraining past changes to atmospheric H2 is useful for understanding how H2 cycles through the Earth system and predicting the impacts of increasing anthropogenic emissions under the
hydrogen economy. Here, we use the aging air found in the polar snowpack to reconstruct H2 levels over the past 100 years. We find that H2 levels increased by 30 % over Greenland and 60 % over Antarctica during the 20th century.
Ioannis Katharopoulos, Dominique Rust, Martin K. Vollmer, Dominik Brunner, Stefan Reimann, Simon J. O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Tanja Schuck, Jgor Arduini, Lukas Emmenegger, and Stephan Henne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14159–14186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The effectiveness of climate change mitigation needs to be scrutinized by monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Countries report their emissions to the UN in a bottom-up manner. By combining atmospheric observations and transport models someone can independently validate emission estimates in a top-down fashion. We report Swiss emissions of synthetic GHGs based on kilometer-scale transport and inverse modeling, highlighting the role of appropriate resolution in complex terrain.
Ghislain Motos, Gabriel Freitas, Paraskevi Georgakaki, Jörg Wieder, Guangyu Li, Wenche Aas, Chris Lunder, Radovan Krejci, Julie Thérèse Pasquier, Jan Henneberger, Robert Oscar David, Christoph Ritter, Claudia Mohr, Paul Zieger, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13941–13956, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13941-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Low-altitude clouds play a key role in regulating the climate of the Arctic, a region that suffers from climate change more than any other on the planet. We gathered meteorological and aerosol physical and chemical data over a year and utilized them for a parameterization that help us unravel the factors driving and limiting the efficiency of cloud droplet formation. We then linked this information to the sources of aerosol found during each season and to processes of cloud glaciation.
Matthew J. McGrath, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Philippe Peylin, Robbie M. Andrew, Bradley Matthews, Frank Dentener, Juraj Balkovič, Vladislav Bastrikov, Meike Becker, Gregoire Broquet, Philippe Ciais, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Raphael Ganzenmüller, Giacomo Grassi, Ian Harris, Matthew Jones, Jürgen Knauer, Matthias Kuhnert, Guillaume Monteil, Saqr Munassar, Paul I. Palmer, Glen P. Peters, Chunjing Qiu, Mart-Jan Schelhaas, Oksana Tarasova, Matteo Vizzarri, Karina Winkler, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Antoine Berchet, Peter Briggs, Patrick Brockmann, Frédéric Chevallier, Giulia Conchedda, Monica Crippa, Stijn N. C. Dellaert, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Sara Filipek, Pierre Friedlingstein, Richard Fuchs, Michael Gauss, Christoph Gerbig, Diego Guizzardi, Dirk Günther, Richard A. Houghton, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Ronny Lauerwald, Bas Lerink, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Géraud Moulas, Marilena Muntean, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Aurélie Paquirissamy, Lucia Perugini, Wouter Peters, Roberto Pilli, Julia Pongratz, Pierre Regnier, Marko Scholze, Yusuf Serengil, Pete Smith, Efisio Solazzo, Rona L. Thompson, Francesco N. Tubiello, Timo Vesala, and Sophia Walther
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4295–4370, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4295-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4295-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate estimation of fluxes of carbon dioxide from the land surface is essential for understanding future impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate system. A wide variety of methods currently exist to estimate these sources and sinks. We are continuing work to develop annual comparisons of these diverse methods in order to clarify what they all actually calculate and to resolve apparent disagreement, in addition to highlighting opportunities for increased understanding.
Hyeri Park, Jooil Kim, Haklim Choi, Sohyeon Geum, Yeaseul Kim, Rona L. Thompson, Jens Mühle, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O'Doherty, Paul J. Fraser, Peter G. Simmonds, Paul B. Krummel, Ray F. Weiss, Ronald G. Prinn, and Sunyoung Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9401–9411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9401-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9401-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Based on atmospheric HFC-23 observations, the first estimate of post-CDM HFC-23 emissions in eastern Asia for 2008–2019 shows that these emissions contribute significantly to the global emissions rise. The observation-derived emissions were much larger than the bottom-up estimates expected to approach zero after 2015 due to national abatement activities. These discrepancies could be attributed to unsuccessful factory-level HFC-23 abatement and inaccurate quantification of emission reductions.
Alison L. Redington, Alistair J. Manning, Stephan Henne, Francesco Graziosi, Luke M. Western, Jgor Arduini, Anita L. Ganesan, Christina M. Harth, Michela Maione, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Joseph Pitt, Stefan Reimann, Matthew Rigby, Peter K. Salameh, Peter G. Simmonds, T. Gerard Spain, Kieran Stanley, Martin K. Vollmer, Ray F. Weiss, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7383–7398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7383-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7383-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in Europe pre-1990, damaging the stratospheric ozone layer. Legislation has controlled production and use, and global emissions have decreased sharply. The global rate of decline in CFC-11 recently slowed and was partly attributed to illegal emission in eastern China. This study concludes that emissions of CFC-11 in western Europe have not contributed to the unexplained part of the global increase in CFC-11 observed in the last decade.
Sophie Wittig, Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Marielle Saunois, Joël Thanwerdas, Adrien Martinez, Jean-Daniel Paris, Toshinobu Machida, Motoki Sasakawa, Douglas E. J. Worthy, Xin Lan, Rona L. Thompson, Espen Sollum, and Mikhail Arshinov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6457–6485, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6457-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6457-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here, an inverse modelling approach is applied to estimate CH4 sources and sinks in the Arctic from 2008 to 2019. We study the magnitude, seasonal patterns and trends from different sources during recent years. We also assess how the current observation network helps to constrain fluxes. We find that constraints are only significant for North America and, to a lesser extent, West Siberia, where the observation network is relatively dense. We find no clear trend over the period of inversion.
Elena Fillola, Raul Santos-Rodriguez, Alistair Manning, Simon O'Doherty, and Matt Rigby
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 1997–2009, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1997-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1997-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Lagrangian particle dispersion models are used extensively for the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes using atmospheric observations. However, these models do not scale well as data volumes increase. Here, we develop a proof-of-concept machine learning emulator that can produce outputs similar to those of the dispersion model, but 50 000 times faster, using only meteorological inputs. This works demonstrates the potential of machine learning to accelerate GHG estimations across the globe.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Chunjing Qiu, Matthew J. McGrath, Philippe Peylin, Glen P. Peters, Philippe Ciais, Rona L. Thompson, Aki Tsuruta, Dominik Brunner, Matthias Kuhnert, Bradley Matthews, Paul I. Palmer, Oksana Tarasova, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, David Bastviken, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Wilfried Winiwarter, Giuseppe Etiope, Tuula Aalto, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Vladislav Bastrikov, Antoine Berchet, Patrick Brockmann, Giancarlo Ciotoli, Giulia Conchedda, Monica Crippa, Frank Dentener, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Diego Guizzardi, Dirk Günther, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Sander Houweling, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Massaer Kouyate, Adrian Leip, Antti Leppänen, Emanuele Lugato, Manon Maisonnier, Alistair J. Manning, Tiina Markkanen, Joe McNorton, Marilena Muntean, Gabriel D. Oreggioni, Prabir K. Patra, Lucia Perugini, Isabelle Pison, Maarit T. Raivonen, Marielle Saunois, Arjo J. Segers, Pete Smith, Efisio Solazzo, Hanqin Tian, Francesco N. Tubiello, Timo Vesala, Guido R. van der Werf, Chris Wilson, and Sönke Zaehle
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1197–1268, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1197-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study updates the state-of-the-art scientific overview of CH4 and N2O emissions in the EU27 and UK in Petrescu et al. (2021a). Yearly updates are needed to improve the different respective approaches and to inform on the development of formal verification systems. It integrates the most recent emission inventories, process-based model and regional/global inversions, comparing them with UNFCCC national GHG inventories, in support to policy to facilitate real-time verification procedures.
Michael N. Dyonisius, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Andrew M. Smith, Benjamin Hmiel, Peter D. Neff, Bin Yang, Quan Hua, Jochen Schmitt, Sarah A. Shackleton, Christo Buizert, Philip F. Place, James A. Menking, Ross Beaudette, Christina Harth, Michael Kalk, Heidi A. Roop, Bernhard Bereiter, Casey Armanetti, Isaac Vimont, Sylvia Englund Michel, Edward J. Brook, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Ray F. Weiss, and Joseph R. McConnell
The Cryosphere, 17, 843–863, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-843-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-843-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmic rays that enter the atmosphere produce secondary particles which react with surface minerals to produce radioactive nuclides. These nuclides are often used to constrain Earth's surface processes. However, the production rates from muons are not well constrained. We measured 14C in ice with a well-known exposure history to constrain the production rates from muons. 14C production in ice is analogous to quartz, but we obtain different production rates compared to commonly used estimates.
Lei Hu, Deborah Ottinger, Stephanie Bogle, Stephen A. Montzka, Philip L. DeCola, Ed Dlugokencky, Arlyn Andrews, Kirk Thoning, Colm Sweeney, Geoff Dutton, Lauren Aepli, and Andrew Crotwell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1437–1448, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1437-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1437-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Effective mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relies on an accurate understanding of emissions. Here we demonstrate the added value of using inventory- and atmosphere-based approaches for estimating US emissions of SF6, the most potent GHG known. The results suggest a large decline in US SF6 emissions, shed light on the possible processes causing the differences between the independent estimates, and identify opportunities for substantial additional emission reductions.
Rona L. Thompson and Ignacio Pisso
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 235–246, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-235-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric networks are used for monitoring air quality and greenhouse gases and can provide essential information about the sources and sinks. The design of the network, specifically where to place the observations, is a critical question in order to maximize the information provided while minimizing the cost. Here, a novel method of designing atmospheric networks is presented with two examples, one on monitoring sources of methane and the second on monitoring fossil fuel emissions of CO2.
Sourish Basu, Xin Lan, Edward Dlugokencky, Sylvia Michel, Stefan Schwietzke, John B. Miller, Lori Bruhwiler, Youmi Oh, Pieter P. Tans, Francesco Apadula, Luciana V. Gatti, Armin Jordan, Jaroslaw Necki, Motoki Sasakawa, Shinji Morimoto, Tatiana Di Iorio, Haeyoung Lee, Jgor Arduini, and Giovanni Manca
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15351–15377, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric methane (CH4) has been growing steadily since 2007 for reasons that are not well understood. Here we determine sources of methane using a technique informed by atmospheric measurements of CH4 and its isotopologue 13CH4. Measurements of 13CH4 provide for better separation of microbial, fossil, and fire sources of methane than CH4 measurements alone. Compared to previous assessments such as the Global Carbon Project, we find a larger microbial contribution to the post-2007 increase.
Markus Jesswein, Rafael P. Fernandez, Lucas Berná, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Ryan Hossaini, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Elliot L. Atlas, Donald R. Blake, Stephen Montzka, Timo Keber, Tanja Schuck, Thomas Wagenhäuser, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15049–15070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15049-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the global and seasonal distribution of the two major brominated short-lived substances CH2Br2 and CHBr3 in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere based on observations from several aircraft campaigns. They show similar seasonality for both hemispheres, except in the respective hemispheric autumn lower stratosphere. A comparison with the TOMCAT and CAM-Chem models shows good agreement in the annual mean but larger differences in the seasonal consideration.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 8295–8323, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In light of recent global warming, we aim to improve methods for modeling greenhouse gas emissions in order to support the successful implementation of the Paris Agreement. In this study, we investigate certain aspects of a Bayesian inversion method that uses computer simulations and atmospheric observations to improve estimates of greenhouse gas emissions. We explore method limitations, discuss problems, and suggest improvements.
Peter Bergamaschi, Arjo Segers, Dominik Brunner, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Michel Ramonet, Tim Arnold, Tobias Biermann, Huilin Chen, Sebastien Conil, Marc Delmotte, Grant Forster, Arnoud Frumau, Dagmar Kubistin, Xin Lan, Markus Leuenberger, Matthias Lindauer, Morgan Lopez, Giovanni Manca, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Simon O'Doherty, Bert Scheeren, Martin Steinbacher, Pamela Trisolino, Gabriela Vítková, and Camille Yver Kwok
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13243–13268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a novel high-resolution inverse modelling system, "FLEXVAR", and its application for the inverse modelling of European CH4 emissions in 2018. The new system combines a high spatial resolution of 7 km x 7 km with a variational data assimilation technique, which allows CH4 emissions to be optimized from individual model grid cells. The high resolution allows the observations to be better reproduced, while the derived emissions show overall good consistency with two existing models.
Angharad C. Stell, Michael Bertolacci, Andrew Zammit-Mangion, Matthew Rigby, Paul J. Fraser, Christina M. Harth, Paul B. Krummel, Xin Lan, Manfredi Manizza, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Dickon Young, and Anita L. Ganesan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12945–12960, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12945-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12945-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance, whose atmospheric abundance has risen throughout the contemporary record. In this work, we carry out the first global hierarchical Bayesian inversion to solve for nitrous oxide emissions. We derive increasing global nitrous oxide emissions over 2011–2020, which are mainly driven by emissions between 0° and 30°N, with the highest emissions recorded in 2020.
Maria Paula Pérez-Peña, Jenny A. Fisher, Dylan B. Millet, Hisashi Yashiro, Ray L. Langenfelds, Paul B. Krummel, and Scott H. Kable
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12367–12386, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12367-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12367-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We used two atmospheric models to test the implications of previously unexplored aldehyde photochemistry on the atmospheric levels of molecular hydrogen (H2). We showed that the new photochemistry from aldehydes produces more H2 over densely forested areas. Compared to the rest of the world, it is over these forested regions where the produced H2 is more likely to be removed. The results highlight that other processes that contribute to atmospheric H2 levels should be studied further.
Megan Jeramaz Lickley, John S. Daniel, Eric L. Fleming, Stefan Reimann, and Susan Solomon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11125–11136, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11125-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Halocarbons contained in equipment continue to be emitted after production has ceased. These
banksmust be carefully accounted for in evaluating compliance with the Montreal Protocol. We extend a Bayesian model to the suite of regulated chemicals subject to banking. We find that banks are substantially larger than previous estimates, and we identify banks by chemical and equipment type whose future emissions will contribute to global warming and delay ozone-hole recovery if left unrecovered.
Luke M. Western, Alison L. Redington, Alistair J. Manning, Cathy M. Trudinger, Lei Hu, Stephan Henne, Xuekun Fang, Lambert J. M. Kuijpers, Christina Theodoridi, David S. Godwin, Jgor Arduini, Bronwyn Dunse, Andreas Engel, Paul J. Fraser, Christina M. Harth, Paul B. Krummel, Michela Maione, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Hyeri Park, Sunyoung Park, Stefan Reimann, Peter K. Salameh, Daniel Say, Roland Schmidt, Tanja Schuck, Carolina Siso, Kieran M. Stanley, Isaac Vimont, Martin K. Vollmer, Dickon Young, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Stephen A. Montzka, and Matthew Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9601–9616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9601-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9601-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The production of ozone-destroying gases is being phased out. Even though production of one of the main ozone-depleting gases, called HCFC-141b, has been declining for many years, the amount that is being released to the atmosphere has been increasing since 2017. We do not know for sure why this is. A possible explanation is that HCFC-141b that was used to make insulating foams many years ago is only now escaping to the atmosphere, or a large part of its production is not being reported.
Guus J. M. Velders, John S. Daniel, Stephen A. Montzka, Isaac Vimont, Matthew Rigby, Paul B. Krummel, Jens Muhle, Simon O'Doherty, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6087–6101, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6087-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6087-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have increased significantly in the past as a result of the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances. Observations indicate that HFCs are used much less in certain refrigeration applications than previously projected. Current policies are projected to reduce emissions and the surface temperature contribution of HFCs from 0.28–0.44 °C to 0.14–0.31 °C in 2100. The Kigali Amendment is projected to reduce the contributions further to 0.04 °C in 2100.
Haklim Choi, Mi-Kyung Park, Paul J. Fraser, Hyeri Park, Sohyeon Geum, Jens Mühle, Jooil Kim, Ian Porter, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Bronwyn L. Dunse, Paul B. Krummel, Ray F. Weiss, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, and Sunyoung Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5157–5173, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5157-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5157-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We observed 12-year continuous CH3Br pollution signals at Gosan and estimated anthropogenic CH3Br emissions in eastern China. The analysis revealed a significant discrepancy between top-down estimates and the bottom-up emissions from the fumigation usage reported to the United Nations Environment Programme, likely due to unreported or inaccurately reported fumigation usage. This result provides information to monitor international compliance with the Montreal Protocol.
Zhu Deng, Philippe Ciais, Zitely A. Tzompa-Sosa, Marielle Saunois, Chunjing Qiu, Chang Tan, Taochun Sun, Piyu Ke, Yanan Cui, Katsumasa Tanaka, Xin Lin, Rona L. Thompson, Hanqin Tian, Yuanzhi Yao, Yuanyuan Huang, Ronny Lauerwald, Atul K. Jain, Xiaoming Xu, Ana Bastos, Stephen Sitch, Paul I. Palmer, Thomas Lauvaux, Alexandre d'Aspremont, Clément Giron, Antoine Benoit, Benjamin Poulter, Jinfeng Chang, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Steven J. Davis, Zhu Liu, Giacomo Grassi, Clément Albergel, Francesco N. Tubiello, Lucia Perugini, Wouter Peters, and Frédéric Chevallier
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1639–1675, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1639-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1639-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In support of the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement on climate change, we proposed a method for reconciling the results of global atmospheric inversions with data from UNFCCC national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs). Here, based on a new global harmonized database that we compiled from the UNFCCC NGHGIs and a comprehensive framework presented in this study to process the results of inversions, we compared their results of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Alice E. Ramsden, Anita L. Ganesan, Luke M. Western, Matthew Rigby, Alistair J. Manning, Amy Foulds, James L. France, Patrick Barker, Peter Levy, Daniel Say, Adam Wisher, Tim Arnold, Chris Rennick, Kieran M. Stanley, Dickon Young, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3911–3929, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3911-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3911-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Quantifying methane emissions from different sources is a key focus of current research. We present a method for estimating sectoral methane emissions that uses ethane as a tracer for fossil fuel methane. By incorporating variable ethane : methane emission ratios into this model, we produce emissions estimates with improved uncertainty characterisation. This method will be particularly useful for studying methane emissions in areas with complex distributions of sources.
Peter Sperlich, Gordon W. Brailsford, Rowena C. Moss, John McGregor, Ross J. Martin, Sylvia Nichol, Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, Beata Bukosa, Magda Mandic, C. Ian Schipper, Paul Krummel, and Alan D. Griffiths
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1631–1656, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1631-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We tested an in situ analyser for carbon and oxygen isotopes in atmospheric CO2 at Baring Head, New Zealand’s observatory for Southern Ocean baseline air. The analyser was able to resolve regional signals of the terrestrial carbon cycle, although the analysis of small events was limited by analytical uncertainty. Further improvement of the instrument performance would be desirable for the robust analysis of distant signals and to resolve the small variability in Southern Ocean baseline air.
Stephen M. Platt, Øystein Hov, Torunn Berg, Knut Breivik, Sabine Eckhardt, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Markus Fiebig, Rebecca Fisher, Georg Hansen, Hans-Christen Hansson, Jost Heintzenberg, Ove Hermansen, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Kim Holmén, Stephen Hudson, Roland Kallenborn, Radovan Krejci, Terje Krognes, Steinar Larssen, David Lowry, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Chris Lunder, Euan Nisbet, Pernilla B. Nizzetto, Ki-Tae Park, Christina A. Pedersen, Katrine Aspmo Pfaffhuber, Thomas Röckmann, Norbert Schmidbauer, Sverre Solberg, Andreas Stohl, Johan Ström, Tove Svendby, Peter Tunved, Kjersti Tørnkvist, Carina van der Veen, Stergios Vratolis, Young Jun Yoon, Karl Espen Yttri, Paul Zieger, Wenche Aas, and Kjetil Tørseth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3321–3369, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3321-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3321-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Here we detail the history of the Zeppelin Observatory, a unique global background site and one of only a few in the high Arctic. We present long-term time series of up to 30 years of atmospheric components and atmospheric transport phenomena. Many of these time series are important to our understanding of Arctic and global atmospheric composition change. Finally, we discuss the future of the Zeppelin Observatory and emerging areas of future research on the Arctic atmosphere.
