Articles | Volume 24, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7523-2024
© 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-24-7523-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Jul 2024
Research article |
| 03 Jul 2024
| 03 Jul 2024
Monitoring European anthropogenic NOx emissions from space
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Henk Eskes
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
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Stephen Broccardo, Klaus-Peter Heue, David Walter, Christian Meyer, Alexander Kokhanovsky, Ronald van der A, Stuart Piketh, Kristy Langerman, and Ulrich Platt
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Theano Drosoglou, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Natalia Kouremeti, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Irene Zyrichidou, Dimitris Balis, Ronald J. van der A, Jin Xu, and Ang Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2239–2255, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2239-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2239-2018, 2018
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Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Nicolas Theys, Jieying Ding, Irene Zyrichidou, Bas Mijling, Dimitrios Balis, and Ronald Johannes van der A
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1817–1832, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1817-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1817-2018, 2018
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Fei Liu, Ronald J. van der A, Henk Eskes, Jieying Ding, and Bas Mijling
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Jacob C. A. van Peet, Ronald J. van der A, Hennie M. Kelder, and Pieternel F. Levelt
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Gerrit de Leeuw, Larisa Sogacheva, Edith Rodriguez, Konstantinos Kourtidis, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Georgia Alexandri, Vassilis Amiridis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Eleni Marinou, Yong Xue, and Ronald van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1573–1592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1573-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1573-2018, 2018
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Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, Julien Chimot, Huizheng Che, Georgia Alexandri, Ioannis Binietoglou, Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Konstantinos A. Kourtidis, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Ronald J. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1337–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1337-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1337-2018, 2018
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10125–10141, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10125-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10125-2017, 2017
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Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Ronald J. van der A, Bo Zheng, Dan Tong, and Kebin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9261–9275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, 2017
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We assess NOx emission trends over Chinese cities based on satellite NO2 observations using a method independent of chemical transport models. NOx emissions over 48 Chinese cities have decreased significantly since 2011. Cities with different dominant emission sources (i.e. power, industrial, and transportation sectors) showed variable emission decline timelines that corresponded to the schedules for emission control in different sectors.
Melina-Maria Zempila, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Michael Taylor, Ilias Fountoulakis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Michiel van Weele, Ronald J. van der A, Alkiviadis Bais, Charikleia Meleti, and Dimitrios Balis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7157–7174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7157-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7157-2017, 2017
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Jieying Ding, Ronald Johannes van der A, Bas Mijling, and Pieternel Felicitas Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 925–938, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-925-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-925-2017, 2017
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Ronald J. van der A, Bas Mijling, Jieying Ding, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Fei Liu, Qing Li, Huiqin Mao, and Nicolas Theys
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Dimitris Balis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Nikolaos Siomos, Spyridon Dimopoulos, Lucia Mona, Gelsomina Pappalardo, Franco Marenco, Lieven Clarisse, Lucy J. Ventress, Elisa Carboni, Roy G. Grainger, Ping Wang, Gijsbert Tilstra, Ronald van der A, Nicolas Theys, and Claus Zehner
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The ESA-funded SACS-2 and SMASH projects developed and improved dedicated satellite-derived ash plume and sulfur dioxide level assessments. These estimates were validated using ground-based and aircraft lidar measurements. The validation results are promising for most satellite products and are within the estimated uncertainties of each of the comparative data sets. The IASI data show a better consistency concerning the ash optical depth and ash layer height.
Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Marina Zara, Christophe Lerot, Konstantinos Fragkos, Dimitris Balis, Michel van Roozendael, Marcus Antonius Franciscus Allart, and Ronald Johannes van der A
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2055–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2055-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2055-2016, 2016
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The main aim of the paper is to demonstrate an approach for the post-processing of the Dobson spectrophotometers' total ozone columns (TOCs) in order to compensate for their known stratospheric effective temperature dependency
and its resulting effect on the usage of the Dobson TOCs for satellite TOCs' validation.