Jens Mühle, Lambert J. M. Kuijpers, Kieran M. Stanley, Matthew Rigby, Luke M. Western, Jooil Kim, Sunyoung Park, Christina M. Harth, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Simon O'Doherty, Peter K. Salameh, Roland Schmidt, Dickon Young, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray H. J. Wang, and Ray F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3371–3378, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3371-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3371-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Emissions of the strong greenhouse gas perfluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8) into the atmosphere have been increasing sharply since the early 2000s. These c-C4F8 emissions are highly correlated with the amount of hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 produced to synthesize polytetrafluoroethylene (known for its non-stick properties) and related chemicals. From this process, c-C4F8 by-product is vented to the atmosphere. Avoiding these unnecessary c-C4F8 emissions could reduce the climate impact of this industry.
Lei Hu, Stephen A. Montzka, Fred Moore, Eric Hintsa, Geoff Dutton, M. Carolina Siso, Kirk Thoning, Robert W. Portmann, Kathryn McKain, Colm Sweeney, Isaac Vimont, David Nance, Bradley Hall, and Steven Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2891–2907, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2891-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2891-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The unexpected increase in CFC-11 emissions between 2012 and 2017 resulted in concerns about delaying the stratospheric ozone recovery. Although the subsequent decline of CFC-11 emissions indicated a mitigation in part to this problem, the regions fully responsible for these large emission changes were unclear. Here, our new estimate, based on atmospheric measurements from two global campaigns and from NOAA, suggests Asia primarily contributed to the global CFC-11 emission rise during 2012–2017.
Dominique Rust, Ioannis Katharopoulos, Martin K. Vollmer, Stephan Henne, Simon O'Doherty, Daniel Say, Lukas Emmenegger, Renato Zenobi, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2447–2466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Artificial halocarbons contribute to ozone layer depletion and to global warming. We measured the atmospheric concentrations of halocarbons at the Beromünster tower, modelled the Swiss emissions, and compared the results to the internationally reported Swiss emissions inventory. For most of the halocarbons, we found good agreement, whereas one refrigerant might be overestimated in the inventory. In addition, we present first emission estimates of the newest types of halocarbons.
Mark F. Lunt, Alistair J. Manning, Grant Allen, Tim Arnold, Stéphane J.-B. Bauguitte, Hartmut Boesch, Anita L. Ganesan, Aoife Grant, Carole Helfter, Eiko Nemitz, Simon J. O'Doherty, Paul I. Palmer, Joseph R. Pitt, Chris Rennick, Daniel Say, Kieran M. Stanley, Ann R. Stavert, Dickon Young, and Matt Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16257–16276, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16257-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16257-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present an evaluation of the UK's methane emissions between 2013 and 2020 using a network of tall tower measurement sites. We find emissions that are consistent in both magnitude and trend with the UK's reported emissions, with a declining trend driven by a decrease in emissions from England. The impact of various components of the modelling set-up on these findings are explored through a number of sensitivity studies.
Eric J. Hintsa, Fred L. Moore, Dale F. Hurst, Geoff S. Dutton, Bradley D. Hall, J. David Nance, Ben R. Miller, Stephen A. Montzka, Laura P. Wolton, Audra McClure-Begley, James W. Elkins, Emrys G. Hall, Allen F. Jordan, Andrew W. Rollins, Troy D. Thornberry, Laurel A. Watts, Chelsea R. Thompson, Jeff Peischl, Ilann Bourgeois, Thomas B. Ryerson, Bruce C. Daube, Yenny Gonzalez Ramos, Roisin Commane, Gregory W. Santoni, Jasna V. Pittman, Steven C. Wofsy, Eric Kort, Glenn S. Diskin, and T. Paul Bui
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6795–6819, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We built UCATS to study atmospheric chemistry and transport. It has measured trace gases including CFCs, N2O, SF6, CH4, CO, and H2 with gas chromatography, as well as ozone and water vapor. UCATS has been part of missions to study the tropical tropopause; transport of air into the stratosphere; greenhouse gases, transport, and chemistry in the troposphere; and ozone chemistry, on both piloted and unmanned aircraft. Its design, capabilities, and some results are shown and described here.
Hélène Angot, Connor Davel, Christine Wiedinmyer, Gabrielle Pétron, Jashan Chopra, Jacques Hueber, Brendan Blanchard, Ilann Bourgeois, Isaac Vimont, Stephen A. Montzka, Ben R. Miller, James W. Elkins, and Detlev Helmig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15153–15170, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
After a multidecadal global decline in atmospheric abundance of ethane and propane (precursors of tropospheric ozone and aerosols), previous work showed a reversal of this trend in 2009–2015 in the Northern Hemisphere due to the growth in oil and natural gas production in North America. Here we show a temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 and highlight the critical need for additional top-down studies to further constrain ethane and propane emissions.
Masanori Takeda, Hideaki Nakajima, Isao Murata, Tomoo Nagahama, Isamu Morino, Geoffrey C. Toon, Ray F. Weiss, Jens Mühle, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, and Hsiang-Jui Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5955–5976, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5955-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5955-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the first observations of atmospheric HFC-23 abundances with a ground-based remote sensing technique. The increasing trend of the HFC-23 abundances analyzed by this study agrees with that derived from other existing in situ measurements. This study indicates that ground-based FTIR observation has the capability to monitor the trend of atmospheric HFC-23 and could allow for monitoring the distribution of global atmospheric HFC-23 abundances in more detail.
Alistair J. Manning, Alison L. Redington, Daniel Say, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Peter G. Simmonds, Martin K. Vollmer, Jens Mühle, Jgor Arduini, Gerard Spain, Adam Wisher, Michela Maione, Tanja J. Schuck, Kieran Stanley, Stefan Reimann, Andreas Engel, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Christina M. Harth, Peter K. Salameh, Ray F. Weiss, Ray Gluckman, Peter N. Brown, John D. Watterson, and Tim Arnold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12739–12755, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12739-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper estimates UK emissions of important greenhouse gases (hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)) using high-quality atmospheric observations and atmospheric modelling. We compare these estimates with those submitted by the UK to the United Nations. We conclude that global concentrations of these gases are still increasing. Our estimates for the UK are 73 % of those reported and that the UK emissions are now falling, demonstrating an impact of UK government policy.
Antoine Berchet, Espen Sollum, Rona L. Thompson, Isabelle Pison, Joël Thanwerdas, Grégoire Broquet, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Adrien Berchet, Peter Bergamaschi, Dominik Brunner, Richard Engelen, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Christoph Gerbig, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Sander Houweling, Ute Karstens, Werner L. Kutsch, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Guillaume Monteil, Paul I. Palmer, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Wouter Peters, Philippe Peylin, Elise Potier, Christian Rödenbeck, Marielle Saunois, Marko Scholze, Aki Tsuruta, and Yuanhong Zhao
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5331–5354, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present here the Community Inversion Framework (CIF) to help rationalize development efforts and leverage the strengths of individual inversion systems into a comprehensive framework. The CIF is a programming protocol to allow various inversion bricks to be exchanged among researchers.
The ensemble of bricks makes a flexible, transparent and open-source Python-based tool. We describe the main structure and functionalities and demonstrate it in a simple academic case.
Ruth E. Hill-Pearce, Aimee Hillier, Eric Mussell Webber, Kanokrat Charoenpornpukdee, Simon O'Doherty, Joachim Mohn, Christoph Zellweger, David R. Worton, and Paul J. Brewer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5447–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5447-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5447-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
There is currently a need for gas reference materials with well-characterised delta values for monitoring N2O amount fractions. We present work towards the preparation of gas reference materials for calibration of in-field monitoring equipment, which target the WMO-GAW data quality objectives for comparability of amount fraction and demonstrate the stability of δ15Nα, δ15Nβ and δ18O values with pressure and effects of cylinder passivation.
Yenny Gonzalez, Róisín Commane, Ethan Manninen, Bruce C. Daube, Luke D. Schiferl, J. Barry McManus, Kathryn McKain, Eric J. Hintsa, James W. Elkins, Stephen A. Montzka, Colm Sweeney, Fred Moore, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano Jost, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Eric Ray, Paul O. Wennberg, John Crounse, Michelle Kim, Hannah M. Allen, Paul A. Newman, Britton B. Stephens, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Benjamin A. Nault, Eric Morgan, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11113–11132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11113-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11113-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical profiles of N2O and a variety of chemical species and aerosols were collected nearly from pole to pole over the oceans during the NASA Atmospheric Tomography mission. We observed that tropospheric N2O variability is strongly driven by the influence of stratospheric air depleted in N2O, especially at middle and high latitudes. We also traced the origins of biomass burning and industrial emissions and investigated their impact on the variability of tropospheric N2O.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Chunjing Qiu, Philippe Ciais, Rona L. Thompson, Philippe Peylin, Matthew J. McGrath, Efisio Solazzo, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Francesco N. Tubiello, Peter Bergamaschi, Dominik Brunner, Glen P. Peters, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, David Bastviken, Aki Tsuruta, Wilfried Winiwarter, Prabir K. Patra, Matthias Kuhnert, Gabriel D. Oreggioni, Monica Crippa, Marielle Saunois, Lucia Perugini, Tiina Markkanen, Tuula Aalto, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Hanqin Tian, Yuanzhi Yao, Chris Wilson, Giulia Conchedda, Dirk Günther, Adrian Leip, Pete Smith, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Antti Leppänen, Alistair J. Manning, Joe McNorton, Patrick Brockmann, and Albertus Johannes Dolman
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2307–2362, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2307-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2307-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study is topical and provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview of data availability from bottom-up and top-down CH4 and N2O emissions in the EU27 and UK. The data integrate recent emission inventories with process-based model data and regional/global inversions for the European domain, aiming at reconciling them with official country-level UNFCCC national GHG inventories in support to policy and to facilitate real-time verification procedures.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Matthew J. McGrath, Robbie M. Andrew, Philippe Peylin, Glen P. Peters, Philippe Ciais, Gregoire Broquet, Francesco N. Tubiello, Christoph Gerbig, Julia Pongratz, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Giacomo Grassi, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Pierre Regnier, Ronny Lauerwald, Matthias Kuhnert, Juraj Balkovič, Mart-Jan Schelhaas, Hugo A. C. Denier van der
Gon, Efisio Solazzo, Chunjing Qiu, Roberto Pilli, Igor B. Konovalov, Richard A. Houghton, Dirk Günther, Lucia Perugini, Monica Crippa, Raphael Ganzenmüller, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Pete Smith, Saqr Munassar, Rona L. Thompson, Giulia Conchedda, Guillaume Monteil, Marko Scholze, Ute Karstens, Patrick Brockmann, and Albertus Johannes Dolman
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2363–2406, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study is topical and provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview of data availability from bottom-up and top-down CO2 fossil emissions and CO2 land fluxes in the EU27+UK. The data integrate recent emission inventories with ecosystem data, land carbon models and regional/global inversions for the European domain, aiming at reconciling CO2 estimates with official country-level UNFCCC national GHG inventories in support to policy and facilitating real-time verification procedures.
Fabienne Maignan, Camille Abadie, Marine Remaud, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Kukka-Maaria Kohonen, Róisín Commane, Richard Wehr, J. Elliott Campbell, Sauveur Belviso, Stephen A. Montzka, Nina Raoult, Ulli Seibt, Yoichi P. Shiga, Nicolas Vuichard, Mary E. Whelan, and Philippe Peylin
Biogeosciences, 18, 2917–2955, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2917-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The assimilation of carbonyl sulfide (COS) by continental vegetation has been proposed as a proxy for gross primary production (GPP). Using a land surface and a transport model, we compare a mechanistic representation of the plant COS uptake (Berry et al., 2013) to the classical leaf relative uptake (LRU) approach linking GPP and vegetation COS fluxes. We show that at high temporal resolutions a mechanistic approach is mandatory, but at large scales the LRU approach compares similarly.
Michaela I. Hegglin, Susann Tegtmeier, John Anderson, Adam E. Bourassa, Samuel Brohede, Doug Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, Bernd Funke, John Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Erkki T. Kyrölä, Jerry Lumpe, Donal Murtagh, Jessica L. Neu, Kristell Pérot, Ellis E. Remsberg, Alexei Rozanov, Matthew Toohey, Joachim Urban, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, Hsiang-Jui Wang, Carlo Arosio, Robert Damadeo, Ryan A. Fuller, Gretchen Lingenfelser, Christopher McLinden, Diane Pendlebury, Chris Roth, Niall J. Ryan, Christopher Sioris, Lesley Smith, and Katja Weigel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1855–1903, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
An overview of the SPARC Data Initiative is presented, to date the most comprehensive assessment of stratospheric composition measurements spanning 1979–2018. Measurements of 26 chemical constituents obtained from an international suite of space-based limb sounders were compiled into vertically resolved, zonal monthly mean time series. The quality and consistency of these gridded datasets are then evaluated using a climatological validation approach and a range of diagnostics.
Stijn Naus, Stephen A. Montzka, Prabir K. Patra, and Maarten C. Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4809–4824, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4809-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4809-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Following up on previous box model studies, we employ a 3D transport model to estimate variations in the hydroxyl radical (OH) from observations of methyl chloroform (MCF). We derive small interannual OH variations that are consistent with variations in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. We also find evidence for the release of MCF from oceans in atmospheric gradients of MCF. Both findings highlight the added value of a 3D transport model since box model studies did not identify these effects.
Jin Ma, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Ara Cho, Stephen A. Montzka, Norbert Glatthor, John R. Worden, Le Kuai, Elliot L. Atlas, and Maarten C. Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3507–3529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3507-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Carbonyl sulfide is an important trace gas in the atmosphere and useful to estimating gross primary productivity in ecosystems, but its sources and sinks remain highly uncertain. Therefore, we applied inverse model system TM5-4DVAR to better constrain the global budget. Our finding is in line with earlier studies, pointing to missing sources in the tropics and more uptake in high latitudes. We also stress the necessity of more ground-based observations and satellite data assimilation in future.
Daniel Say, Alistair J. Manning, Luke M. Western, Dickon Young, Adam Wisher, Matthew Rigby, Stefan Reimann, Martin K. Vollmer, Michela Maione, Jgor Arduini, Paul B. Krummel, Jens Mühle, Christina M. Harth, Brendan Evans, Ray F. Weiss, Ronald G. Prinn, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2149–2164, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2149-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2149-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are potent greenhouse gases with exceedingly long lifetimes. We used atmospheric measurements from a global monitoring network to track the accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere. In the case of the two most abundant PFCs, recent measurements indicate that global emissions are increasing. In Europe, we used a model to estimate regional PFC emissions. Our results show that there was no significant decline in northwest European PFC emissions between 2010 and 2019.
Haebum Lee, Kwangyul Lee, Chris Rene Lunder, Radovan Krejci, Wenche Aas, Jiyeon Park, Ki-Tae Park, Bang Yong Lee, Young Jun Yoon, and Kihong Park
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13425–13441, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13425-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13425-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
New particle formation (NPF) contributes to enhance the number of particles in the ambient atmosphere, affecting local air quality and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration. This study investigated NPF characteristics in the Arctic and showed that although formation and growth rates of nanoparticles were much lower than those in continental areas, NPF occurrence frequency was comparable and marine biogenic sources played important roles in production of condensing vapors for NPF.
Rachel L. Tunnicliffe, Anita L. Ganesan, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Nicola Gedney, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Jošt V. Lavrič, David Walter, Matthew Rigby, Stephan Henne, Dickon Young, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13041–13067, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13041-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13041-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study quantifies Brazil’s emissions of a potent atmospheric greenhouse gas, methane. This is in the field of atmospheric modelling and uses remotely sensed data and surface measurements of methane concentrations as well as an atmospheric transport model to interpret the data. Because of Brazil’s large emissions from wetlands, agriculture and biomass burning, these emissions affect global methane concentrations and thus are of global significance.
Guillaume Monteil, Grégoire Broquet, Marko Scholze, Matthew Lang, Ute Karstens, Christoph Gerbig, Frank-Thomas Koch, Naomi E. Smith, Rona L. Thompson, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Emily White, Antoon Meesters, Philippe Ciais, Anita L. Ganesan, Alistair Manning, Michael Mischurow, Wouter Peters, Philippe Peylin, Jerôme Tarniewicz, Matt Rigby, Christian Rödenbeck, Alex Vermeulen, and Evie M. Walton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12063–12091, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12063-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12063-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents the first results from the EUROCOM project, a regional atmospheric inversion intercomparison exercise involving six European research groups. It aims to produce an estimate of the net carbon flux between the European terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere for the period 2006–2015, based on constraints provided by observed CO2 concentrations and using inverse modelling techniques. The use of six different models enables us to investigate the robustness of the results.
Johannes C. Laube, Emma C. Leedham Elvidge, Karina E. Adcock, Bianca Baier, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Huilin Chen, Elise S. Droste, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Pauli Heikkinen, Andrew J. Hind, Rigel Kivi, Alexander Lojko, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Steve Randall, Thomas Röckmann, William T. Sturges, Colm Sweeney, Max Thomas, Elinor Tuffnell, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9771–9782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9771-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9771-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate that AirCore technology, which is based on small low-cost balloons, can provide access to trace gas measurements such as CFCs at ultra-low abundances. This is a new way to quantify ozone-depleting, and related, substances in the stratosphere, which is largely inaccessible to aircraft. We show two potential uses: (a) tracking the stratospheric circulation, which is predicted to change, and (b) assessing three common meteorological reanalyses driving a global stratospheric model.
Malte Meinshausen, Zebedee R. J. Nicholls, Jared Lewis, Matthew J. Gidden, Elisabeth Vogel, Mandy Freund, Urs Beyerle, Claudia Gessner, Alexander Nauels, Nico Bauer, Josep G. Canadell, John S. Daniel, Andrew John, Paul B. Krummel, Gunnar Luderer, Nicolai Meinshausen, Stephen A. Montzka, Peter J. Rayner, Stefan Reimann, Steven J. Smith, Marten van den Berg, Guus J. M. Velders, Martin K. Vollmer, and Ray H. J. Wang
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 3571–3605, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3571-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3571-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides the future greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations under the new set of so-called SSP scenarios (the successors of the IPCC SRES and previous representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios). The projected CO2 concentrations range from 350 ppm for low-emission scenarios by 2150 to more than 2000 ppm under the high-emission scenarios. We also provide concentrations, latitudinal gradients, and seasonality for most of the other 42 considered GHGs.
Marielle Saunois, Ann R. Stavert, Ben Poulter, Philippe Bousquet, Josep G. Canadell, Robert B. Jackson, Peter A. Raymond, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Sander Houweling, Prabir K. Patra, Philippe Ciais, Vivek K. Arora, David Bastviken, Peter Bergamaschi, Donald R. Blake, Gordon Brailsford, Lori Bruhwiler, Kimberly M. Carlson, Mark Carrol, Simona Castaldi, Naveen Chandra, Cyril Crevoisier, Patrick M. Crill, Kristofer Covey, Charles L. Curry, Giuseppe Etiope, Christian Frankenberg, Nicola Gedney, Michaela I. Hegglin, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Gustaf Hugelius, Misa Ishizawa, Akihiko Ito, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Katherine M. Jensen, Fortunat Joos, Thomas Kleinen, Paul B. Krummel, Ray L. Langenfelds, Goulven G. Laruelle, Licheng Liu, Toshinobu Machida, Shamil Maksyutov, Kyle C. McDonald, Joe McNorton, Paul A. Miller, Joe R. Melton, Isamu Morino, Jurek Müller, Fabiola Murguia-Flores, Vaishali Naik, Yosuke Niwa, Sergio Noce, Simon O'Doherty, Robert J. Parker, Changhui Peng, Shushi Peng, Glen P. Peters, Catherine Prigent, Ronald Prinn, Michel Ramonet, Pierre Regnier, William J. Riley, Judith A. Rosentreter, Arjo Segers, Isobel J. Simpson, Hao Shi, Steven J. Smith, L. Paul Steele, Brett F. Thornton, Hanqin Tian, Yasunori Tohjima, Francesco N. Tubiello, Aki Tsuruta, Nicolas Viovy, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Thomas S. Weber, Michiel van Weele, Guido R. van der Werf, Ray F. Weiss, Doug Worthy, Debra Wunch, Yi Yin, Yukio Yoshida, Wenxin Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Yuanhong Zhao, Bo Zheng, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, and Qianlai Zhuang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1561–1623, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1561-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1561-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding and quantifying the global methane (CH4) budget is important for assessing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. We have established a consortium of multidisciplinary scientists under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project to synthesize and stimulate new research aimed at improving and regularly updating the global methane budget. This is the second version of the review dedicated to the decadal methane budget, integrating results of top-down and bottom-up estimates.