J. Ding, R. J. van der A, B. Mijling, P. F. Levelt, and N. Hao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9399–9412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9399-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9399-2015, 2015
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We derived the NOx emissions from the OMI satellite observations. We find a NOx emission reduction of at least 25% during the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. The emission estimate algorithm has detected an emission reduction of 10% during the Chinese Spring Festival. This paper also shows that the observed concentrations and the derived emissions from space have different patterns that provide complimentary information.
R. J. van der A, M. A. F. Allaart, and H. J. Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3021–3035, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3021-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3021-2015, 2015
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The ozone multi-sensor reanalysis (MSR2) is a multi-decadal ozone column analysis for the period 1970-2012 based on all available ozone column satellite datasets, surface Brewer-Dobson observations and a data assimilation technique with detailed error modelling. The latest total ozone retrievals of 15 different satellite instruments are used: BUV-Nimbus4, TOMS-Nimbus7, TOMS-EP, SBUV-7, -9, -11, -14, -16, -17, -18, -19, GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME-2.
A. Keppens, J.-C. Lambert, J. Granville, G. Miles, R. Siddans, J. C. A. van Peet, R. J. van der A, D. Hubert, T. Verhoelst, A. Delcloo, S. Godin-Beekmann, R. Kivi, R. Stübi, and C. Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2093–2120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, 2015
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This work thoroughly discusses a methodology, as summarized in a flowchart, for the round-robin evaluation and geophysical validation of nadir ozone profile retrievals and applies the proposed best practice to a pair of optimal-estimation algorithms run on exactly the same level-1 radiance measurements. The quality assessment combines data set content studies, information content studies, and comparisons with ground-based reference measurements.
K. Lefever, R. van der A, F. Baier, Y. Christophe, Q. Errera, H. Eskes, J. Flemming, A. Inness, L. Jones, J.-C. Lambert, B. Langerock, M. G. Schultz, O. Stein, A. Wagner, and S. Chabrillat
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2269–2293, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2269-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2269-2015, 2015
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We validate and discuss the analyses of stratospheric ozone delivered in near-real time between 2009 and 2012 by four different data assimilation systems: IFS-MOZART, BASCOE, SACADA and TM3DAM. It is shown that the characteristics of the assimilation systems are much less important than those of the assimilated data sets. A correct representation of the vertical distribution of ozone requires satellite observations which are well resolved vertically and extend into the lowermost stratosphere.
P. Schneider, W. A. Lahoz, and R. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1205–1220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1205-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1205-2015, 2015
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We use a homogeneous 10-year record of satellite data to study recent trends in NO2 over the world's major urban agglomerations. The results indicate distinct spatial patterns in trends, with moderate but consistent reductions in NO2 throughout most developed countries and rapid increases of up to 15 % per year over many sites in Asia, Africa, and South America. We also show links between urban NO2 trends and economic as well as demographic factors, and how the latter drive regional differences.
A. T. J. de Laat, R. J. van der A, and M. van Weele
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 79–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-79-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-79-2015, 2015
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Recent research suggests the Antarctic ozone hole has started to shrink due to decreasing ozone-depleting substances. Because it could be questioned how robust these results are, we provide an assessment of uncertainties in both the underlying ozone observational records and the detection-attribution method. Although Antarctic ozone concentrations are definitely increasing slowly, the formal identification of recovery is not yet justified, although this will likely become possible this decade.
J. S. Knibbe, R. J. van der A, and A. T. J. de Laat
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8461–8482, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8461-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8461-2014, 2014
B. Hassler, I. Petropavlovskikh, J. Staehelin, T. August, P. K. Bhartia, C. Clerbaux, D. Degenstein, M. De Mazière, B. M. Dinelli, A. Dudhia, G. Dufour, S. M. Frith, L. Froidevaux, S. Godin-Beekmann, J. Granville, N. R. P. Harris, K. Hoppel, D. Hubert, Y. Kasai, M. J. Kurylo, E. Kyrölä, J.-C. Lambert, P. F. Levelt, C. T. McElroy, R. D. McPeters, R. Munro, H. Nakajima, A. Parrish, P. Raspollini, E. E. Remsberg, K. H. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, T. Sano, Y. Sasano, M. Shiotani, H. G. J. Smit, G. Stiller, J. Tamminen, D. W. Tarasick, J. Urban, R. J. van der A, J. P. Veefkind, C. Vigouroux, T. von Clarmann, C. von Savigny, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, J. Wild, and J. M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, 2014
H. Brenot, N. Theys, L. Clarisse, J. van Geffen, J. van Gent, M. Van Roozendael, R. van der A, D. Hurtmans, P.-F. Coheur, C. Clerbaux, P. Valks, P. Hedelt, F. Prata, O. Rasson, K. Sievers, and C. Zehner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1099–1123, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1099-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1099-2014, 2014
J. C. A. van Peet, R. J. van der A, O. N. E. Tuinder, E. Wolfram, J. Salvador, P. F. Levelt, and H. M. Kelder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 859–876, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-859-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-859-2014, 2014
B. Mijling, R. J. van der A, and Q. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12003–12012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12003-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12003-2013, 2013
T. Stavrakou, J.-F. Müller, K. F. Boersma, R. J. van der A, J. Kurokawa, T. Ohara, and Q. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9057–9082, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9057-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9057-2013, 2013
Bas Mijling, Henk Eskes, Sascha Hofmann, Pau Moreno, David García Falin, and María Encarnación de Vega Pastor
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-202, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-202, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Given the serious health risks of urban air pollution, monitoring local pollution levels is crucial. The Retina v2 algorithm creates high-resolution pollution maps by integrating satellite and local measurements with an air quality model. Easily portable to other cities, it balances accuracy with low computational demands, matching or outperforming complex dispersion models and data-heavy machine learning. Satellite data proves especially valuable in cities with sparse or no monitoring networks.
Isolde Glissenaar, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Isidora Anglou, Pieter Rijsdijk, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Michel Van Roozendael, and Henk Eskes
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-616, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-616, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
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We developed a new global dataset of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the lower atmosphere, using data from TROPOMI for 2018–2021. This dataset offers improved accuracy and detail compared to earlier versions, meeting high international standards for climate data. By refining how measurement errors are calculated and reduced over time and space, we provide clearer insights into pollution patterns. This work supports better air quality monitoring and informs actions to address pollution globally.
Yutao Chen, Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, Henk Eskes, Jason E. Williams, Nicolas Theys, Athanasios Tsikerdekis, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1851–1868, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1851-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1851-2025, 2025
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There is a lack of local SO2 top-down emission inventories in India. With the improvement in the divergence method and the derivation of SO2 local lifetime, gridded SO2 emissions over a large area can be estimated efficiently. This method can be applied to any region in the world to derive SO2 emissions. Especially for regions with high latitudes, our methodology has the potential to significantly improve the top-down derivation of SO2 emissions.
Felipe Cifuentes, Henk Eskes, Enrico Dammers, Charlotte Bryan, and Folkert Boersma
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 621–649, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-621-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-621-2025, 2025
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We tested the capability of the flux divergence approach (FDA) to reproduce known NOx emissions using synthetic NO2 satellite column retrievals from high-resolution model simulations. The FDA accurately reproduced NOx emissions when column observations were limited to the boundary layer and when the variability of the NO2 lifetime, the NOx : NO2 ratio, and NO2 profile shapes were correctly modeled. This introduces strong model dependency, reducing the simplicity of the original FDA formulation.