Moya L. Macdonald, Jemma L. Wadham, Dickon Young, Chris R. Lunder, Ove Hermansen, Guillaume Lamarche-Gagnon, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7243–7258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7243-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change has caused glaciers in the Arctic to shrink, uncovering new soils. We used field measurements to study the exchange of a group of gases involved in ozone destruction, called halocarbons, between these new soils and the atmosphere. We found that mats of cyanobacteria, early colonisers of soils, are linked to a larger-than-expected exchange of halocarbons with the atmosphere. We also found that gases which are commonly thought to be marine in origin were released from these soils.
Peter G. Simmonds, Matthew Rigby, Alistair J. Manning, Sunyoung Park, Kieran M. Stanley, Archie McCulloch, Stephan Henne, Francesco Graziosi, Michela Maione, Jgor Arduini, Stefan Reimann, Martin K. Vollmer, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Ray F. Weiss, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Mi-Kyung Park, Hyeri Park, Tim Arnold, Chris Rennick, L. Paul Steele, Blagoj Mitrevski, Ray H. J. Wang, and Ronald G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7271–7290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7271-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7271-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a potent greenhouse gas which is regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. From a 40-year record of measurements, collected at five global monitoring sites and archived air samples, we show that its concentration in the atmosphere has steadily increased. Using modelling techniques, we estimate that global emissions have increased by about 24 % over the past decade. We find that this increase is driven by the demand for SF6-insulated switchgear in developing countries.
Luke M. Western, Zhe Sha, Matthew Rigby, Anita L. Ganesan, Alistair J. Manning, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon J. O'Doherty, Dickon Young, and Jonathan Rougier
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 2095–2107, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-2095-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-2095-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Assessments of greenhouse gas emissions using atmospheric measurements and meteorological models, or
top-downmethods, are important to verify national inventories or produce a stand-alone estimate where no inventory exists. We present a novel top-down method to estimate emissions. This approach uses a fast method called an integrated nested Laplacian approximation to estimate how these emissions are correlated with other emissions in different locations and at different times.
Elise S. Droste, Karina E. Adcock, Matthew J. Ashfold, Charles Chou, Zoë Fleming, Paul J. Fraser, Lauren J. Gooch, Andrew J. Hind, Ray L. Langenfelds, Emma C. Leedham Elvidge, Norfazrin Mohd Hanif, Simon O'Doherty, David E. Oram, Chang-Feng Ou-Yang, Marios Panagi, Claire E. Reeves, William T. Sturges, and Johannes C. Laube
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4787–4807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4787-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4787-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We update the tropospheric trends and emissions of six perfluorocarbon (PFC) gases, including separate isomers. Trends for these strong greenhouse gases are still increasing, but at slower rates than previously. The lack of natural sinks results in the global accumulation of 833 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent for these six PFCs by 2017. Modelling results indicate potential source regions and types in East Asia, but we find that many emissions are unaccounted for in emission reports.
August Andersson, Elena N. Kirillova, Stefano Decesari, Langley DeWitt, Jimmy Gasore, Katherine E. Potter, Ronald G. Prinn, Maheswar Rupakheti, Jean de Dieu Ndikubwimana, Julius Nkusi, and Bonfils Safari
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4561–4573, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4561-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4561-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Large-scale biomass burning events seasonally cover sub-Saharan Africa with air particles. In this study, we find that the concentrations of these particles at a remote mountain site in Rwanda may increase by a factor of 10 during such dry biomass burning periods, with strong implications for the regional climate and human health. These results provide quantitative constraints that could contribute to reducing the large uncertainties regarding the environmental impact of these fires.
Ignacio Pisso, Espen Sollum, Henrik Grythe, Nina I. Kristiansen, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Delia Arnold, Don Morton, Rona L. Thompson, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Harald Sodemann, Leopold Haimberger, Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, John F. Burkhart, Anne Fouilloux, Jerome Brioude, Anne Philipp, Petra Seibert, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4955–4997, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the latest release of the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART, which simulates the transport, diffusion, dry and wet deposition, radioactive decay, and 1st-order chemical reactions of atmospheric tracers. The model has been recently updated both technically and in the representation of physicochemical processes. We describe the changes, document the most recent input and output files, provide working examples, and introduce testing capabilities.
Angelina Wenger, Katherine Pugsley, Simon O'Doherty, Matt Rigby, Alistair J. Manning, Mark F. Lunt, and Emily D. White
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 14057–14070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14057-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14057-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present 14CO2 observations at a background site in Ireland and a tall tower site in the UK. These data have been used to calculate the contribution of fossil fuel sources to atmospheric CO2 mole fractions from the UK and Ireland. 14CO2 emissions from nuclear industry sites in the UK cause a higher uncertainty in the results compared to observations in other locations. The observed ffCO2 at the site was not significantly different from simulated values based on the bottom-up inventory.
Maxime Prignon, Simon Chabrillat, Daniele Minganti, Simon O'Doherty, Christian Servais, Gabriele Stiller, Geoffrey C. Toon, Martin K. Vollmer, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12309–12324, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12309-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12309-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are the first, but temporary, substitution products for the strong ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In this work, we present and validate an improved method to retrieve the most abundant HCFC in the atmosphere, allowing its evolution to be monitored independently in the troposphere and stratosphere. These kinds of contributions are fundamental for scrutinizing the fulfilment of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Ann R. Stavert, Simon O'Doherty, Kieran Stanley, Dickon Young, Alistair J. Manning, Mark F. Lunt, Christopher Rennick, and Tim Arnold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4495–4518, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4495-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4495-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Under the UK GAUGE project, two new greenhouse gas observation sites were established in the 2013/2014 winter at two telecommunications towers. A combination of spectroscopic and chromatographic instrumentation was used to measure CO2, CH4, CO, N2O and SF6. The advantages and disadvantages of two CRDS sample drying strategies, Nafion(R) and empirical water correction, were also examined.
Jens Mühle, Cathy M. Trudinger, Luke M. Western, Matthew Rigby, Martin K. Vollmer, Sunyoung Park, Alistair J. Manning, Daniel Say, Anita Ganesan, L. Paul Steele, Diane J. Ivy, Tim Arnold, Shanlan Li, Andreas Stohl, Christina M. Harth, Peter K. Salameh, Archie McCulloch, Simon O'Doherty, Mi-Kyung Park, Chun Ok Jo, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Paul B. Krummel, Blagoj Mitrevski, Ove Hermansen, Chris Lunder, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Bo Yao, Jooil Kim, Benjamin Hmiel, Christo Buizert, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Jgor Arduini, Michela Maione, David M. Etheridge, Eleni Michalopoulou, Mike Czerniak, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Stefan Reimann, Peter G. Simmonds, Paul J. Fraser, Ronald G. Prinn, and Ray F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10335–10359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10335-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10335-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss atmospheric concentrations and emissions of the strong greenhouse gas perfluorocyclobutane. A large fraction of recent emissions stem from China, India, and Russia, probably as a by-product from the production of fluoropolymers and fluorochemicals. Most historic emissions likely stem from developed countries. Total emissions are higher than what is being reported. Clearly, more measurements and better reporting are needed to understand emissions of this and other greenhouse gases.
Daniel Say, Anita L. Ganesan, Mark F. Lunt, Matthew Rigby, Simon O'Doherty, Christina Harth, Alistair J. Manning, Paul B. Krummel, and Stephane Bauguitte
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9865–9885, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9865-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9865-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Despite its emergence as a global economic power, very little information exists regarding India's halocarbon (CFC, HCFC, HFC and chlorocarbon) emissions. We report atmospheric measurements of these gases from above India, and use them to estimate India's emissions. Our results are consistent with the emissions profile of a developing country, with large emissions of HCFCs, HFCs and chlorocarbons not regulated under the Montreal Protocol, but little evidence for ongoing CFC consumption.
David D. Parrish, Richard G. Derwent, Simon O'Doherty, and Peter G. Simmonds
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3383–3394, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3383-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3383-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a flexible method that employs a power series expansion and Fourier series analysis to characterize the average long-term change and seasonal cycle, respectively, from a time series of observations of a trace atmospheric species. This approach maximizes the statistically significant information derived, including non-linear aspects of the long-term trends, without over fitting the data. Generally, a small set of parameter values (e.g., 7 or 8) provides this characterization.
Ruhi S. Humphries, Ian M. McRobert, Will A. Ponsonby, Jason P. Ward, Melita D. Keywood, Zoe M. Loh, Paul B. Krummel, and James Harnwell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3019–3038, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3019-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3019-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Undertaking atmospheric observations from ships provides important data in regions where measurements are impossible by other means. However, making measurements so close to a diesel exhaust plume is difficult. In this paper, we describe an algorithm that utilises ongoing measurements of aerosol number concentrations, black carbon mass concentrations, and mixing ratios of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to accurately distinguish between exhaust and background data periods.
Lucien Froidevaux, Douglas E. Kinnison, Ray Wang, John Anderson, and Ryan A. Fuller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4783–4821, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4783-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4783-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This work evaluates two versions of a 3-D global model of upper-atmospheric composition for recent decades. The two versions differ mainly in their dynamical (wind) constraints. Model–data differences, variability, and trends in five gases (ozone, H2O, HCl, HNO3, and N2O) are compared. While the match between models and observations is impressive, a few areas of discrepancy are noted. This work also updates trends in composition based on recent satellite-based measurements (through 2018).
Emily D. White, Matthew Rigby, Mark F. Lunt, T. Luke Smallman, Edward Comyn-Platt, Alistair J. Manning, Anita L. Ganesan, Simon O'Doherty, Ann R. Stavert, Kieran Stanley, Mathew Williams, Peter Levy, Michel Ramonet, Grant L. Forster, Andrew C. Manning, and Paul I. Palmer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4345–4365, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4345-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4345-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes from the terrestrial biosphere on a national scale is important for evaluating land use strategies to mitigate climate change. We estimate emissions of CO2 from the UK biosphere using atmospheric data in a top-down approach. Our findings show that bottom-up estimates from models of biospheric fluxes overestimate the amount of CO2 uptake in summer. This suggests these models wrongly estimate or omit key processes, e.g. land disturbance due to harvest.
Martin K. Vollmer, François Bernard, Blagoj Mitrevski, L. Paul Steele, Cathy M. Trudinger, Stefan Reimann, Ray L. Langenfelds, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, David M. Etheridge, Mark A. J. Curran, and James B. Burkholder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3481–3492, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3481-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3481-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We have discovered a new compound in the atmosphere, octafluorooxolane (c-C4F8O), from measurements in archived air samples. From our laboratory studies, we find that c-C4F8O is a very powerful greenhouse gas thereby contributing to global warming, and that it has a very long atmospheric lifetime of more than 3500 years. Based on our measurements we could reconstruct its atmospheric evolution over more than 4 decades. Based on this, we could estimate the global emissions of c-C4F8O.
Carole Helfter, Neil Mullinger, Massimo Vieno, Simon O'Doherty, Michel Ramonet, Paul I. Palmer, and Eiko Nemitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3043–3063, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3043-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3043-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a novel approach to estimate the annual budgets of carbon dioxide (881.0 ± 128.5 Tg) and methane (2.55 ± 0.48 Tg) of the British Isles from shipborne measurements taken over a 3-year period (2015–2017). This study brings independent verification of the emission budgets estimated using alternative products and investigates the seasonality of these emissions, which is usually not possible.
Daniel Say, Anita L. Ganesan, Mark F. Lunt, Matthew Rigby, Simon O'Doherty, Chris Harth, Alistair J. Manning, Paul B. Krummel, and Stephane Bauguitte
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1287, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1287, 2019
Publication in ACP not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
India is a potentially significant source of chlorocarbons, gases typically used as solvents and feedstocks. Given the potential for these species to deplete stratospheric ozone, understanding their sources is important. We use flask measurements collected from an aircraft to infer India's chlorocarbon emissions. We link emissions of carbon tetrachloride to the industrial production of other chloromethanes, and provide evidence for rapid growth in India's emissions of dichloromethane.
Ann R. Stavert, Rachel M. Law, Marcel van der Schoot, Ray L. Langenfelds, Darren A. Spencer, Paul B. Krummel, Scott D. Chambers, Alistair G. Williams, Sylvester Werczynski, Roger J. Francey, and Russell T. Howden
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1103–1121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1103-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1103-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Southern Ocean is a key sink of carbon dioxide (CO2), but efforts to study trends in and the variability of the sink have been hindered by the limited number of CO2 measurements in this region. Here we describe a set of new in situ continuous (minutely) atmospheric CO2 observations. We show that this new record better captures long-term changes and seasonality than traditional 2-weekly flask records. As such, this data set will provide key insights into the changing Southern Ocean sink.
H. Langley DeWitt, Jimmy Gasore, Maheswar Rupakheti, Katherine E. Potter, Ronald G. Prinn, Jean de Dieu Ndikubwimana, Julius Nkusi, and Bonfils Safari
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2063–2078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2063-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2063-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Air quality in rapidly developing East Africa is a growing but understudied concern. We analyzed long-term black carbon, carbon monoxide, and ozone measurements from the remote Rwanda Climate Observatory and found that seasonal regional biomass burning raised black carbon levels to above-urban concentrations 6 months out of the year. Additional local pollution could exacerbate this issue. More regional monitoring needs to be done to understand and reduce air pollution in this region.
Pingyang Li, Jens Mühle, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Benjamin R. Miller, Ray F. Weiss, Paul J. Fraser, and Toste Tanhua
Ocean Sci., 15, 33–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-33-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-33-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Use of CFCs as oceanic transient tracers is difficult for recently ventilated water masses as their atmospheric mole fractions have been decreasing. To explore novel tracers, we synthesized consistent annual mean atmospheric histories of HCFC-22, HCFC-141b, HCFC-142b, HFC-134a, HFC-125, HFC-23, PFC-14 (CF4) and PFC-116 in both hemispheres and reconstructed their solubility functions in water and seawater. This work is also potentially useful for tracer studies in a range of natural waters.
Stijn Naus, Stephen A. Montzka, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sourish Basu, Ed J. Dlugokencky, and Maarten Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 407–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-407-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-407-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate how the use of a two-box model to describe the troposphere can impact derived results, relative to more complex models. For this, we use a 3-D transport model to tune a two-box model of OH, CH4, and MCF. By comparing the tuned two-box model with a standard model run, we can diagnose and quantify biases inherent to a two-box model. We find strong biases, but these have only a small impact on our final conclusions. However, it is not obvious that this should hold for future studies.
Sarah Connors, Alistair J. Manning, Andrew D. Robinson, Stuart N. Riddick, Grant L. Forster, Anita Ganesan, Aoife Grant, Stephen Humphrey, Simon O'Doherty, Dave E. Oram, Paul I. Palmer, Robert L. Skelton, Kieran Stanley, Ann Stavert, Dickon Young, and Neil R. P. Harris
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1187, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1187, 2018
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is an important greenhouse gas & reducing its emissions is a vital part of climate change mitigation to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C. This paper explains a way to estimate emitted methane over a sub-national area by combining measurements & computer dispersion modelling in a so-called
inversiontechnique. Compared with the current national inventory, our results show lower emissions for Cambridgeshire, possibly due to waste sector emission differences.
Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Rona L. Thompson, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Toshinobu Machida, Jean-Daniel Paris, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Colm Sweeney, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 4469–4487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A Lagrangian particle dispersion model is used to simulate global fields of methane, constrained by observations through nudging. We show that this rather simple and computationally inexpensive method can give results similar to or as good as a computationally expensive Eulerian chemistry transport model with a data assimilation scheme. The three-dimensional methane fields are of interest to applications such as inverse modelling and satellite retrievals.
Nikolaos Evangeliou, Rona L. Thompson, Sabine Eckhardt, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15307–15327, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15307-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15307-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present BC inversions at high northern latitudes in 2013–2015. The emissions were high close to the gas flaring regions in Russia and in western Canada. The posterior emissions of BC at latitudes > 50° N were estimated as 560 ± 171 kt yr-1, smaller than in bottom-up inventories. Posterior concentrations over the Arctic compared with independent observations from flight and ship campaigns showed small biases. Seasonal maxima were estimated in summer months due to biomass burning, mainly in Europe.
Benjamin Brown-Steiner, Noelle E. Selin, Ronald Prinn, Simone Tilmes, Louisa Emmons, Jean-François Lamarque, and Philip Cameron-Smith
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 4155–4174, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4155-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4155-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We conduct three simulations of atmospheric chemistry using chemical mechanisms of different levels of complexity and compare their results to observations. We explore situations in which the simplified mechanisms match the output of the most complex mechanism, as well as when they diverge. We investigate how concurrent utilization of chemical mechanisms of different complexities can further our atmospheric-chemistry understanding at various scales and give some strategies for future research.
Tim Arnold, Alistair J. Manning, Jooil Kim, Shanlan Li, Helen Webster, David Thomson, Jens Mühle, Ray F. Weiss, Sunyoung Park, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13305–13320, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13305-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13305-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Emissions of carbon tetrafluoride CF4, NF3 and CHF3 in east Asia have been calculated using atmospheric measurements and an atmospheric transport model. We calculate emissions of CF4 to be quite constant between the years 2008 and 2015 for both China and South Korea, with 2015 emissions calculated at 4.33 ± 2.65 Gg yr-1 and 0.36 ± 0.11 Gg yr-1, respectively. Emission estimates of NF3 from South Korea could be made with relatively small uncertainty at 0.6 ± 0.07 Gg yr-1 in 2015.
Robyn Butler, Paul I. Palmer, Liang Feng, Stephen J. Andrews, Elliot L. Atlas, Lucy J. Carpenter, Valeria Donets, Neil R. P. Harris, Stephen A. Montzka, Laura L. Pan, Ross J. Salawitch, and Sue M. Schauffler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13135–13153, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13135-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13135-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Natural sources of short-lived bromoform and dibromomethane are important for determining the inorganic bromine budget in the stratosphere that drives ozone loss. Two new modelling techniques describe how different geographical source regions influence their atmospheric variability over the western Pacific. We find that it is driven primarily by open ocean sources, and we use atmospheric observations to help estimate their contributions to the upper tropospheric inorganic bromine budget.
Paul I. Palmer, Simon O'Doherty, Grant Allen, Keith Bower, Hartmut Bösch, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Sarah Connors, Sandip Dhomse, Liang Feng, Douglas P. Finch, Martin W. Gallagher, Emanuel Gloor, Siegfried Gonzi, Neil R. P. Harris, Carole Helfter, Neil Humpage, Brian Kerridge, Diane Knappett, Roderic L. Jones, Michael Le Breton, Mark F. Lunt, Alistair J. Manning, Stephan Matthiesen, Jennifer B. A. Muller, Neil Mullinger, Eiko Nemitz, Sebastian O'Shea, Robert J. Parker, Carl J. Percival, Joseph Pitt, Stuart N. Riddick, Matthew Rigby, Harjinder Sembhi, Richard Siddans, Robert L. Skelton, Paul Smith, Hannah Sonderfeld, Kieran Stanley, Ann R. Stavert, Angelina Wenger, Emily White, Christopher Wilson, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11753–11777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides an overview of the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) experiment. GAUGE was designed to quantify nationwide GHG emissions of the UK, bringing together measurements and atmospheric transport models. This novel experiment is the first of its kind. We anticipate it will inform the blueprint for countries that are building a measurement infrastructure in preparation for global stocktakes, which are a key part of the Paris Agreement.
Sunyoung Park, Shanlan Li, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Ray F. Weiss, Xuekun Fang, Stefan Reimann, and Ronald G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11729–11738, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11729-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11729-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Multi-year, real-time atmospheric carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) record obtained at Gosan station (33° N, 126° E) presents evidence of significant unreported emissions of this first-generation ozone-depleting substance. The missing emissions (~ 19 Gg yr−1) for China contribute to approximately 54 % of global emissions and are most likely related to CCl4 escape occurring during the production of chlorinated compounds and their usage as feedstocks and process agents in chemical manufacturing industries.