Pieter Rijsdijk, Henk Eskes, Arlene Dingemans, K. Folkert Boersma, Takashi Sekiya, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, and Sander Houweling
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 483–509, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-483-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-483-2025, 2025
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Clustering high-resolution satellite observations into superobservations improves model validation and data assimilation applications. In our paper, we derive quantitative uncertainties for satellite NO2 column observations based on knowledge of the retrievals, including a detailed analysis of spatial error correlations and representativity errors. The superobservations and uncertainty estimates are tested in a global chemical data assimilation system and are found to improve the forecasts.
Vitali Fioletov, Chris A. McLinden, Debora Griffin, Xiaoyi Zhao, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 575–596, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-575-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-575-2025, 2025
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Satellite data were used to estimate urban per capita emissions for 261 major cities worldwide. Three components in tropospheric NO2 data (background NO2, NO2 from urban sources, and NO2 from industrial point sources) were isolated, and then each of these components was analyzed separately. The largest per capita emissions were found in the Middle East and the smallest in India and southern Africa. Urban weekend emissions are 20 %–50 % less than workday emissions for all regions except China.
Augustin Colette, Gaëlle Collin, François Besson, Etienne Blot, Vincent Guidard, Frederik Meleux, Adrien Royer, Valentin Petiot, Claire Miller, Oihana Fermond, Alizé Jeant, Mario Adani, Joaquim Arteta, Anna Benedictow, Robert Bergström, Dene Bowdalo, Jorgen Brandt, Gino Briganti, Ana C. Carvalho, Jesper Heile Christensen, Florian Couvidat, Ilia D’Elia, Massimo D’Isidoro, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Gaël Descombes, Enza Di Tomaso, John Douros, Jeronimo Escribano, Henk Eskes, Hilde Fagerli, Yalda Fatahi, Johannes Flemming, Elmar Friese, Lise Frohn, Michael Gauss, Camilla Geels, Guido Guarnieri, Marc Guevara, Antoine Guion, Jonathan Guth, Risto Hänninen, Kaj Hansen, Ulas Im, Ruud Janssen, Marine Jeoffrion, Mathieu Joly, Luke Jones, Oriol Jorba, Evgeni Kadantsev, Michael Kahnert, Jacek W. Kaminski, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Richard Kranenburg, Jeroen Kuenen, Anne Caroline Lange, Joachim Langner, Victor Lannuque, Francesca Macchia, Astrid Manders, Mihaela Mircea, Agnes Nyiri, Miriam Olid, Carlos Pérez García-Pando, Yuliia Palamarchuk, Antonio Piersanti, Blandine Raux, Miha Razinger, Lennard Robertson, Arjo Segers, Martijn Schaap, Pilvi Siljamo, David Simpson, Mikhail Sofiev, Anders Stangel, Joanna Struzewska, Carles Tena, Renske Timmermans, Thanos Tsikerdekis, Svetlana Tsyro, Svyatoslav Tyuryakov, Anthony Ung, Andreas Uppstu, Alvaro Valdebenito, Peter van Velthoven, Lina Vitali, Zhuyun Ye, Vincent-Henri Peuch, and Laurence Rouïl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3744, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3744, 2024
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The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service – Regional Production delivers daily forecasts, analyses, and reanalyses of air quality in Europe. The Service relies on a distributed modelling production by eleven leading European modelling teams following stringent requirements with an operational design which has no equivalent in the world. All the products are full, free, open and quality assured and disseminated with a high level of reliability.
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
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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.
Jieying Ding, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, Enrico Dammers, Mark Shephard, Roy Wichink Kruit, Marc Guevara, and Leonor Tarrason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10583–10599, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10583-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10583-2024, 2024
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Here we applied the existing Daily Emissions Constrained by Satellite Observations (DECSO) inversion algorithm to NH3 observations from the CrIS satellite instrument to estimate NH3 emissions. As NH3 in the atmosphere is influenced by NOx, we implemented DECSO to estimate NOx and NH3 emissions simultaneously. The emissions are derived over Europe for 2020 at a spatial resolution of 0.2° using daily observations from CrIS and TROPOMI. Results are compared to bottom-up emission inventories.
Mengyao Liu, Ronald van der A, Michiel van Weele, Lotte Bryan, Henk Eskes, Pepijn Veefkind, Yongxue Liu, Xiaojuan Lin, Jos de Laat, and Jieying Ding
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5261–5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, 2024
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A new divergence method was developed and applied to estimate methane emissions from TROPOMI observations over the Middle East, where it is typically challenging for a satellite to measure methane due to its complicated orography and surface albedo. Our results show the potential of TROPOMI to quantify methane emissions from various sources rather than big emitters from space after objectively excluding the artifacts in the retrieval.
Henk Eskes, Athanasios Tsikerdekis, Melanie Ades, Mihai Alexe, Anna Carlin Benedictow, Yasmine Bennouna, Lewis Blake, Idir Bouarar, Simon Chabrillat, Richard Engelen, Quentin Errera, Johannes Flemming, Sebastien Garrigues, Jan Griesfeller, Vincent Huijnen, Luka Ilić, Antje Inness, John Kapsomenakis, Zak Kipling, Bavo Langerock, Augustin Mortier, Mark Parrington, Isabelle Pison, Mikko Pitkänen, Samuel Remy, Andreas Richter, Anja Schoenhardt, Michael Schulz, Valerie Thouret, Thorsten Warneke, Christos Zerefos, and Vincent-Henri Peuch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9475–9514, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9475-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9475-2024, 2024
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The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides global analyses and forecasts of aerosols and trace gases in the atmosphere. On 27 June 2023 a major upgrade, Cy48R1, became operational. Comparisons with in situ, surface remote sensing, aircraft, and balloon and satellite observations show that the new CAMS system is a significant improvement. The results quantify the skill of CAMS to forecast impactful events, such as wildfires, dust storms and air pollution peaks.
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8139–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024, 2024
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This study uses the Community Inversion Framework and CHIMERE model to assess the potential of TROPOMI-S5P PAL NO2 tropospheric column data to estimate NOx emissions in France (2019–2021). Results show a 3 % decrease in average emissions compared to the 2016 CAMS-REG/INS, lower than the 14 % decrease from CITEPA. The study highlights challenges in capturing emission anomalies due to limited data coverage and error levels but shows promise for local inventory improvements.
Enrico Dammers, Janot Tokaya, Christian Mielke, Kevin Hausmann, Debora Griffin, Chris McLinden, Henk Eskes, and Renske Timmermans
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 4983–5007, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4983-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4983-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen dioxide (NOx) is produced by sources such as industry and traffic and is directly linked to negative impacts on health and the environment. The current construction of emission inventories to keep track of NOx emissions is slow and time-consuming. Satellite measurements provide a way to quickly and independently estimate emissions. In this study, we apply a consistent methodology to derive NOx emissions over Germany and illustrate the value of having such a method for fast projections.
Andrés Yarce Botero, Michiel van Weele, Arjo Segers, Pier Siebesma, and Henk Eskes
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3765–3781, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3765-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3765-2024, 2024
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HARMONIE WINS50 reanalysis data with 0.025° × 0.025° resolution from 2019 to 2021 were coupled with the LOTOS-EUROS Chemical Transport Model. HARMONIE and ECMWF meteorology configurations against Cabauw observations (52.0° N, 4.9° W) were evaluated as simulated NO2 concentrations with ground-level sensors. Differences in crucial meteorological input parameters (boundary layer height, vertical diffusion coefficient) between the hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic models were analysed.
Adrianus de Laat, Jos van Geffen, Piet Stammes, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4511–4535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, 2024
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Removal of stratospheric nitrogen oxides is crucial for the formation of the ozone hole. TROPOMI satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide reveal the presence of a not dissimilar "nitrogen hole" that largely coincides with the ozone hole. Three very distinct regimes were identified: inside and outside the ozone hole and the transition zone in between. Our results introduce a valuable and innovative application highly relevant for Antarctic ozone hole and ozone layer recovery.