Mary E. Whelan, Sinikka T. Lennartz, Teresa E. Gimeno, Richard Wehr, Georg Wohlfahrt, Yuting Wang, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Timothy W. Hilton, Sauveur Belviso, Philippe Peylin, Róisín Commane, Wu Sun, Huilin Chen, Le Kuai, Ivan Mammarella, Kadmiel Maseyk, Max Berkelhammer, King-Fai Li, Dan Yakir, Andrew Zumkehr, Yoko Katayama, Jérôme Ogée, Felix M. Spielmann, Florian Kitz, Bharat Rastogi, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Julia Marshall, Kukka-Maaria Erkkilä, Lisa Wingate, Laura K. Meredith, Wei He, Rüdiger Bunk, Thomas Launois, Timo Vesala, Johan A. Schmidt, Cédric G. Fichot, Ulli Seibt, Scott Saleska, Eric S. Saltzman, Stephen A. Montzka, Joseph A. Berry, and J. Elliott Campbell
Biogeosciences, 15, 3625–3657, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3625-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3625-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of the trace gas carbonyl sulfide (OCS) are helpful in quantifying photosynthesis at previously unknowable temporal and spatial scales. While CO2 is both consumed and produced within ecosystems, OCS is mostly produced in the oceans or from specific industries, and destroyed in plant leaves in proportion to CO2. This review summarizes the advancements we have made in the understanding of OCS exchange and applications to vital ecosystem water and carbon cycle questions.
Benjamin Brown-Steiner, Noelle E. Selin, Ronald G. Prinn, Erwan Monier, Simone Tilmes, Louisa Emmons, and Fernando Garcia-Menendez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8373–8388, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8373-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8373-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Detecting signals in observations and simulations of atmospheric chemistry is difficult due to the underlying variability in the chemistry, meteorology, and climatology. Here we examine the scale dependence of ozone variability and explore strategies for reducing or averaging this variability and thereby enhancing ozone signal detection capabilities. We find that 10–15 years of temporal averaging, and some level of spatial averaging, reduces the risk of overconfidence in ozone signals.
Myriam Guillevic, Martin K. Vollmer, Simon A. Wyss, Daiana Leuenberger, Andreas Ackermann, Céline Pascale, Bernhard Niederhauser, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3351–3372, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3351-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3351-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present new primary calibration scales for five halogenated greenhouse gases. The preparation method, newly applied to halocarbons, is dynamic and gravimetric
and allows the generation of reference gas mixtures at near-ambient levels (pmol mol−1). Each prepared molar fraction is traceable to the
realisation of SI units (International System of Units) and is assigned an uncertainty estimate following international guidelines.
Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Jgor Arduini, Tim Arnold, H. Langley DeWitt, Paul J. Fraser, Anita L. Ganesan, Jimmy Gasore, Christina M. Harth, Ove Hermansen, Jooil Kim, Paul B. Krummel, Shanlan Li, Zoë M. Loh, Chris R. Lunder, Michela Maione, Alistair J. Manning, Ben R. Miller, Blagoj Mitrevski, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Sunyoung Park, Stefan Reimann, Matt Rigby, Takuya Saito, Peter K. Salameh, Roland Schmidt, Peter G. Simmonds, L. Paul Steele, Martin K. Vollmer, Ray H. Wang, Bo Yao, Yoko Yokouchi, Dickon Young, and Lingxi Zhou
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 985–1018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-985-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-985-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present the data and accomplishments of the multinational global atmospheric measurement program AGAGE (Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment). At high frequency and at multiple sites, AGAGE measures all the important chemicals in the Montreal Protocol for the protection of the ozone layer and the non-carbon-dioxide gases assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. AGAGE uses these data to estimate sources and sinks of all these gases and has operated since 1978.
Peter G. Simmonds, Matthew Rigby, Archie McCulloch, Martin K. Vollmer, Stephan Henne, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Alistair J. Manning, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Dickon Young, Ray F. Weiss, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Stefan Reimann, Cathy M. Trudinger, L. Paul Steele, Ray H. J. Wang, Diane J. Ivy, Ronald G. Prinn, Blagoj Mitrevski, and David M. Etheridge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4153–4169, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4153-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Recent measurements of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23, a by-product of HCFC-22 production, show a 28 % increase in the atmospheric mole fraction from 2009 to 2016. A minimum in the atmospheric abundance of HFC-23 in 2009 was attributed to abatement of HFC-23 emissions by incineration under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Our results indicate that the recent increase in HFC-23 emissions is driven by failure of mitigation under the CDM to keep pace with increased HCFC-22 production.
Fabian Schoenenberger, Stephan Henne, Matthias Hill, Martin K. Vollmer, Giorgos Kouvarakis, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Simon O'Doherty, Michela Maione, Lukas Emmenegger, Thomas Peter, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4069–4092, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4069-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4069-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Anthropogenic halocarbon emissions contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming. We measured atmospheric halocarbons for 6 months on Crete to extend the coverage of the existing observation network to the Eastern Mediterranean. The derived emission estimates showed a contribution of 16.8 % (13.6–23.3 %) and 53.2 % (38.1–84.2 %) of this region to the total HFC and HCFC emissions of the analyzed European domain and a reduction of the underlying uncertainties by 40–80 %.
Kieran M. Stanley, Aoife Grant, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Alistair J. Manning, Ann R. Stavert, T. Gerard Spain, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Peter G. Simmonds, William T. Sturges, David E. Oram, and Richard G. Derwent
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1437–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1437-2018, 2018
Emma C. Leedham Elvidge, Harald Bönisch, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Andreas Engel, Paul J. Fraser, Eileen Gallacher, Ray Langenfelds, Jens Mühle, David E. Oram, Eric A. Ray, Anna R. Ridley, Thomas Röckmann, William T. Sturges, Ray F. Weiss, and Johannes C. Laube
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3369–3385, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3369-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3369-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Chemical species measured in stratospheric air can be used as proxies for stratospheric circulation changes which cannot be measured directly. A range of tracers is important to understand changing stratospheric dynamics. We demonstrate the suitability of PFCs and HFCs as tracers and support recent work that reduces the current stratospheric lifetime of SF6. Updates to policy-relevant parameters (e.g. stratospheric lifetime) linked to this change are provided for O3-depleting substances.
William T. Ball, Justin Alsing, Daniel J. Mortlock, Johannes Staehelin, Joanna D. Haigh, Thomas Peter, Fiona Tummon, Rene Stübi, Andrea Stenke, John Anderson, Adam Bourassa, Sean M. Davis, Doug Degenstein, Stacey Frith, Lucien Froidevaux, Chris Roth, Viktoria Sofieva, Ray Wang, Jeannette Wild, Pengfei Yu, Jerald R. Ziemke, and Eugene V. Rozanov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1379–1394, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1379-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1379-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Using a robust analysis, with artefact-corrected ozone data, we confirm upper stratospheric ozone is recovering following the Montreal Protocol, but that lower stratospheric ozone (50° S–50° N) has continued to decrease since 1998, and the ozone layer as a whole (60° S–60° N) may be lower today than in 1998. No change in total column ozone may be due to increasing tropospheric ozone. State-of-the-art models do not reproduce lower stratospheric ozone decreases.
Peter Bergamaschi, Ute Karstens, Alistair J. Manning, Marielle Saunois, Aki Tsuruta, Antoine Berchet, Alexander T. Vermeulen, Tim Arnold, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Samuel Hammer, Ingeborg Levin, Martina Schmidt, Michel Ramonet, Morgan Lopez, Jost Lavric, Tuula Aalto, Huilin Chen, Dietrich G. Feist, Christoph Gerbig, László Haszpra, Ove Hermansen, Giovanni Manca, John Moncrieff, Frank Meinhardt, Jaroslaw Necki, Michal Galkowski, Simon O'Doherty, Nina Paramonova, Hubertus A. Scheeren, Martin Steinbacher, and Ed Dlugokencky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 901–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-901-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-901-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
European methane (CH4) emissions are estimated for 2006–2012 using atmospheric in situ measurements from 18 European monitoring stations and 7 different inverse models. Our analysis highlights the potential significant contribution of natural emissions from wetlands (including peatlands and wet soils) to the total European emissions. The top-down estimates of total EU-28 CH4 emissions are broadly consistent with the sum of reported anthropogenic CH4 emissions and the estimated natural emissions.
Nikolaos Evangeliou, Vladimir P. Shevchenko, Karl Espen Yttri, Sabine Eckhardt, Espen Sollum, Oleg S. Pokrovsky, Vasily O. Kobelev, Vladimir B. Korobov, Andrey A. Lobanov, Dina P. Starodymova, Sergey N. Vorobiev, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 963–977, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-963-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-963-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present EC measurements from an uncertain region in terms of emissions (Russia). Its origin is quantified with a Lagrangian model that uses a recently developed feature that allows backward estimation of the specific source locations that contribute to the deposited mass. In NW European Russia transportation and domestic combustion from Finland was important. A systematic underestimation was found in W Siberia at places where gas flaring was important, implying miscalculation or sources.
Martin K. Vollmer, Dickon Young, Cathy M. Trudinger, Jens Mühle, Stephan Henne, Matthew Rigby, Sunyoung Park, Shanlan Li, Myriam Guillevic, Blagoj Mitrevski, Christina M. Harth, Benjamin R. Miller, Stefan Reimann, Bo Yao, L. Paul Steele, Simon A. Wyss, Chris R. Lunder, Jgor Arduini, Archie McCulloch, Songhao Wu, Tae Siek Rhee, Ray H. J. Wang, Peter K. Salameh, Ove Hermansen, Matthias Hill, Ray L. Langenfelds, Diane Ivy, Simon O'Doherty, Paul B. Krummel, Michela Maione, David M. Etheridge, Lingxi Zhou, Paul J. Fraser, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, and Peter G. Simmonds
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 979–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-979-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-979-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We measured the three chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) CFC-13, CFC-114, and CFC-115 in the atmosphere because they are important in stratospheric ozone depletion. These compounds should have decreased in the atmosphere because they are banned by the Montreal Protocol but we find the opposite. Emissions over the last decade have not declined on a global scale. We use inverse modeling and our observations to find that a large part of the emissions originate in the Asian region.
Kelley C. Wells, Dylan B. Millet, Nicolas Bousserez, Daven K. Henze, Timothy J. Griffis, Sreelekha Chaliyakunnel, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Eri Saikawa, Gao Xiang, Ronald G. Prinn, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Ray F. Weiss, Geoff S. Dutton, James W. Elkins, Paul B. Krummel, Ray Langenfelds, and L. Paul Steele
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 735–756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-735-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-735-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper uses three different frameworks to derive nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions based on global surface observations. One of these frameworks employs a new approach that allows for fast computation and explores a larger solution space than other methods. Our results point to a few conclusions about the global N2O budget, including a larger contribution from tropical sources, an overestimate of natural soil emissions, and an underestimate of agricultural sources particularly in springtime.
Xin Lan, Pieter Tans, Colm Sweeney, Arlyn Andrews, Andrew Jacobson, Molly Crotwell, Edward Dlugokencky, Jonathan Kofler, Patricia Lang, Kirk Thoning, and Sonja Wolter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 15151–15165, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15151-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15151-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We analyze spatial patterns of column CO2 over North America using well-calibrated aircraft and tall tower measurements. We find that the long-term averaged spatial gradients of column CO2 across North America show a smooth pattern that mainly reflects the large-scale circulation. Our results can serve as a good reference for evaluating current and future column CO2 retrievals from both ground and satellite platforms.
Marielle Saunois, Philippe Bousquet, Ben Poulter, Anna Peregon, Philippe Ciais, Josep G. Canadell, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Giuseppe Etiope, David Bastviken, Sander Houweling, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Francesco N. Tubiello, Simona Castaldi, Robert B. Jackson, Mihai Alexe, Vivek K. Arora, David J. Beerling, Peter Bergamaschi, Donald R. Blake, Gordon Brailsford, Lori Bruhwiler, Cyril Crevoisier, Patrick Crill, Kristofer Covey, Christian Frankenberg, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Misa Ishizawa, Akihiko Ito, Fortunat Joos, Heon-Sook Kim, Thomas Kleinen, Paul Krummel, Jean-François Lamarque, Ray Langenfelds, Robin Locatelli, Toshinobu Machida, Shamil Maksyutov, Joe R. Melton, Isamu Morino, Vaishali Naik, Simon O'Doherty, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Prabir K. Patra, Changhui Peng, Shushi Peng, Glen P. Peters, Isabelle Pison, Ronald Prinn, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Makoto Saito, Monia Santini, Ronny Schroeder, Isobel J. Simpson, Renato Spahni, Atsushi Takizawa, Brett F. Thornton, Hanqin Tian, Yasunori Tohjima, Nicolas Viovy, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Ray Weiss, David J. Wilton, Andy Wiltshire, Doug Worthy, Debra Wunch, Xiyan Xu, Yukio Yoshida, Bowen Zhang, Zhen Zhang, and Qiuan Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11135–11161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11135-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11135-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Following the Global Methane Budget 2000–2012 published in Saunois et al. (2016), we use the same dataset of bottom-up and top-down approaches to discuss the variations in methane emissions over the period 2000–2012. The changes in emissions are discussed both in terms of trends and quasi-decadal changes. The ensemble gathered here allows us to synthesise the robust changes in terms of regional and sectorial contributions to the increasing methane emissions.
Dominik Brunner, Tim Arnold, Stephan Henne, Alistair Manning, Rona L. Thompson, Michela Maione, Simon O'Doherty, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10651–10674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and SF6 are industrially produced gases with a large greenhouse-gas warming potential. In this study, we estimated the emissions of HFCs and SF6 over Europe by combining measurements at three background stations with four different model systems. We identified significant differences between our estimates and nationally reported numbers, but also found that the network of only three sites in Europe is insufficient to reliably attribute emissions to individual countries.
Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Lucien Froidevaux, Ryan Fuller, Ray Wang, John Anderson, Chris Roth, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, Robert Damadeo, Joe Zawodny, Stacey Frith, Richard McPeters, Pawan Bhartia, Jeannette Wild, Craig Long, Sean Davis, Karen Rosenlof, Viktoria Sofieva, Kaley Walker, Nabiz Rahpoe, Alexei Rozanov, Mark Weber, Alexandra Laeng, Thomas von Clarmann, Gabriele Stiller, Natalya Kramarova, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Thierry Leblanc, Richard Querel, Daan Swart, Ian Boyd, Klemens Hocke, Niklaus Kämpfer, Eliane Maillard Barras, Lorena Moreira, Gerald Nedoluha, Corinne Vigouroux, Thomas Blumenstock, Matthias Schneider, Omaira García, Nicholas Jones, Emmanuel Mahieu, Dan Smale, Michael Kotkamp, John Robinson, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Neil Harris, Birgit Hassler, Daan Hubert, and Fiona Tummon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10675–10690, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10675-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10675-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol and its amendments, ozone-depleting chlorine (and bromine) in the stratosphere has declined slowly since the late 1990s. Improved and extended long-term ozone profile observations from satellites and ground-based stations confirm that ozone is responding as expected and has increased by about 2 % per decade since 2000 in the upper stratosphere, around 40 km altitude. At lower altitudes, however, ozone has not changed significantly since 2000.
Kristal R. Verhulst, Anna Karion, Jooil Kim, Peter K. Salameh, Ralph F. Keeling, Sally Newman, John Miller, Christopher Sloop, Thomas Pongetti, Preeti Rao, Clare Wong, Francesca M. Hopkins, Vineet Yadav, Ray F. Weiss, Riley M. Duren, and Charles E. Miller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8313–8341, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8313-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8313-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) measurements from an extensive surface network as part of the Los Angeles Megacity Carbon Project. We describe methods that are essential for understanding carbon fluxes from complex urban environments. CO2 and CH4 levels are spatially and temporally variable, with urban sites showing significant enhancements relative to background. In 2015, the median afternoon enhancement near downtown Los Angeles was ~15 ppm CO2 and ~80 ppb CH4.
Malte Meinshausen, Elisabeth Vogel, Alexander Nauels, Katja Lorbacher, Nicolai Meinshausen, David M. Etheridge, Paul J. Fraser, Stephen A. Montzka, Peter J. Rayner, Cathy M. Trudinger, Paul B. Krummel, Urs Beyerle, Josep G. Canadell, John S. Daniel, Ian G. Enting, Rachel M. Law, Chris R. Lunder, Simon O'Doherty, Ron G. Prinn, Stefan Reimann, Mauro Rubino, Guus J. M. Velders, Martin K. Vollmer, Ray H. J. Wang, and Ray Weiss
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 2057–2116, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-2057-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-2057-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change is primarily driven by human-induced increases of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. Based on ongoing community efforts (e.g. AGAGE and NOAA networks, ice cores), this study presents historical concentrations of CO2, CH4, N2O and 40 other GHGs from year 0 to year 2014. The data is recommended as input for climate models for pre-industrial, historical runs under CMIP6. Global means, but also latitudinal by monthly surface concentration fields are provided.
Peter G. Simmonds, Matthew Rigby, Archie McCulloch, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Jens Mühle, Paul B. Krummel, Paul Steele, Paul J. Fraser, Alistair J. Manning, Ray F. Weiss, Peter K. Salameh, Chris M. Harth, Ray H. J. Wang, and Ronald G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4641–4655, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4641-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4641-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports how long-term atmospheric measurements demonstrate that the Montreal Protocol has been effective in controlling production and consumption of the hydrochlorofluorocarbons, a group of industrial chemicals that have detrimental effects on the ozone layer and also contribute to global warming as greenhouse gases and their hydrofluorocarbon substitutes which are also potent greenhouse gases but do not materially affect the ozone layer.
Aki Tsuruta, Tuula Aalto, Leif Backman, Janne Hakkarainen, Ingrid T. van der Laan-Luijkx, Maarten C. Krol, Renato Spahni, Sander Houweling, Marko Laine, Ed Dlugokencky, Angel J. Gomez-Pelaez, Marcel van der Schoot, Ray Langenfelds, Raymond Ellul, Jgor Arduini, Francesco Apadula, Christoph Gerbig, Dietrich G. Feist, Rigel Kivi, Yukio Yoshida, and Wouter Peters
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 1261–1289, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1261-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we found that the average global methane emission for 2000–2012, estimated by the CTE-CH4 model, was 516±51 Tg CH4 yr-1, and the estimates for 2007–2012 were 4 % larger than for 2000–2006. The model estimates are sensitive to inputs and setups, but according to sensitivity tests the study suggests that the increase in atmospheric methane concentrations during 21st century was due to an increase in emissions from the 35S-EQ latitudinal bands.
Rona L. Thompson, Motoki Sasakawa, Toshinobu Machida, Tuula Aalto, Doug Worthy, Jost V. Lavric, Cathrine Lund Myhre, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3553–3572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3553-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3553-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Methane (CH4) fluxes were estimated for the high northern latitudes for 2005–2013 based on observations of atmospheric CH4 mixing ratios. Methane fluxes were found to be higher than prior estimates in northern Eurasia and Canada, especially in the Western Siberian Lowlands and the Canadian province Alberta. Significant inter-annual variations in the fluxes were found as well as a small positive trend. In Canada, the trend may be related to an increase in soil temperature over the study period.
Whitney Bader, Benoît Bovy, Stephanie Conway, Kimberly Strong, Dan Smale, Alexander J. Turner, Thomas Blumenstock, Chris Boone, Martine Collaud Coen, Ancelin Coulon, Omaira Garcia, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Petra Hausmann, Nicholas Jones, Paul Krummel, Isao Murata, Isamu Morino, Hideaki Nakajima, Simon O'Doherty, Clare Paton-Walsh, John Robinson, Rodrigue Sandrin, Matthias Schneider, Christian Servais, Ralf Sussmann, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2255–2277, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2255-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2255-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
An increase of 0.31 ± 0.03 % year−1 of atmospheric methane is reported using 10 years of solar observations performed at 10 ground-based stations since 2005. These trend agree with a GEOS-Chem-tagged simulation that accounts for the contribution of each emission source and one sink in the total methane. The GEOS-Chem simulation shows that anthropogenic emissions from coal mining and gas and oil transport and exploration have played a major role in the increase methane since 2005.
Martyn P. Chipperfield, Qing Liang, Matthew Rigby, Ryan Hossaini, Stephen A. Montzka, Sandip Dhomse, Wuhu Feng, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Christina M. Harth, Peter K. Salameh, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Peter G. Simmonds, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, L. Paul Steele, James D. Happell, Robert C. Rhew, James Butler, Shari A. Yvon-Lewis, Bradley Hall, David Nance, Fred Moore, Ben R. Miller, James W. Elkins, Jeremy J. Harrison, Chris D. Boone, Elliot L. Atlas, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15741–15754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15741-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15741-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a compound which, when released into the atmosphere, can cause depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. Its emissions are controlled under the Montreal Protocol, and its atmospheric abundance is slowly decreasing. However, this decrease is not as fast as expected based on estimates of its emissions and its atmospheric lifetime. We have used an atmospheric model to look at the uncertainties in the CCl4 lifetime and to examine the impact on its atmospheric decay.
Marielle Saunois, Philippe Bousquet, Ben Poulter, Anna Peregon, Philippe Ciais, Josep G. Canadell, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Giuseppe Etiope, David Bastviken, Sander Houweling, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Francesco N. Tubiello, Simona Castaldi, Robert B. Jackson, Mihai Alexe, Vivek K. Arora, David J. Beerling, Peter Bergamaschi, Donald R. Blake, Gordon Brailsford, Victor Brovkin, Lori Bruhwiler, Cyril Crevoisier, Patrick Crill, Kristofer Covey, Charles Curry, Christian Frankenberg, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Misa Ishizawa, Akihiko Ito, Fortunat Joos, Heon-Sook Kim, Thomas Kleinen, Paul Krummel, Jean-François Lamarque, Ray Langenfelds, Robin Locatelli, Toshinobu Machida, Shamil Maksyutov, Kyle C. McDonald, Julia Marshall, Joe R. Melton, Isamu Morino, Vaishali Naik, Simon O'Doherty, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Prabir K. Patra, Changhui Peng, Shushi Peng, Glen P. Peters, Isabelle Pison, Catherine Prigent, Ronald Prinn, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Makoto Saito, Monia Santini, Ronny Schroeder, Isobel J. Simpson, Renato Spahni, Paul Steele, Atsushi Takizawa, Brett F. Thornton, Hanqin Tian, Yasunori Tohjima, Nicolas Viovy, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Michiel van Weele, Guido R. van der Werf, Ray Weiss, Christine Wiedinmyer, David J. Wilton, Andy Wiltshire, Doug Worthy, Debra Wunch, Xiyan Xu, Yukio Yoshida, Bowen Zhang, Zhen Zhang, and Qiuan Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 697–751, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-697-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-697-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
An accurate assessment of the methane budget is important to understand the atmospheric methane concentrations and trends and to provide realistic pathways for climate change mitigation. The various and diffuse sources of methane as well and its oxidation by a very short lifetime radical challenge this assessment. We quantify the methane sources and sinks as well as their uncertainties based on both bottom-up and top-down approaches provided by a broad international scientific community.
Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Nelly A. M. Uitslag, Mark S. Zahniser, David D. Nelson, Stephen A. Montzka, and Huilin Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 5293–5314, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5293-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5293-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The accuracy of carbon models, used for the prediction of global climate change, is limited by the knowledge of the uptake of carbon by plants through photosynthesis. Carbonyl sulfide (COS) has been suggested as a tracer for this process. To be able to further explore and verify the application of this novel tracer we have tested a laser spectrometer for its suitability to obtain accurate and high precision measurements of COS and CO2 with both laboratory experiments and field measurements.
Florian Obersteiner, Harald Bönisch, Timo Keber, Simon O'Doherty, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 5265–5279, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5265-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5265-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The analysis of trace gases in ambient air requires a preconcentration technique, in many cases to make the species of interest detectable and quantifiable. In this paper, such a preconcentration set-up is presented. Target species are trapped on adsorptive material cooled by a Stirling cooler which allows for a very low adsorption temperature but only requires electrical power. A simple and lightweight mechanical design guarantees very good suitability for remote-site field operation.
Francesco Graziosi, Jgor Arduini, Paolo Bonasoni, Francesco Furlani, Umberto Giostra, Alistair J. Manning, Archie McCulloch, Simon O'Doherty, Peter G. Simmonds, Stefan Reimann, Martin K. Vollmer, and Michela Maione
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 12849–12859, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12849-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12849-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon tetrachloride is an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas banned under the Montreal Protocol. Measurements of atmospheric levels combined with global transport models indicate that it is still being emitted, in contrast to what is reported. In order to help solve the "mystery of carbon tetrachloride", we estimated European emissions during 2006–2014 using atmospheric observations and models. We identified emission hot spots and showed inconsistencies in national emission declarations.
Cathy M. Trudinger, Paul J. Fraser, David M. Etheridge, William T. Sturges, Martin K. Vollmer, Matt Rigby, Patricia Martinerie, Jens Mühle, David R. Worton, Paul B. Krummel, L. Paul Steele, Benjamin R. Miller, Johannes Laube, Francis S. Mani, Peter J. Rayner, Christina M. Harth, Emmanuel Witrant, Thomas Blunier, Jakob Schwander, Simon O'Doherty, and Mark Battle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11733–11754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11733-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11733-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are potent, long-lived and mostly man-made greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere mainly during aluminium production and semiconductor manufacture. Here we present the first continuous histories of three PFCs from 1800 to 2014, derived from measurements of these PFCs in the atmosphere and in air bubbles in polar ice. The records show how human actions have affected these important greenhouse gases over the past century.
James H. Butler, Shari A. Yvon-Lewis, Jurgen M. Lobert, Daniel B. King, Stephen A. Montzka, John L. Bullister, Valentin Koropalov, James W. Elkins, Bradley D. Hall, Lei Hu, and Yina Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10899–10910, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10899-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10899-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This study was conducted to understand the influence of the ocean on the lifetime of atmospheric carbon tetrachloride, a strong, ozone-depleting gas. Data from 16 research cruises conducted between 1987 and 2010 show that, unlike the unreactive chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride is undersaturated in surface waters regardless of temperature, wind, or biological regime, but with larger undersaturations with upwelling. Results suggest that the ocean consumes about 18 % of atmospheric CCl4.
R. Hossaini, P. K. Patra, A. A. Leeson, G. Krysztofiak, N. L. Abraham, S. J. Andrews, A. T. Archibald, J. Aschmann, E. L. Atlas, D. A. Belikov, H. Bönisch, L. J. Carpenter, S. Dhomse, M. Dorf, A. Engel, W. Feng, S. Fuhlbrügge, P. T. Griffiths, N. R. P. Harris, R. Hommel, T. Keber, K. Krüger, S. T. Lennartz, S. Maksyutov, H. Mantle, G. P. Mills, B. Miller, S. A. Montzka, F. Moore, M. A. Navarro, D. E. Oram, K. Pfeilsticker, J. A. Pyle, B. Quack, A. D. Robinson, E. Saikawa, A. Saiz-Lopez, S. Sala, B.-M. Sinnhuber, S. Taguchi, S. Tegtmeier, R. T. Lidster, C. Wilson, and F. Ziska
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9163–9187, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9163-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9163-2016, 2016
Joe McNorton, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Manuel Gloor, Chris Wilson, Wuhu Feng, Garry D. Hayman, Matt Rigby, Paul B. Krummel, Simon O'Doherty, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Dickon Young, Ed Dlugokencky, and Steve A. Montzka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7943–7956, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7943-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7943-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas. The growth of atmospheric CH4 stalled from 1999 to 2006, with current explanations focussed mainly on changing surface fluxes. We combine models with observations and meteorological data to assess the atmospheric contribution to CH4 changes. We find that variations in mean atmospheric hydroxyl concentration can explain part of the stall in growth. Our study highlights the role of multi-annual variability in atmospheric chemistry in global CH4 trends.
M. Chirkov, G. P. Stiller, A. Laeng, S. Kellmann, T. von Clarmann, C. D. Boone, J. W. Elkins, A. Engel, N. Glatthor, U. Grabowski, C. M. Harth, M. Kiefer, F. Kolonjari, P. B. Krummel, A. Linden, C. R. Lunder, B. R. Miller, S. A. Montzka, J. Mühle, S. O'Doherty, J. Orphal, R. G. Prinn, G. Toon, M. K. Vollmer, K. A. Walker, R. F. Weiss, A. Wiegele, and D. Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3345–3368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3345-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3345-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
HCFC-22 global distributions from MIPAS measurements for 2005 to 2012 are presented. Tropospheric trends are in good agreement with ground-based observations. A layer of enhanced HCFC-22 in the upper tropospheric tropics and northern subtropics is identified to come from Asian sources uplifted in the Asian monsoon. Stratospheric distributions provide show seasonal, semi-annual, and QBO-related variations. Hemispheric asymmetries of trends hint towards a change in the stratospheric circulation.
Xuekun Fang, Min Shao, Andreas Stohl, Qiang Zhang, Junyu Zheng, Hai Guo, Chen Wang, Ming Wang, Jiamin Ou, Rona L. Thompson, and Ronald G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3369–3382, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3369-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3369-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This is the first study reporting top-down estimates of benzene and toluene emissions in southern China using atmospheric measurement data from a rural site in the area, an atmospheric transport model and an inverse modeling method. This study shows in detail the temporal and spatial differences between the inversion estimate and four different bottom-up emission inventories (RCP, REAS, MEIC; Yin et al., 2015). We propose that more observations are urgently needed in future.
Stig B. Dalsøren, Cathrine L. Myhre, Gunnar Myhre, Angel J. Gomez-Pelaez, Ole A. Søvde, Ivar S. A. Isaksen, Ray F. Weiss, and Christina M. Harth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3099–3126, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3099-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3099-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a key greenhouse gas. Observations at surface sites show a more than 10 % increase over the period 1984–2012. Using an atmospheric model we calculate a growth in the atmospheric chemical methane loss the last decades. Without this, the rise in atmospheric methane would have been even higher. The model reproduces trends and short-term variations in observation data. However, some discrepancies in model performance question the accuracy in estimates of emission increases in Asia.
P. G. Simmonds, M. Rigby, A. J. Manning, M. F. Lunt, S. O'Doherty, A. McCulloch, P. J. Fraser, S. Henne, M. K. Vollmer, J. Mühle, R. F. Weiss, P. K. Salameh, D. Young, S. Reimann, A. Wenger, T. Arnold, C. M. Harth, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, B. L. Dunse, B. R. Miller, C. R. Lunder, O. Hermansen, N. Schmidbauer, T. Saito, Y. Yokouchi, S. Park, S. Li, B. Yao, L. X. Zhou, J. Arduini, M. Maione, R. H. J. Wang, D. Ivy, and R. G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 365–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-365-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-365-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We report regional and global emissions estimates of HFC-152a using high frequency measurements from 11 observing sites and archived air samples dating back to 1978 together with atmospheric transport models. The "bottom-up" emissions of HFC-152a reported to the UNFCCC appear to significantly underestimate those reported here from observations. This discrepancy we suggest arises from largely underestimated USA and undeclared Asian emissions.
S. J. Lawson, M. D. Keywood, I. E. Galbally, J. L. Gras, J. M. Cainey, M. E. Cope, P. B. Krummel, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, S. T. Bentley, C. P. Meyer, Z. Ristovski, and A. H. Goldstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13393–13411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13393-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13393-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Biomass burning (BB) plumes were opportunistically measured at the Cape Grim Baseline Station in Tasmania, Australia. We provide a unique set of trace gas and particle emission factors for temperate Australian coastal heathland fires, and attribute a major short-lived enhancement in emission ratios to a minor rainfall event. The ability of BB particles to act as cloud condensation nuclei, and the contribution of BB emissions to observed particle growth and ozone enhancements are discussed.
M. K. Kajos, P. Rantala, M. Hill, H. Hellén, J. Aalto, J. Patokoski, R. Taipale, C. C. Hoerger, S. Reimann, T. M. Ruuskanen, J. Rinne, and T. Petäjä
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4453–4473, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4453-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4453-2015, 2015
S. T. Lennartz, G. Krysztofiak, C. A. Marandino, B.-M. Sinnhuber, S. Tegtmeier, F. Ziska, R. Hossaini, K. Krüger, S. A. Montzka, E. Atlas, D. E. Oram, T. Keber, H. Bönisch, and B. Quack
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11753–11772, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11753-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11753-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Marine-produced short-lived trace gases such as halocarbons and DMS significantly impact atmospheric chemistry. To assess this impact on ozone depletion and the radiative budget, it is critical that their marine emissions in atmospheric chemistry models are quantified as accurately as possible. We show that calculating emissions online with an interactive atmosphere improves the agreement with current observations and should be employed regularly in models where marine sources are important.
K. C. Wells, D. B. Millet, N. Bousserez, D. K. Henze, S. Chaliyakunnel, T. J. Griffis, Y. Luan, E. J. Dlugokencky, R. G. Prinn, S. O'Doherty, R. F. Weiss, G. S. Dutton, J. W. Elkins, P. B. Krummel, R. Langenfelds, L. P. Steele, E. A. Kort, S. C. Wofsy, and T. Umezawa
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3179–3198, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3179-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3179-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This paper introduces a new inversion framework for N2O using GEOS-Chem and its adjoint, which we employed in a series of observing system simulation experiments to evaluate the source and sink constraints provided by surface and aircraft-based N2O measurements. We also applied a new approach for estimating a posteriori uncertainty for high-dimensional inversions, and used it to quantify the spatial and temporal resolution of N2O emission constraints achieved with the current observing network.
C. C. Hoerger, A. Claude, C. Plass-Duelmer, S. Reimann, E. Eckart, R. Steinbrecher, J. Aalto, J. Arduini, N. Bonnaire, J. N. Cape, A. Colomb, R. Connolly, J. Diskova, P. Dumitrean, C. Ehlers, V. Gros, H. Hakola, M. Hill, J. R. Hopkins, J. Jäger, R. Junek, M. K. Kajos, D. Klemp, M. Leuchner, A. C. Lewis, N. Locoge, M. Maione, D. Martin, K. Michl, E. Nemitz, S. O'Doherty, P. Pérez Ballesta, T. M. Ruuskanen, S. Sauvage, N. Schmidbauer, T. G. Spain, E. Straube, M. Vana, M. K. Vollmer, R. Wegener, and A. Wenger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2715–2736, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2715-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2715-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The performance of 20 European laboratories involved in long-term non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) measurements was assessed with respect to ACTRIS and GAW data quality objectives. The participants were asked to measure both a 30-component NMHC mixture in nitrogen and whole air. The NMHCs were analysed either by GC-FID or GC-MS. Most systems performed well for the NMHC in nitrogen, whereas in air more scatter was observed. Reasons for this are explained in the paper.
A. L. Ganesan, A. J. Manning, A. Grant, D. Young, D .E. Oram, W. T. Sturges, J. B. Moncrieff, and S. O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6393–6406, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6393-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6393-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The UK is one of several countries to enact legislation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. We present top-down emissions of methane and nitrous oxide for the UK and Ireland over 2012-2014. We inferred average UK emissions of 2.09Tg/yr CH4 and 0.101Tg/yr N2O and used sectoral distributions to determine whether these discrepancies can be attributed to specific source sectors. We found the agricultural sector likely to be overestimated in the bottom-up emissions inventories of both gases.
E. J. Morgan, J. V. Lavrič, T. Seifert, T. Chicoine, A. Day, J. Gomez, R. Logan, J. Sack, T. Shuuya, E. G. Uushona, K. Vincent, U. Schultz, E.-G. Brunke, C. Labuschagne, R. L. Thompson, S. Schmidt, A. C. Manning, and M. Heimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2233–2250, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2233-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2233-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the analytical techniques used in the creation of a new background site for continuous measurements of greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, and atmospheric oxygen in the Namib Desert. The measurement system is semi-automated and optimized for operation in a remote locale. Measurement uncertainties, gas handling, calibration schemes, drift corrections, and instrument performance are discussed.
J. A. Fisher, S. R. Wilson, G. Zeng, J. E. Williams, L. K. Emmons, R. L. Langenfelds, P. B. Krummel, and L. P. Steele
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3217–3239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3217-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3217-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The Southern Hemisphere (SH) serves as an important test bed for evaluating our understanding of the processes that drive the composition of the clean background atmosphere. Using data from two aircraft campaigns, combined with four atmospheric chemistry models, we find a large sensitivity in the remote SH to biogenic emissions and their subsequent chemistry and transport. Future model evaluation and measurement campaigns should prioritize reducing uncertainties in these processes.
A. Ghosh, P. K. Patra, K. Ishijima, T. Umezawa, A. Ito, D. M. Etheridge, S. Sugawara, K. Kawamura, J. B. Miller, E. J. Dlugokencky, P. B. Krummel, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, R. L. Langenfelds, C. M. Trudinger, J. W. C. White, B. Vaughn, T. Saeki, S. Aoki, and T. Nakazawa
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2595–2612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2595-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2595-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric CH4 increased from 900ppb to 1800ppb during the period 1900–2010 at a rate unprecedented in any observational records. We use bottom-up emissions and a chemistry-transport model to simulate CH4. The optimized global total CH4 emission, estimated from the model–observation differences, increased at fastest rate during 1940–1990. Using δ13C of CH4 measurements we attribute this emission increase to biomass burning. Total CH4 lifetime is shortened by 4% over the simulation period.
Emma C. Leedham Elvidge, D. E. Oram, J. C. Laube, A. K. Baker, S. A. Montzka, S. Humphrey, D. A. O'Sullivan, and C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1939–1958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1939-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1939-2015, 2015
P. Bergamaschi, M. Corazza, U. Karstens, M. Athanassiadou, R. L. Thompson, I. Pison, A. J. Manning, P. Bousquet, A. Segers, A. T. Vermeulen, G. Janssens-Maenhout, M. Schmidt, M. Ramonet, F. Meinhardt, T. Aalto, L. Haszpra, J. Moncrieff, M. E. Popa, D. Lowry, M. Steinbacher, A. Jordan, S. O'Doherty, S. Piacentino, and E. Dlugokencky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 715–736, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-715-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-715-2015, 2015
Z. M. Loh, R. M. Law, K. D. Haynes, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, P. J. Fraser, S. D. Chambers, and A. G. Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 305–317, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-305-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-305-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The paper compares methane observations at Cape Grim, Tasmania, with model-simulated methane to better constrain methane fluxes from southeastern Australia. Inventory estimates of anthropogenic methane emissions appear to be supported by observed atmospheric methane. A missing methane source in springtime (October to November) is tentatively attributed to wetland emissions.
A. Fraser, P. I. Palmer, L. Feng, H. Bösch, R. Parker, E. J. Dlugokencky, P. B. Krummel, and R. L. Langenfelds
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12883–12895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12883-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12883-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite measurements of CO2 and CH4 can be subject to regional systematic errors that can consequently compromise their ability to infer robust flux estimates of these two gases. We develop a method to use retrieved ratios of CH4 and CO2 that are less affected by systematic error. We show that additional in situ data are needed to anchor these observed ratios so they can simultaneously infer fluxes of CO2 and CH4. We argue the ratio data will provide a more faithful description of true fluxes.