Xiaojuan Lin, Ronald van der A, Jos de Laat, Henk Eskes, Frédéric Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Zhu Deng, Yuanhao Geng, Xuanren Song, Xiliang Ni, Da Huo, Xinyu Dou, and Zhu Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6599–6611, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, 2023
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Satellite observations provide evidence for CO2 emission signals from isolated power plants. We use these satellite observations to quantify emissions. We found that for power plants with multiple observations, the correlation of estimated and reported emissions is significantly improved compared to a single observation case. This demonstrates that accurate estimation of power plant emissions can be achieved by monitoring from future satellite missions with more frequent observations.
Xiumei Zhang, Ronald van der A, Jieying Ding, Xin Zhang, and Yan Yin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5587–5604, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, 2023
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We compiled a ship emission inventory based on automatic identification system (AIS) signals in the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River. This ship emission inventory was compared with Chinese bottom-up inventories and the satellite-derived emissions from TROPOMI. The result shows a consistent spatial distribution, with riverine cities having high NOx emissions. Inland ship emissions of NOx are shown to contribute at least 40 % to air pollution along the river.
Anna Agustí-Panareda, Jérôme Barré, Sébastien Massart, Antje Inness, Ilse Aben, Melanie Ades, Bianca C. Baier, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Tobias Borsdorff, Nicolas Bousserez, Souhail Boussetta, Michael Buchwitz, Luca Cantarello, Cyril Crevoisier, Richard Engelen, Henk Eskes, Johannes Flemming, Sébastien Garrigues, Otto Hasekamp, Vincent Huijnen, Luke Jones, Zak Kipling, Bavo Langerock, Joe McNorton, Nicolas Meilhac, Stefan Noël, Mark Parrington, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Michel Ramonet, Miha Razinger, Maximilian Reuter, Roberto Ribas, Martin Suttie, Colm Sweeney, Jérôme Tarniewicz, and Lianghai Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3829–3859, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3829-2023, 2023
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We present a global dataset of atmospheric CO2 and CH4, the two most important human-made greenhouse gases, which covers almost 2 decades (2003–2020). It is produced by combining satellite data of CO2 and CH4 with a weather and air composition prediction model, and it has been carefully evaluated against independent observations to ensure validity and point out deficiencies to the user. This dataset can be used for scientific studies in the field of climate change and the global carbon cycle.
Kezia Lange, Andreas Richter, Anja Schönhardt, Andreas C. Meier, Tim Bösch, André Seyler, Kai Krause, Lisa K. Behrens, Folkard Wittrock, Alexis Merlaud, Frederik Tack, Caroline Fayt, Martina M. Friedrich, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Michel Van Roozendael, Vinod Kumar, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Bianca Lauster, Maria Razi, Christian Borger, Katharina Uhlmannsiek, Thomas Wagner, Thomas Ruhtz, Henk Eskes, Birger Bohn, Daniel Santana Diaz, Nader Abuhassan, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1357–1389, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1357-2023, 2023
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We present airborne imaging DOAS and ground-based stationary and car DOAS measurements conducted during the S5P-VAL-DE-Ruhr campaign in the Rhine-Ruhr region. The measurements are used to validate spaceborne NO2 data products from the Sentinel-5 Precursor TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). Auxiliary data of the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval, such as spatially higher resolved a priori NO2 vertical profiles, surface reflectivity, and cloud treatment are investigated to evaluate their impact.
John Douros, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, K. Folkert Boersma, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Augustin Colette, and Pepijn Veefkind
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 509–534, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, 2023
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We focus on the challenges associated with comparing atmospheric composition models with satellite products such as tropospheric NO2 columns. The aim is to highlight the methodological difficulties and propose sound ways of doing such comparisons. Building on the comparisons, a new satellite product is proposed and made available, which takes advantage of higher-resolution, regional atmospheric modelling to improve estimates of troposheric NO2 columns over