W. Bader, T. Stavrakou, J.-F. Muller, S. Reimann, C. D. Boone, J. J. Harrison, O. Flock, B. Bovy, B. Franco, B. Lejeune, C. Servais, and E. Mahieu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3861–3872, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3861-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3861-2014, 2014
M. Maione, F. Graziosi, J. Arduini, F. Furlani, U. Giostra, D. R. Blake, P. Bonasoni, X. Fang, S. A. Montzka, S. J. O'Doherty, S. Reimann, A. Stohl, and M. K. Vollmer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9755–9770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9755-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9755-2014, 2014
S. O'Doherty, M. Rigby, J. Mühle, D. J. Ivy, B. R. Miller, D. Young, P. G. Simmonds, S. Reimann, M. K. Vollmer, P. B. Krummel, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, B. Dunse, P. K. Salameh, C. M. Harth, T. Arnold, R. F. Weiss, J. Kim, S. Park, S. Li, C. Lunder, O. Hermansen, N. Schmidbauer, L. X. Zhou, B. Yao, R. H. J. Wang, A. J. Manning, and R. G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9249–9258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9249-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9249-2014, 2014
S. N. Vardag, S. Hammer, S. O'Doherty, T. G. Spain, B. Wastine, A. Jordan, and I. Levin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8403–8418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8403-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8403-2014, 2014
S. J. Oltmans, A. Karion, R. C. Schnell, G. Pétron, C. Sweeney, S. Wolter, D. Neff, S. A. Montzka, B. R. Miller, D. Helmig, B. J. Johnson, and J. Hueber
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-20117-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-20117-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript not accepted
R. L. Thompson, K. Ishijima, E. Saikawa, M. Corazza, U. Karstens, P. K. Patra, P. Bergamaschi, F. Chevallier, E. Dlugokencky, R. G. Prinn, R. F. Weiss, S. O'Doherty, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, P. B. Krummel, A. Vermeulen, Y. Tohjima, A. Jordan, L. Haszpra, M. Steinbacher, S. Van der Laan, T. Aalto, F. Meinhardt, M. E. Popa, J. Moncrieff, and P. Bousquet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6177–6194, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6177-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6177-2014, 2014
X. Fang, R. L. Thompson, T. Saito, Y. Yokouchi, J. Kim, S. Li, K. R. Kim, S. Park, F. Graziosi, and A. Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4779–4791, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4779-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4779-2014, 2014
E. Saikawa, R. G. Prinn, E. Dlugokencky, K. Ishijima, G. S. Dutton, B. D. Hall, R. Langenfelds, Y. Tohjima, T. Machida, M. Manizza, M. Rigby, S. O'Doherty, P. K. Patra, C. M. Harth, R. F. Weiss, P. B. Krummel, M. van der Schoot, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, S. Aoki, T. Nakazawa, and J. W. Elkins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4617–4641, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4617-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4617-2014, 2014
R. L. Thompson, P. K. Patra, K. Ishijima, E. Saikawa, M. Corazza, U. Karstens, C. Wilson, P. Bergamaschi, E. Dlugokencky, C. Sweeney, R. G. Prinn, R. F. Weiss, S. O'Doherty, P. J. Fraser, L. P. Steele, P. B. Krummel, M. Saunois, M. Chipperfield, and P. Bousquet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4349–4368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4349-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4349-2014, 2014
A. L. Ganesan, M. Rigby, A. Zammit-Mangion, A. J. Manning, R. G. Prinn, P. J. Fraser, C. M. Harth, K.-R. Kim, P. B. Krummel, S. Li, J. Mühle, S. J. O'Doherty, S. Park, P. K. Salameh, L. P. Steele, and R. F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3855–3864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3855-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3855-2014, 2014
M. Fiebig, D. Hirdman, C. R. Lunder, J. A. Ogren, S. Solberg, A. Stohl, and R. L. Thompson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3083–3093, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3083-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3083-2014, 2014
C. Weaver, C. Kiemle, S. R. Kawa, T. Aalto, J. Necki, M. Steinbacher, J. Arduini, F. Apadula, H. Berkhout, and J. Hatakka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2625–2637, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2625-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2625-2014, 2014
M. E. Popa, M. K. Vollmer, A. Jordan, W. A. Brand, S. L. Pathirana, M. Rothe, and T. Röckmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2105–2123, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2105-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2105-2014, 2014
R. L. Thompson, F. Chevallier, A. M. Crotwell, G. Dutton, R. L. Langenfelds, R. G. Prinn, R. F. Weiss, Y. Tohjima, T. Nakazawa, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, P. Fraser, S. O'Doherty, K. Ishijima, and S. Aoki
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1801–1817, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1801-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1801-2014, 2014
B. D. Hall, A. Engel, J. Mühle, J. W. Elkins, F. Artuso, E. Atlas, M. Aydin, D. Blake, E.-G. Brunke, S. Chiavarini, P. J. Fraser, J. Happell, P. B. Krummel, I. Levin, M. Loewenstein, M. Maione, S. A. Montzka, S. O'Doherty, S. Reimann, G. Rhoderick, E. S. Saltzman, H. E. Scheel, L. P. Steele, M. K. Vollmer, R. F. Weiss, D. Worthy, and Y. Yokouchi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 469–490, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-469-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-469-2014, 2014
E. Mahieu, R. Zander, G. C. Toon, M. K. Vollmer, S. Reimann, J. Mühle, W. Bader, B. Bovy, B. Lejeune, C. Servais, P. Demoulin, G. Roland, P. F. Bernath, C. D. Boone, K. A. Walker, and P. Duchatelet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 333–344, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-333-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-333-2014, 2014
L. Kuai, J. Worden, S. S. Kulawik, S. A. Montzka, and J. Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 163–172, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-163-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-163-2014, 2014
C. Cressot, F. Chevallier, P. Bousquet, C. Crevoisier, E. J. Dlugokencky, A. Fortems-Cheiney, C. Frankenberg, R. Parker, I. Pison, R. A. Scheepmaker, S. A. Montzka, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, and R. L. Langenfelds
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 577–592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-577-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-577-2014, 2014
R. Hossaini, H. Mantle, M. P. Chipperfield, S. A. Montzka, P. Hamer, F. Ziska, B. Quack, K. Krüger, S. Tegtmeier, E. Atlas, S. Sala, A. Engel, H. Bönisch, T. Keber, D. Oram, G. Mills, C. Ordóñez, A. Saiz-Lopez, N. Warwick, Q. Liang, W. Feng, F. Moore, B. R. Miller, V. Marécal, N. A. D. Richards, M. Dorf, and K. Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11819–11838, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11819-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11819-2013, 2013
B. W. LaFranchi, G. Pétron, J. B. Miller, S. J. Lehman, A. E. Andrews, E. J. Dlugokencky, B. Hall, B. R. Miller, S. A. Montzka, W. Neff, P. C. Novelli, C. Sweeney, J. C. Turnbull, D. E. Wolfe, P. P. Tans, K. R. Gurney, and T. P. Guilderson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11101–11120, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11101-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11101-2013, 2013
A. L. Ganesan, A. Chatterjee, R. G. Prinn, C. M. Harth, P. K. Salameh, A. J. Manning, B. D. Hall, J. Mühle, L. K. Meredith, R. F. Weiss, S. O'Doherty, and D. Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10633–10644, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10633-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10633-2013, 2013
R. Locatelli, P. Bousquet, F. Chevallier, A. Fortems-Cheney, S. Szopa, M. Saunois, A. Agusti-Panareda, D. Bergmann, H. Bian, P. Cameron-Smith, M. P. Chipperfield, E. Gloor, S. Houweling, S. R. Kawa, M. Krol, P. K. Patra, R. G. Prinn, M. Rigby, R. Saito, and C. Wilson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9917–9937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9917-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9917-2013, 2013
S. Basu, S. Guerlet, A. Butz, S. Houweling, O. Hasekamp, I. Aben, P. Krummel, P. Steele, R. Langenfelds, M. Torn, S. Biraud, B. Stephens, A. Andrews, and D. Worthy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 8695–8717, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8695-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8695-2013, 2013
R. Kallenborn, K. Breivik, S. Eckhardt, C. R. Lunder, S. Manø, M. Schlabach, and A. Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6983–6992, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6983-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6983-2013, 2013
A. Fraser, P. I. Palmer, L. Feng, H. Boesch, A. Cogan, R. Parker, E. J. Dlugokencky, P. J. Fraser, P. B. Krummel, R. L. Langenfelds, S. O'Doherty, R. G. Prinn, L. P. Steele, M. van der Schoot, and R. F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5697–5713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5697-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5697-2013, 2013
L. R. Welp, R. F. Keeling, R. F. Weiss, W. Paplawsky, and S. Heckman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1217–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1217-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1217-2013, 2013
C. E. Yver, H. D. Graven, D. D. Lucas, P. J. Cameron-Smith, R. F. Keeling, and R. F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1837–1852, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1837-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1837-2013, 2013
C. M. Trudinger, I. G. Enting, P. J. Rayner, D. M. Etheridge, C. Buizert, M. Rubino, P. B. Krummel, and T. Blunier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1485–1510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1485-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1485-2013, 2013
D. A. Belikov, S. Maksyutov, M. Krol, A. Fraser, M. Rigby, H. Bian, A. Agusti-Panareda, D. Bergmann, P. Bousquet, P. Cameron-Smith, M. P. Chipperfield, A. Fortems-Cheiney, E. Gloor, K. Haynes, P. Hess, S. Houweling, S. R. Kawa, R. M. Law, Z. Loh, L. Meng, P. I. Palmer, P. K. Patra, R. G. Prinn, R. Saito, and C. Wilson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1093–1114, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1093-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1093-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Chemistry–climate feedback of atmospheric methane in a methane-emission-flux-driven chemistry–climate model
Surface ozone trend variability across the United States and the impact of heat waves (1990–2023)
Sensitivity of climate effects of hydrogen to leakage size, location, and chemical background
Evaluating tropospheric nitrogen dioxide in UKCA using OMI satellite retrievals over south and east Asia
Technical note: A comparative study of chemistry schemes for volcanic sulfur dioxide in Lagrangian transport simulations – a case study of the 2019 Raikoke eruption
Revisiting the high tropospheric ozone over southern Africa: role of biomass burning and anthropogenic emissions
Monoterpene oxidation pathways initiated by acyl peroxy radical addition
Local and transboundary contributions to NOy loadings across East Asia using CMAQ-ISAM and a GEMS-informed emission inventory during the winter–spring transition
Estimating the variability in NOx emissions from Wuhan with TROPOMI NO2 data during 2018 to 2023
Enhanced understanding of atmospheric blocking modulation on ozone dynamics within a high-resolution Earth system model
Natural emissions of VOC and NOx over Africa constrained by TROPOMI HCHO and NO2 data using the MAGRITTEv1.1 model
Impacts of wildfire smoke aerosols on near-surface ozone photochemistry
Anthropogenic emission controls reduce summertime ozone–temperature sensitivity in the United States
Investigating the response of China's surface ozone concentration to the future changes of multiple factors
Assessing the relative impacts of satellite ozone and its precursor observations to improve global tropospheric ozone analysis using multiple chemical reanalysis systems
Evaluating present-day and future impacts of agricultural ammonia emissions on atmospheric chemistry and climate
Air-pollution-satellite-based CO2 emission inversion: system evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and future research direction
Insights into ozone pollution control in urban areas by decoupling meteorological factors based on machine learning
Quantification of regional net CO2 flux errors in the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) v10 model intercomparison project (MIP) ensemble using airborne measurements
Reactive nitrogen in and around the northeastern and mid-Atlantic US: sources, sinks, and connections with ozone
Preindustrial-to-present-day changes in atmospheric carbon monoxide: agreement and gaps between ice archives and global model reconstructions
Investigating processes influencing simulation of local Arctic wintertime anthropogenic pollution in Fairbanks, Alaska, during ALPACA-2022
Urban ozone formation and sensitivities to volatile chemical products, cooking emissions, and NOx upwind of and within two Los Angeles Basin cities
Causes of growing middle-to-upper tropospheric ozone over the northwest Pacific region
Impact of introducing electric vehicles on ground-level O3 and PM2.5 in the Greater Tokyo Area: yearly trends and the importance of changes in the urban heat island effect
Modelling Arctic Lower Tropospheric Ozone: processes controlling seasonal variations
South Asia ammonia emission inversion through assimilating IASI observations
Constraining the budget of NOx and VOCs at a remote Tropical island using multi-platform observations and WRF-Chem model simulations
A CO2–Δ14CO2 inversion setup for estimating European fossil CO2 emissions
Maximum ozone concentrations in the southwestern US and Texas: implications of the growing predominance of the background contribution
Derivation of atmospheric reaction mechanisms for volatile organic compounds by the SAPRC mechanism generation system (MechGen)
Comparative ozone production sensitivity to NOx and VOCs in Quito, Ecuador and Santiago, Chile: implications for control strategies in times of climate action
Seasonal, regional, and vertical characteristics of high-carbon-monoxide plumes along with their associated ozone anomalies, as seen by IAGOS between 2002 and 2019
Tropospheric ozone trends and attributions over East and Southeast Asia in 1995–2019: An integrated assessment using statistical methods, machine learning models, and multiple chemical transport models
The potential of drone observations to improve air quality predictions by 4D-Var
Process analysis of elevated concentrations of organic acids at Whiteface Mountain, New York
Sensitivity of climate-chemistry model simulated atmospheric composition to lightning-produced NOx parameterizations based on lightning frequency
Ozone source attribution in polluted European areas during summer 2017 as simulated with MECO(n)
Characterization of reactive nitrogen in the global upper troposphere using recent and historical commercial and research aircraft campaigns and GEOS-Chem
Opinion: Challenges and needs of tropospheric chemical mechanism development
Decrease of the European NOx anthropogenic emissions between 2005 and 2019 as seen from the OMI and TROPOMI NO2 satellite observations
Tracking daily NOx emissions from an urban agglomeration based on TROPOMI NO2 and a local ensemble transform Kalman filter
The atmospheric oxidizing capacity in China – Part 2: Sensitivity to emissions of primary pollutants
Role of chemical production and depositional losses on formaldehyde in the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM)
Review of source analyses of ambient volatile organic compounds considering reactive losses: methods of reducing loss effects, impacts of losses, and sources
Interpreting summertime hourly variation of NO2 columns with implications for geostationary satellite applications
An investigation into atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO) processes in South Korea
Soil Deposition of Atmospheric Hydrogen Constrained using Planetary Scale Observations
Performance evaluation of UKESM1 for surface ozone across the pan-tropics
Constraining light dependency in modeled emissions through comparison to observed biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) concentrations in a southeastern US forest
Laura Stecher, Franziska Winterstein, Patrick Jöckel, Michael Ponater, Mariano Mertens, and Martin Dameris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5133–5158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5133-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5133-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Methane, the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, is chemically decomposed in the atmosphere. The chemical sink of atmospheric methane is not constant but depends on the temperature and on the abundance of its reaction partners. In this study, we use a global chemistry–climate model to assess the feedback of atmospheric methane induced by changes in the chemical sink in a warming climate and its implications for the chemical composition and the surface air temperature change.
Kai-Lan Chang, Brian C. McDonald, Colin Harkins, and Owen R. Cooper
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5101–5132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5101-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5101-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Exposure to high levels of ozone can be harmful to human health. This study shows consistent and robust evidence of decreasing ozone extremes across much of the United States over the period from 1990 to 2023, previously attributed to ozone precursor emission controls. Nevertheless, we also show that the increasing heat wave frequencies are likely to contribute to additional ozone exceedances, slowing the progress of decreasing the frequency of ozone exceedances.
Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Marit Sandstad, Srinath Krishnan, Gunnar Myhre, and Maria Sand
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4929–4942, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4929-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4929-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrogen leakages can alter the amount of climate gases in the atmosphere and hence have a climate impact. In this study we investigate, using an atmospheric chemistry model, how this indirect climate effect differs with different amounts of leakages and with where the hydrogen leaks and if this effect changes in the future. The effect is largest for emissions far from areas where hydrogen is removed from the atmosphere by the soil, but these are not relevant locations for a future hydrogen economy.
Alok K. Pandey, David S. Stevenson, Alcide Zhao, Richard J. Pope, Ryan Hossaini, Krishan Kumar, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4785–4802, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4785-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4785-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutant largely controlled by human activity that affects ozone, methane, and aerosols. Satellite instruments can quantify column NO2 and, by carefully matching the time and location of measurements, enable evaluation of model simulations. NO2 over south and east Asia is assessed, showing that the model captures not only many features of the measurements, but also important differences that suggest model deficiencies in representing several aspects of the atmospheric chemistry of NO2.
Mingzhao Liu, Lars Hoffmann, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Zhongyin Cai, Sabine Grießbach, and Yi Heng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4403–4418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4403-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4403-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied the transport and chemical decomposition of volcanic SO2, focusing on the 2019 Raikoke event. By comparing two different chemistry modeling schemes, we found that including complex chemical reactions leads to a more accurate prediction of how long SO2 stays in the atmosphere. This research helps improve our understanding of volcanic pollution and its impact on air quality and climate, providing better tools for scientists to track and predict the movement of these pollutants.
Yufen Wang, Ke Li, Xi Chen, Zhenjiang Yang, Minglong Tang, Pascoal M. D. Campos, Yang Yang, Xu Yue, and Hong Liao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4455–4475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4455-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The impacts of biomass burning and anthropogenic emissions on high tropospheric ozone levels are not well studied in southern Africa. We combined model simulations with recent observations at the surface and from space to quantify tropospheric ozone and its drivers in southern Africa. Our work focuses on the impact of emissions from different sources at different spatial scales, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of air pollution drivers and their uncertainties in southern Africa.
Dominika Pasik, Thomas Golin Almeida, Emelda Ahongshangbam, Siddharth Iyer, and Nanna Myllys
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4313–4331, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4313-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4313-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We used quantum chemistry methods to investigate the oxidation mechanisms of acyl peroxy radicals (APRs) with various monoterpenes. Our findings reveal unique oxidation pathways for different monoterpenes, leading to either chain-terminating products or highly reactive intermediates that can contribute to particle formation in the atmosphere. This research highlights APRs as potentially significant but underexplored atmospheric oxidants that may influence future approaches to modelling climate.
Jincheol Park, Yunsoo Choi, and Sagun Kayastha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4291–4311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4291-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4291-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated NOx emission contributions to NOy loadings across five regions of East Asia during the 2022 winter–spring transition through chemical transport modeling informed by satellite data. As seasons progress, local contributions within each region to its NOy budget decreased from 32 %–43 % to 23 %–30 %, while transboundary contributions increased from 16 %–33 % to 27 %–37 %, driven by a shift in synoptic settings that allowed pollutants to spread more broadly across the regions.
Qianqian Zhang, K. Folkert Boersma, Chiel van der Laan, Alba Mols, Bin Zhao, Shengyue Li, and Yuepeng Pan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3313–3326, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3313-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3313-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate NOx emission estimates are required to better understand air pollution. This study investigates and demonstrates the ability of the superposition column model in combination with TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 column data to estimate city-scale NOx emissions and lifetimes and their variabilities. The results of this work nevertheless confirm the strength of the superposition column model in estimating urban NOx emissions with reasonable accuracy.
Wenbin Kou, Yang Gao, Dan Tong, Xiaojie Guo, Xiadong An, Wenyu Liu, Mengshi Cui, Xiuwen Guo, Shaoqing Zhang, Huiwang Gao, and Lixin Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3029–3048, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3029-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3029-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Unlike traditional numerical studies, we apply a high-resolution Earth system model, improving simulations of surface ozone and large-scale circulations such as atmospheric blocking. Besides local heat waves, we quantify the impact of atmospheric blocking on downstream ozone concentrations, which is closely associated with the blocking position. We identify three major pathways of Rossby wave propagation, stressing the critical role of large-scale circulation in regional air quality.
Beata Opacka, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, Isabelle De Smedt, Jos van Geffen, Eloise A. Marais, Rebekah P. Horner, Dylan B. Millet, Kelly C. Wells, and Alex B. Guenther
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2863–2894, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2863-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation releases biogenic volatile organic compounds, while soils and lightning contribute to the natural emissions of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. These gases interact in complex ways. Using satellite data and models, we developed a new method to simultaneously optimize these natural emissions over Africa in 2019. Our approach resulted in an increase in natural emissions, supported by independent data indicating that current estimates are underestimated.
Jiaqi Shen, Ronald C. Cohen, Glenn M. Wolfe, and Xiaomeng Jin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-706, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-706, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows large chemical and radiative effects of smoke aerosols from fires on near-surface ozone production. Aerosol loading and NOx levels are identified as the primary factors influencing these effects. Furthermore, we show that the surface PM2.5 to NO2 column ratio can be used as an indicator for identifying aerosol-dominated regimes, facilitating the assessments of aerosol impacts on ozone formation through satellite observations.
Shuai Li, Haolin Wang, and Xiao Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2725–2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2725-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Summertime ozone–temperature sensitivity has decreased by 50 % from 3.0 ppbv per K in 1990 to 1.5 ppb per K in 2021 in the US. GEOS-Chem simulations show that anthropogenic nitrogen oxide emission reduction is the dominant driver of ozone–temperature sensitivity decline by influencing both temperature direct and temperature indirect processes. Reduced ozone–temperature sensitivity has decreased ozone enhancement from low to high temperatures by an average of 6.8 ppbv across the US.
Jinya Yang, Yutong Wang, Lei Zhang, and Yu Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2649–2666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2649-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2649-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a modeling framework to predict future ozone concentrations (till the 2060s) in China following an IPCC scenario. We evaluate the contributions of climatic, anthropogenic, and biogenic factors by season and region. We find persistent emission controls will alter the nonlinear response of ozone to its precursors and dominate the declining ozone level. The outcomes highlight the importance of human actions, even with a climate penalty on air quality.
Takashi Sekiya, Emanuele Emili, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Antje Inness, Zhen Qu, R. Bradley Pierce, Dylan Jones, Helen Worden, William Y. Y. Cheng, Vincent Huijnen, and Gerbrand Koren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2243–2268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2243-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2243-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Five global chemical reanalysis datasets were used to assess the relative impacts of assimilating satellite ozone and its precursor measurements on tropospheric ozone analyses for 2010. The multiple reanalysis system comparison allows an evaluation of the dependency of the impacts on different reanalysis systems. The results suggested the importance of satellite ozone and its precursor measurements for improving ozone analysis in the whole troposphere, with varying magnitudes among the systems.
Maureen Beaudor, Didier Hauglustaine, Juliette Lathière, Martin Van Damme, Lieven Clarisse, and Nicolas Vuichard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2017–2046, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2017-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2017-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Agriculture is the biggest ammonia (NH3) source, impacting air quality, climate, and ecosystems. Because of food demand, NH3 emissions are projected to rise by 2100. Using a global model, we analyzed the impact of present and future NH3 emissions generated from a land model. Our results show improved ammonia patterns compared to a reference inventory. Future scenarios predict up to 70 % increase in global NH3 burden, with significant changes in radiative forcing that can greatly elevate N2O.
Hui Li, Jiaxin Qiu, and Bo Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1949–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1949-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1949-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We conduct a sensitivity analysis with 31 tests on various factors including prior emissions, model resolution, satellite constraint, and other system configurations to assess the vulnerability of emission estimates across temporal, sectoral, and regional dimensions. This reveals the robustness of emissions estimated by this air-pollution-satellite-based CO2 emission inversion system, with relative change between tests and base inversion below 4.0 % for national annual NOx and CO2 emissions.
Yuqing Qiu, Xin Li, Wenxuan Chai, Yi Liu, Mengdi Song, Xudong Tian, Qiaoli Zou, Wenjun Lou, Wangyao Zhang, Juan Li, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1749–1763, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1749-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1749-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The chemical reactions of ozone (O3) formation are related to meteorology and local emissions. Here, a random forest approach was used to eliminate the effects of meteorological factors (dispersion or transport) on O3 and its precursors. Variations in the sensitivity of O3 formation and the apportionment of emission sources were revealed after meteorological normalization. Our results suggest that meteorological variations should be considered when diagnosing O3 formation.
Jeongmin Yun, Junjie Liu, Brendan Byrne, Brad Weir, Lesley E. Ott, Kathryn McKain, Bianca C. Baier, Luciana V. Gatti, and Sebastien C. Biraud
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1725–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study quantifies errors in regional net surface–atmosphere CO2 flux estimates from an inverse model ensemble using airborne CO2 measurements. Our results show that flux error estimates based on observations significantly exceed those computed from the ensemble spread of flux estimates in regions with high fossil fuel emissions. This finding suggests the presence of systematic biases in the inversion estimates, associated with errors in the fossil fuel emissions common to all models.
Min Huang, Gregory R. Carmichael, Kevin W. Bowman, Isabelle De Smedt, Andreas Colliander, Michael H. Cosh, Sujay V. Kumar, Alex B. Guenther, Scott J. Janz, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Niko M. Fedkin, Robert J. Swap, John D. Bolten, and Alicia T. Joseph
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1449–1476, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1449-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1449-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We use model simulations along with multiplatform, multidisciplinary observations and a range of analysis methods to estimate and understand the distributions, temporal changes, and impacts of reactive nitrogen and ozone over the most populous US region that has undergone significant environmental changes. Deposition, biogenic emissions, and extra-regional sources have been playing increasingly important roles in controlling pollutant budgets in this area as local anthropogenic emissions drop.
Xavier Faïn, Sophie Szopa, Vaishali Naïk, Patricia Martinerie, David M. Etheridge, Rachael H. Rhodes, Cathy M. Trudinger, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Kévin Fourteau, and Philip Place
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1105–1119, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1105-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1105-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon monoxide (CO) plays a crucial role in the atmosphere's oxidizing capacity. In this study, we analyse how historical (1850–2014) [CO] outputs from state-of-the-art global chemistry–climate models over Greenland and Antarctica are able to capture both absolute values and trends recorded in multi-site ice archives. A disparity in [CO] growth rates emerges in the Northern Hemisphere between models and observations from 1920–1975 CE, possibly linked to uncertainties in CO emission factors.
Natalie Brett, Kathy S. Law, Steve R. Arnold, Javier G. Fochesatto, Jean-Christophe Raut, Tatsuo Onishi, Robert Gilliam, Kathleen Fahey, Deanna Huff, George Pouliot, Brice Barret, Elsa Dieudonné, Roman Pohorsky, Julia Schmale, Andrea Baccarini, Slimane Bekki, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Federico Scoto, Stefano Decesari, Antonio Donateo, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, William Simpson, Patrice Medina, Barbara D'Anna, Brice Temime-Roussel, Joel Savarino, Sarah Albertin, Jingqiu Mao, Becky Alexander, Allison Moon, Peter F. DeCarlo, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert Yokelson, and Ellis S. Robinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1063–1104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1063-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1063-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Processes influencing dispersion of local anthropogenic pollution in Arctic wintertime are investigated with Lagrangian dispersion modelling. Simulated power plant plume rise that considers temperature inversion layers improves results compared to observations (interior Alaska). Modelled surface concentrations are improved by representation of vertical mixing and emission estimates. Large increases in diesel vehicle emissions at temperatures reaching −35°C are required to reproduce observed NOx.
Chelsea E. Stockwell, Matthew M. Coggon, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Colin Harkins, Bert Verreyken, Congmeng Lyu, Qindan Zhu, Lu Xu, Jessica B. Gilman, Aaron Lamplugh, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Patrick R. Veres, Meng Li, Andrew W. Rollins, Kristen Zuraski, Sunil Baidar, Shang Liu, Toshihiro Kuwayama, Steven S. Brown, Brian C. McDonald, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1121–1143, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1121-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1121-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In urban areas, emissions from everyday products like paints, cleaners, and personal care products, along with non-traditional sources such as cooking, are increasingly important and impact air quality. This study uses a box model to evaluate how these emissions impact ozone in the Los Angeles Basin and quantifies the impact of gaseous cooking emissions. Accurate representation of these and other anthropogenic sources in inventories is crucial for informing effective air quality policies.
Xiaodan Ma, Jianping Huang, Michaela I. Hegglin, Patrick Jöckel, and Tianliang Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 943–958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-943-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-943-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our research explored changes in ozone levels in the northwest Pacific region over 30 years, revealing a significant increase in the middle-to-upper troposphere, especially during spring and summer. This rise is influenced by both stratospheric and tropospheric sources, which affect climate and air quality in East Asia. This work underscores the need for continued study to understand underlying mechanisms.
Hiroo Hata, Norifumi Mizushima, and Tomohiko Ihara
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1037–1061, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1037-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1037-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is expected to reduce the primary air pollutants from vehicular exhaust and evaporative emissions while reducing the anthropogenic heat produced by vehicles, ultimately mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. This study revealed the impact of introducing BEVs on the decrease in the UHI effect and the impact of BEVs on the formation of tropospheric ozone and fine particulate matter in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan.
Wanmin Gong, Stephen R. Beagley, Kenjiro Toyota, Henrik Skov, Jesper Heile Christensen, Alexandru Lupu, Diane Pendlebury, Junhua Zhang, Ulas Im, Yugo Kanaya, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Roberto Sommariva, Peter Effertz, John W. Halfacre, Nis Jepsen, Rigel Kivi, Theodore K. Koenig, Katrin Müller, Claus Nordstrøm, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Paul B. Shepson, William R. Simpson, Sverre Solberg, Ralf M. Staebler, David W. Tarasick, Roeland Van Malderen, and Mika Vestenius
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3750, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3750, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study showed that the springtime O3 depletion plays a critical role in driving the surface O3 seasonal cycle in Central Arctic. The O3 depletion events, while occurring most notably within the lowest few hundred metres above the Arctic Ocean, can induce a 5–7 % of loss in the pan-Arctic tropospheric O3 burden during springtime. The study also found an enhancement in O3 and NOy (mostly PAN) concentrations in the Arctic due to northern boreal wildfires, particularly at altitudes.
Ji Xia, Yi Zhou, Li Fang, Yingfei Qi, Dehao Li, Hong Liao, and Jianbing Jin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3938, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3938, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study established an ammonia emission inventory in South Asia via assimilation-based inversion system. The posterior emissions, calculated by integrating the CEDS inventory and IASI satellite observations, showed significant improvement over the prior. Validation against various measurements all support our posterior emission. It offers valuable insights of ammonia emissions for policymakers and researchers aiming to develop air quality management and mitigation strategies there.
Catalina Poraicu, Jean-François Müller, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Crist Amelynck, Bert W. D. Verreyken, Niels Schoon, Corinne Vigouroux, Nicolas Kumps, Jérôme Brioude, Pierre Tulet, and Camille Mouchel-Vallon
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3555, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3555, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the sources and impacts of nitrogen oxides and organic compounds over a remote tropical island. High-resolution WRF-Chem simulations were evaluated using in situ, FTIR and satellite measurements. This work highlights gaps in current models, like missing sources of key organic compounds and inaccuracies in emission inventories, emphasizing the importance of improving chemical and dynamical processes in atmospheric modelling for budget estimates in tropical regions.
Carlos Gómez-Ortiz, Guillaume Monteil, Sourish Basu, and Marko Scholze
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 397–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-397-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-397-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we test new implementations of our inverse modeling tool to estimate the weekly and regional CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in Europe. We use synthetic atmospheric observations of CO2 and radiocarbon (14CO2) to trace emissions to their sources, while separating the natural and fossil CO2. Our tool accurately estimates fossil CO2 emissions in densely monitored regions like western/central Europe. This approach aids in developing strategies for reducing CO2 emissions.
David D. Parrish, Ian C. Faloona, and Richard G. Derwent
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 263–289, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-263-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-263-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Observation-based estimates of contributions to maximum ozone (O3) concentrations show that background O3 can exceed the air quality standard of 70 ppb in the southwestern US, precluding standard attainment. Over the past 4 decades, US anthropogenic O3 has decreased by a factor of ~ 6.3, while wildfire contributions have increased, so that the background now dominates maximum concentrations, even in Los Angeles, and the occurrence of maximum O3 has shifted from the eastern to the western US.
William P. L. Carter, Jia Jiang, John J. Orlando, and Kelley C. Barsanti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 199–242, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-199-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-199-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the scientific basis for gas-phase atmospheric chemical mechanisms derived using the SAPRC mechanism generation system, MechGen. It can derive mechanisms for most organic compounds with C, H, O, or N atoms, including initial reactions of organics with OH, O3, NO3, and O3P or by photolysis, as well as the reactions of the various types of intermediates that are formed. The paper includes a description of areas of uncertainty where additional research and updates are needed.
María Cazorla, Melissa Trujillo, Rodrigo Seguel, and Laura Gallardo
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3720, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3720, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The current climate emergency imposes the need to take actions in cities to curb ozone as a pollutant and a climate forcer. In this work we analyze how reducing the levels of ozone precursor would affect photochemical smog in Quito, Ecuador and Santiago, Chile. Results show that if environmental policy were implemented to reduce only nitrogen oxides, the production of ozone would increase substantially for which more integral solutions are needed.
Thibaut Lebourgeois, Bastien Sauvage, Pawel Wolff, Béatrice Josse, Virginie Marécal, Yasmine Bennouna, Romain Blot, Damien Boulanger, Hannah Clark, Jean-Marc Cousin, Philippe Nedelec, and Valérie Thouret
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13975–14004, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13975-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13975-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study examines intense-carbon-monoxide (CO) pollution events measured by commercial aircraft from the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS) research infrastructure. We combine these measurements with the SOFT-IO model to trace the origin of the observed CO. A comprehensive analysis of the geographical origin, source type, seasonal variation, and ozone levels of these pollution events is provided.
Xiao Lu, Yiming Liu, Jiayin Su, Xiang Weng, Tabish Ansari, Yuqiang Zhang, Guowen He, Yuqi Zhu, Haolin Wang, Ganquan Zeng, Jingyu Li, Cheng He, Shuai Li, Teerachai Amnuaylojaroen, Tim Butler, Qi Fan, Shaojia Fan, Grant L. Forster, Meng Gao, Jianlin Hu, Yugo Kanaya, Mohd Talib Latif, Keding Lu, Philippe Nédélec, Peer Nowack, Bastien Sauvage, Xiaobin Xu, Lin Zhang, Ke Li, Ja-Ho Koo, and Tatsuya Nagashima
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3702, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3702, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzes summertime ozone trends in East and Southeast Asia derived from a comprehensive observational database spanning from 1995 to 2019, incorporating aircraft observations, ozonesonde data, and measurements from 2500 surface sites. Multiple models are applied to attribute to changes in anthropogenic emissions and climate. The results highlight increases in anthropogenic emission are the primary driver of ozone increases both in the free troposphere and at the surface.
Hassnae Erraji, Philipp Franke, Astrid Lampert, Tobias Schuldt, Ralf Tillmann, Andreas Wahner, and Anne Caroline Lange
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13913–13934, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13913-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13913-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Four-dimensional variational data assimilation allows for the simultaneous optimisation of initial values and emission rates by using trace-gas profiles from drone observations in a regional air quality model. Assimilated profiles positively impact the representation of air pollutants in the model by improving their vertical distribution and ground-level concentrations. This case study highlights the potential of drone data to enhance air quality analyses including local emission evaluation.
Christopher Lawrence, Mary Barth, John Orlando, Paul Casson, Richard Brandt, Daniel Kelting, Elizabeth Yerger, and Sara Lance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13693–13713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13693-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13693-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work uses chemical transport and box modeling to study the gas- and aqueous-phase production of organic acid concentrations measured in cloud water at the summit of Whiteface Mountain on 1 July 2018. Isoprene was the major source of formic, acetic, and oxalic acid. Gas-phase chemistry greatly underestimated formic and acetic acid, indicating missing sources, while cloud chemistry was a key source of oxalic acid. More studies of organic acids are required to better constrain their sources.
Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón, Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez, Heidi Huntrieser, Patrick Jöckel, and Eric J. Bucsela
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Lightning plays a significant role in tropospheric chemistry by producing substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides. According to recent estimates, thunderstorms that produce a higher lightning frequency rate also produce less nitrogen oxide per flash. We implemented the dependency of nitrogen oxide production per flash on lightning flash frequency in a chemical atmospheric model.
Markus Kilian, Volker Grewe, Patrick Jöckel, Astrid Kerkweg, Mariano Mertens, Andreas Zahn, and Helmut Ziereis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13503–13523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13503-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13503-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Anthropogenic emissions are a major source of precursors of tropospheric ozone. As ozone formation is highly non-linear, we apply a global–regional chemistry–climate model with a source attribution method (tagging) to quantify the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to ozone. Our analysis shows that the contribution of European anthropogenic emissions largely increases during large ozone periods, indicating that emissions from these sectors drive ozone values.
Nana Wei, Eloise A. Marais, Gongda Lu, Robert G. Ryan, and Bastien Sauvage
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3388, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3388, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses reactive nitrogen observations from NASA DC-8 research aircraft and The In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS) campaigns to characterise reactive nitrogen seasonality and composition in the global upper troposphere and to diagnose the greatest knowledge gaps from comparison to a state-of-science model GEOS-Chem that need to be resolved for climate, nitrogen cycle and air pollution assessments.
Barbara Ervens, Andrew Rickard, Bernard Aumont, William P. L. Carter, Max McGillen, Abdelwahid Mellouki, John Orlando, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Paul Seakins, William R. Stockwell, Luc Vereecken, and Timothy J. Wallington
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13317–13339, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Chemical mechanisms describe the chemical processes in atmospheric models that are used to describe the changes in the atmospheric composition. Therefore, accurate chemical mechanisms are necessary to predict the evolution of air pollution and climate change. The article describes all steps that are needed to build chemical mechanisms and discusses the advances and needs of experimental and theoretical research activities needed to build reliable chemical mechanisms.
Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Robin Plauchu, Elise Potier, Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Adrien Martinez, Rimal Abeed, Gaelle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, Henk Eskes, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, and Stijn N. C. Dellaert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3679, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3679, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study assesses the potential of the OMI and TROPOMI satellite observations to inform about the evolution of NOx anthropogenic emissions between year 2005 and year 2019 at the regional to national scales in Europe. Both the OMI and TROPOMI inversions show decreases in European NOx anthropogenic emission budgets between 2005 and 2019, but with different magnitudes.
Yawen Kong, Bo Zheng, and Yuxi Liu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2996, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2996, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Current high-resolution satellite remote sensing technologies provide a unique opportunity to derive timely, high-resolution emission data. We developed an emission inversion system to assimilate satellite NO2 data to obtain daily, kilometer-scale NOx emission inventories. Our results enhance inventory accuracy, allowing us to capture the effects of pollution control policies on daily emissions (e.g., during COVID-19 lockdown) and improve fine-scale air quality modeling.
Jianing Dai, Guy P. Brasseur, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Kun Qu, Yijuan Zhang, Hongliang Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12943–12962, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper employs a regional chemical transport model to quantify the sensitivity of air pollutants and photochemical parameters to specified emission reductions in China for representative winter and summer conditions. The study provides insights into further air quality control in China with reduced primary emissions.
T. Nash Skipper, Emma L. D'Ambro, Forwood C. Wiser, V. Faye McNeill, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Barron H. Henderson, Ivan R. Piletic, Colleen B. Baublitz, Jesse O. Bash, Andrew R. Whitehill, Lukas C. Valin, Asher P. Mouat, Jennifer Kaiser, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Alan Fried, Bryan K. Place, and Havala O.T. Pye
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12903–12924, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We develop the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM) version 2 to improve predictions of formaldehyde in ambient air compared to satellite-, aircraft-, and ground-based observations. With the updated chemistry, we estimate the cancer risk from inhalation exposure to ambient formaldehyde across the contiguous USA and predict that 40 % of this risk is controllable through reductions in anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides and reactive organic carbon.
Baoshuang Liu, Yao Gu, Yutong Wu, Qili Dai, Shaojie Song, Yinchang Feng, and Philip K. Hopke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12861–12879, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12861-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Reactive loss of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a long-term issue yet to be resolved in VOC source analyses. We assess common methods of, and existing issues in, reducing losses, impacts of losses, and sources in current source analyses. We offer a potential supporting role for solving issues of VOC conversion. Source analyses of consumed VOCs that reacted to produce ozone and secondary organic aerosols can play an important role in the effective control of secondary pollution in air.
Deepangsu Chatterjee, Randall V. Martin, Chi Li, Dandan Zhang, Haihui Zhu, Daven K. Henze, James H. Crawford, Ronald C. Cohen, Lok N. Lamsal, and Alexander M. Cede
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12687–12706, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the hourly variation of NO2 columns and surface concentrations by applying the GEOS-Chem model to interpret aircraft and ground-based measurements over the US and Pandora sun photometer measurements over the US, Europe, and Asia. Corrections to the Pandora columns and finer model resolution improve the modeled representation of the summertime hourly variation of total NO2 columns to explain the weaker hourly variation in NO2 columns than at the surface.
Kiyeon Kim, Kyung Man Han, Chul Han Song, Hyojun Lee, Ross Beardsley, Jinhyeok Yu, Greg Yarwood, Bonyoung Koo, Jasper Madalipay, Jung-Hun Woo, and Seogju Cho
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12575–12593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12575-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We incorporated each HONO process into the current CMAQ modeling framework to enhance the accuracy of HONO mixing ratio predictions. These results expand our understanding of HONO photochemistry and identify crucial sources of HONO that impact the total HONO budget in Seoul, South Korea. Through this investigation, we contribute to resolving discrepancies in understanding chemical transport models, with implications for better air quality management and environmental protection in the region.
Alexander Karim Tardito Chaudhri and David S. Stevenson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3247, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3247, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
There remains a large uncertainty in the global warming potential of atmospheric hydrogen due to poor constraints on its soil deposition, and therefore its lifetime. A new analysis of the latitudinal variation in the observed seasonality of hydrogen is used to constrain its surface fluxes. This is complemented with a simple latitude-height model where surface fluxes are adjusted from a prototype deposition scheme.
Flossie Brown, Gerd Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Paulo Artaxo, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Matteo Detto, Ninong Komala, Luciana Rizzo, Nestor Rojas, Ines dos Santos Vieira, Steven Turnock, Hans Verbeeck, and Alfonso Zambrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12537–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone is a pollutant that is detrimental to human and plant health. Ozone monitoring sites in the tropics are limited, so models are often used to understand ozone exposure. We use measurements from the tropics to evaluate ozone from the UK Earth system model, UKESM1. UKESM1 is able to capture the pattern of ozone in the tropics, except in southeast Asia, although it systematically overestimates it at all sites. This work highlights that UKESM1 can capture seasonal and hourly variability.
Namrata Shanmukh Panji, Deborah F. McGlynn, Laura E. R. Barry, Todd M. Scanlon, Manuel T. Lerdau, Sally E. Pusede, and Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12495–12507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12495-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change will bring about changes in parameters that are currently used in global-scale models to calculate biogenic emissions. This study seeks to understand the factors driving these models by comparing long-term datasets of biogenic compounds to modeled emissions. We note that the light-dependent fractions currently used in models do not accurately represent regional observations. We provide evidence for the time-dependent variation in this parameter for future modifications to models.
Cited articles
AGAGE (Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment): AGAGE, AGAGE [dataset], https://agage2.eas.gatech.edu/data_archive/agage/, last access: 20 July 2023.
Anderson, D. C., Duncan, B. N., Fiore, A. M., Baublitz, C. B., Follette-Cook, M. B., Nicely, J. M., and Wolfe, G. M.: Spatial and temporal variability in the hydroxyl (OH) radical: understanding the role of large-scale climate features and their influence on OH through its dynamical and photochemical drivers, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6481–6508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6481-2021, 2021.
Bousquet, P., Hauglustaine, D. A., Peylin, P., Carouge, C., and Ciais, P.: Two decades of OH variability as inferred by an inversion of atmospheric transport and chemistry of methyl chloroform, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 2635–2656, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-2635-2005, 2005.
Campbell, N., Shende, R., Bennett, M., Blinova, O., Derwent, R., McCulloch, A., Yamabe, M., Shevlin, J., and Vink, T.: Chapter 11: HFCs and PFCs: Current and Future Supply, Demand and Emissions, plus Emissions of CFCs, HCFCs and Halons, in: IPCC/TEAP Special Report: Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/safeguarding-the-ozone-layer-and-the-global-climate-system/current-and-future-supply-
demand-and-emissions-of-hfcs-and-pfcs-plus-emissions-of-
cfcs-halons/ (last access: 17 January 2024), 2005.
Cunnold, D. M., Steele, L. P., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., Prinn, R. G., Weiss, R. F., Porter, L. W., O'Doherty, S., Langenfelds, R. L., and Krummel, P. B.: In situ measurements of atmospheric methane at GAGE/AGAGE sites during 1985–2000 and resulting source inferences, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, 4225, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD001226, 2002.
Dalsøren, S. B., Myhre, C. L., Myhre, G., Gomez-Pelaez, A. J., Søvde, O. A., Isaksen, I. S. A., Weiss, R. F., and Harth, C. M.: Atmospheric methane evolution the last 40 years, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3099–3126, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3099-2016, 2016.
Doubalova, J. and Sindelarova, K.: Gridded CH4 emissions from termites, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service [data set], https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/sites/default/files/2019-11/26_CAMS81_2017SC1_D81.3.4.1-201808_v1_APPROVED_Ver1.pdf (last access: 17 January 2024), 2018.
ECMWF: Copernicus Atmosphere Data Store, https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu, last access: 20 July 2023.
EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research): Community GHG Database (a collaboration between the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and comprising IEA-EDGAR CO2, EDGAR CH4, EDGAR N2O, EDGAR F-GASES version 7.0, European Commission, JRC [dataset], https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset_ghg70 (last access: 20 July 2023), 2022.
Ehhalt, D., Prather, M., Dentener, F., Derwent, R., Dlugokencky, E., Holland, E., Isaksen, I., Katima, J., Kirchhoff, V., Matson, P., Midgley, P., and Wang, M.: Chapter 4: Atmospheric Chemistry and Greenhouse Gases, in: TAR Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis, https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/TAR-04.pdf (last access: 17 January 2024), 2001.
Etiope, G., Ciotoli, G., Schwietzke, S., and Schoell, M.: Gridded maps of geological methane emissions and their isotopic signature, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1-2019, 2019 (data available at: https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/arc/index.php?id=130, last access: 20 July 2023).
He, J., Naik, V., and Horowitz, L. W.: Hydroxyl radical (OH) response to meteorological forcing and implication for the methane budget, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2021GL094140, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094140, 2021.
Huang, J. and Prinn, R. G.: Critical evaluation of emissions for potential new OH titrating gases, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4784, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002394, 2002.
IMF (International Monetary Fund): World Economic Outlook, Crisis and Recovery, ISBN: 978-1-58906-806-3, 2009.
Inness, A., Ades, M., Agustí-Panareda, A., Barré, J., Benedictow, A., Blechschmidt, A.-M., Dominguez, J. J., Engelen, R., Eskes, H., Flemming, J., Huijnen, V., Jones, L., Kipling, Z., Massart, S., Parrington, M., Peuch, V.-H., Razinger, M., Remy, S., Schulz, M., and Suttie, M.: The CAMS reanalysis of atmospheric composition, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3515–3556, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3515-2019, 2019.
Ko, M. K. W., Newman, P. A., Reimann, S., and Strahan, S. E.: Lifetimes of Stratospheric Ozone-Depleting Substances, Their Replacements and Related Species, SPARC Report No. 6, World Climate Research Progamme, https://www.sparc-climate.org/publications/sparc-reports/sparc-report-no-6/ (last access: 17 January 2024), 2013.
Krol, M. and Lelieveld, J.: Can the variability in tropospheric OH be deduced from measurements of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (methyl chloroform)?, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4125, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002423, 2003.
Lan, X., Mund, J. W., Crotwell, A. M., Crotwell, M. J., Moglia, E., Madronich, M., Neff, D., and Thoning, K. W.: Atmospheric Methane Dry Air Mole Fractions from the NOAA GML Carbon Cycle Cooperative Global Air Sampling Network, 1983-2022, Version: 2023-08-28, NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory [data set], https://doi.org/10.15138/VNCZ-M766, 2023.
Lelieveld, J., Dentener, F. J., Peters, W., and Krol, M. C.: On the role of hydroxyl radicals in the self-cleansing capacity of the troposphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 2337–2344, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-2337-2004, 2004.
Lelieveld, J., Gromov, S., Pozzer, A., and Taraborrelli, D.: Global tropospheric hydroxyl distribution, budget and reactivity, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 12477–12493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12477-2016, 2016.
Liang, Q., Chipperfield, M. P., Fleming, E. L., Abraham, N. L., Braesicke, P., Burkholder, J. B., Daniel, J. S., Dhomse, S., Fraser, P. J., Hardiman, S. C., Jackman, C. H., Kinnison, D. E., Krummel, P. B., Montzka, S. A., Morgenstern, O., McCulloch, A., Mühle, J., Newman, P. A., Orkin, V. L., Pitari, G., Prinn, R. G., Rigby, M., Rozanov, E., Stenke, A., Tummon, F., Velders, G. J. M., Visioni, D., and Weiss, R. F.: Deriving Global OH Abundance and Atmospheric Lifetimes for Long-Lived Gases: A Search for CH3CCl3 Alternatives, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 11914–11933, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026926, 2017.
Maione, M., Giostra, U., Arduini, J., Furlani, F., Graziosi, F., Vullo, E. L., and Bonasoni, P.: Ten years of continuous observations of stratospheric ozone depleting gases at Monte Cimone (Italy) – Comments on the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol from a regional perspective, Sci. Total Environ., 445, 155–164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.056, 2013.
McNorton, J., Chipperfield, M. P., Gloor, M., Wilson, C., Feng, W., Hayman, G. D., Rigby, M., Krummel, P. B., O'Doherty, S., Prinn, R. G., Weiss, R. F., Young, D., Dlugokencky, E., and Montzka, S. A.: Role of OH variability in the stalling of the global atmospheric CH4 growth rate from 1999 to 2006, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7943–7956, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7943-2016, 2016.
Miller, B. R., Weiss, R. F., Salameh, P. K., Tanhua, T., Greally, B. R., Mühle, J., and Simmonds, P. G.: Medusa: a sample preconcentration and GC/MS detector system for in situ measurements of atmospheric trace halocarbons, hydrocarbons, and sulfur compounds, Anal. Chem., 80, 1536–1545, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac702084k, 2008.
Montzka, S. A., Krol, M., Dlugokencky, E., Hall, B., Jöckel, P., and Lelieveld, J.: Small interannual variability of global atmospheric hydroxyl, Science, 331, 67–69, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197640, 2011.
Montzka, S. A., McFarland, M., Andersen, S. O., Miller, B. R., Fahey, D. W., Hall, B. D., Hu, L., Siso, C., and Elkins, J. W.: Recent Trends in Global Emissions of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons and Hydrofluorocarbons: Reflecting on the 2007 Adjustments to the Montreal Protocol, J. Phys. Chem., 119, 4439–4449, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp5097376, 2015.
Naus, S., Montzka, S. A., Patra, P. K., and Krol, M. C.: A three-dimensional-model inversion of methyl chloroform to constrain the atmospheric oxidative capacity, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4809–4824, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4809-2021, 2021.
Nicely, J. M., Salawitch, R. J., Canty, T., Anderson, D. C., Arnold, S. R., Chipperfield, M. P., Emmons, L. K., Flemming, J., Huijnen, V., Kinnison, D. E., Lamarque, J., Mao, J., Monks, S. A., Steenrod, S. D., Tilmes, S., and Turquety, S.: Quantifying the causes of differences in tropospheric OH within global models, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 1983–2007, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026239, 2017.
Nicely, J. M., Canty, T. P., Manyin, M., Oman, L. D., Salawitch, R. J., Steenrod, S. D., Strahan, S. E., and Strode, S. A.: Changes in Global Tropospheric OH Expected as a Result of Climate Change Over the Last Several Decades, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 123, 10774–10795, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028388, 2018.
NOAA GML (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory): Halocarbons & other Atmospheric Trace Species (HATS), NOAA GML [dataset], https://doi.org/10.15138/845f-af13, 2022.
Patra, P. K., Krol, M. C., Prinn, R. G., Takigawa, M., Mühle, J., Montzka, S. A., Lal, S., Yamashita, Y., Naus, S., Chandra, N., Weiss, R. F., Krummel, P. B., Fraser, P. J., O'Doherty, S., and Elkins, J. W.: Methyl Chloroform Continues to Constrain the Hydroxyl (OH) Variability in the Troposphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2020JD033862, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033862, 2021.
Peng, S., Lin, X., Thompson, R. L., Xi, Y., Liu, G., Hauglustaine, D., Lan, X., Poulter, B., Ramonet, M., Saunois, M., Yin, Y., Zhang, Z., Zheng, B., and Ciais, P.: Wetland emission and atmospheric sink changes explain methane growth in 2020, Nature, 612, 477–482, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05447-w, 2022.
Prinn, R. G., Cunnold, D., Simmonds, P., Alyea, F., Boldi, R., Crawford, A., Fraser, P., Gutzler, D., Hartley, D., Rosen, R., and Rasmussen, R.: Global average concentration and trend for hydroxyl radicals deduced from ALE/GAGE trichloroethane (methyl chloroform) data for 1978–1990, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 97, 2445–2461, https://doi.org/10.1029/91JD02755, 1992.
Prinn, R. G., Huang, J., Weiss, R. F., Cunnold, D. M., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., McCulloch, A., Harth, C., Salameh, P., O'Doherty, S., Wang, R. H., Porter, L., and Miller, B. R.: Evidence for substantial variations of atmospheric hydroxyl radicals in the past two decades, Science, 292, 1882–1888, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1058673, 2001.
Prinn, R. G., Huang, J., Weiss, R. F., Cunnold, D. M., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., McCulloch, A., Harth, C., Reimann, S., and Salameh, P.: Evidence for variability of atmospheric hydroxyl radicals over the past quarter century, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L07809, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL022228, 2005.
Prinn, R. G., Weiss, R. F., Arduini, J., Arnold, T., DeWitt, H. L., Fraser, P. J., Ganesan, A. L., Gasore, J., Harth, C. M., Hermansen, O., Kim, J., Krummel, P. B., Li, S., Loh, Z. M., Lunder, C. R., Maione, M., Manning, A. J., Miller, B. R., Mitrevski, B., Mühle, J., O'Doherty, S., Park, S., Reimann, S., Rigby, M., Saito, T., Salameh, P. K., Schmidt, R., Simmonds, P. G., Steele, L. P., Vollmer, M. K., Wang, R. H., Yao, B., Yokouchi, Y., Young, D., and Zhou, L.: History of chemically and radiatively important atmospheric gases from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 985–1018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-985-2018, 2018.
Rigby, M., Prinn, R. G., O'Doherty, S., Montzka, S. A., McCulloch, A., Harth, C. M., Mühle, J., Salameh, P. K., Weiss, R. F., Young, D., Simmonds, P. G., Hall, B. D., Dutton, G. S., Nance, D., Mondeel, D. J., Elkins, J. W., Krummel, P. B., Steele, L. P., and Fraser, P. J.: Re-evaluation of the lifetimes of the major CFCs and CH3CCl3 using atmospheric trends, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2691–2702, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2691-2013, 2013.
Rigby, M., Montzka, S. A., Prinn, R. G., White, J. W. C., Young, D., O'Doherty, S., Lunt, M. F., Ganesan, A. L., Manning, A. J., Simmonds, P. G., Salameh, P. K., Harth, C. M., Mühle, J., Weiss, R. F., Fraser, P. J., Steele, L. P., Krummel, P. B., McCulloch, A., and Park, S.: Role of atmospheric oxidation in recent methane growth, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 114, 5373–5377, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1616426114, 2017.
Simmonds, P. G., O'Doherty, S., Nickless, G., Sturrock, G. A., Swaby, R., Knight, P., Ricketts, J., Woffenden, G., and Smith, R.: Automated gas chromatographic/mass spectrometer for routine atmospheric field measurements of the CFC replacement compounds, the hydrofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, Anal. Chem., 67, 717–723, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00100a005, 1995.
Spahni, R., Wania, R., Neef, L., van Weele, M., Pison, I., Bousquet, P., Frankenberg, C., Foster, P. N., Joos, F., Prentice, I. C., and van Velthoven, P.: Constraining global methane emissions and uptake by ecosystems, Biogeosciences, 8, 1643–1665, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-1643-2011, 2011.
Spivakovsky, C. M., Logan, J. A., Montzka, S. A., Balkanski, Y. J., Foreman-Fowler, M., Jones, D. B. A., Horowitz, L. W., Fusco, A. C., Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M., and Prather, M. J.: Three-dimensional climatological distribution of tropospheric OH: Update and evaluation, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 8931–8980, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD901006, 2000.
Stevenson, D. S., Zhao, A., Naik, V., O'Connor, F. M., Tilmes, S., Zeng, G., Murray, L. T., Collins, W. J., Griffiths, P. T., Shim, S., Horowitz, L. W., Sentman, L. T., and Emmons, L.: Trends in global tropospheric hydroxyl radical and methane lifetime since 1850 from AerChemMIP, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12905–12920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12905-2020, 2020.
Tarantola, A.: Inverse problem theory and methods for model parameter estimation, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, ISBN 0-89871-572-5, 2005.
Thompson, R.: AGAGE 12-box model with adjoint for optimisation of OH using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Version 1, Zenodo [code], https://zenodo.org/record/8172277 (last access: 17 January 2024), 2023.
Thompson, R. L., Nisbet, E. G., Pisso, I., Stohl, A., Blake, D., Dlugokencky, E. J., Helmig, D., and White, J. W. C.: Variability in Atmospheric Methane From Fossil Fuel and Microbial Sources Over the Last Three Decades, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 11499–11508, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078127, 2018.
Turner, A. J., Frankenberg, C., Wennberg, P. O., and Jacob, D. J.: Ambiguity in the causes for decadal trends in atmospheric methane and hydroxyl, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 114, 5367–5372, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1616020114, 2017.
Turner, A. J., Frankenberg, C., and Kort, E. A.: Interpreting contemporary trends in atmospheric methane, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 2805–2813, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1814297116, 2019.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Giglio, L., van Leeuwen, T. T., Chen, Y., Rogers, B. M., Mu, M., van Marle, M. J. E., Morton, D. C., Collatz, G. J., Yokelson, R. J., and Kasibhatla, P. S.: Global fire emissions estimates during 1997–2016, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 697–720, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-697-2017, 2017 (data available at: https://www.geo.vu.nl/~gwerf/GFED/GFED4/, last access: 20 July 2023).
Velders, G. J. M., Daniel, J. S., Montzka, S. A., Vimont, I., Rigby, M., Krummel, P. B., Muhle, J., O'Doherty, S., Prinn, R. G., Weiss, R. F., and Young, D.: Projections of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions and the resulting global warming based on recent trends in observed abundances and current policies, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6087–6101, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6087-2022, 2022.
Vollmer, M. K., Miller, B. R., Rigby, M., Reimann, S., Mühle, J., Krummel, P. B., O'Doherty, S., Kim, J., Rhee, T. S., Weiss, R. F., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., Salameh, P. K., Harth, C. M., Wang, R. H. J., Steele, L. P., Young, D., Lunder, C. R., Hermansen, O., Ivy, D., Arnold, T., Schmidbauer, N., Kim, K., Greally, B. R., Hill, M., Leist, M., Wenger, A., and Prinn, R. G.: Atmospheric histories and global emissions of the anthropogenic hydrofluorocarbons HFC-365mfc, HFC-245fa, HFC-227ea, and HFC-236fa, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D08304, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015309, 2011.
Voulgarakis, A., Naik, V., Lamarque, J.-F., Shindell, D. T., Young, P. J., Prather, M. J., Wild, O., Field, R. D., Bergmann, D., Cameron-Smith, P., Cionni, I., Collins, W. J., Dalsøren, S. B., Doherty, R. M., Eyring, V., Faluvegi, G., Folberth, G. A., Horowitz, L. W., Josse, B., MacKenzie, I. A., Nagashima, T., Plummer, D. A., Righi, M., Rumbold, S. T., Stevenson, D. S., Strode, S. A., Sudo, K., Szopa, S., and Zeng, G.: Analysis of present day and future OH and methane lifetime in the ACCMIP simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2563–2587, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2563-2013, 2013.
Weber, T.: ocean_ch4.nc, figshare [data set], https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9034451.v1, 2019.
Weber, T., Wiseman, N. A., and Kock, A.: Global ocean methane emissions dominated by shallow coastal waters, Nat. Commun., 10, 4584, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12541-7, 2019.
Wennberg, P. O., Peacock, S., Randerson, J. T., and Bleck, R.: Recent changes in the air-sea gas exchange of methyl chloroform, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L16112, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004gl020476, 2004.
Wild, O., Voulgarakis, A., O'Connor, F., Lamarque, J.-F., Ryan, E. M., and Lee, L.: Global sensitivity analysis of chemistry–climate model budgets of tropospheric ozone and OH: exploring model diversity, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4047–4058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4047-2020, 2020.
Zhao, Y., Saunois, M., Bousquet, P., Lin, X., Berchet, A., Hegglin, M. I., Canadell, J. G., Jackson, R. B., Deushi, M., Jöckel, P., Kinnison, D., Kirner, O., Strode, S., Tilmes, S., Dlugokencky, E. J., and Zheng, B.: On the role of trend and variability in the hydroxyl radical (OH) in the global methane budget, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13011–13022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13011-2020, 2020.
Short summary
The hydroxyl radical determines the atmospheric lifetimes of numerous species including methane. Since OH is very short-lived, it is not possible to directly measure its concentration on scales relevant for understanding its effect on other species. Here, OH is inferred by looking at changes in hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). We find that OH levels have been fairly stable over our study period (2004 to 2021), suggesting that OH is not the main driver of the recent increase in atmospheric methane.
The hydroxyl radical determines the atmospheric lifetimes of numerous species including methane....
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint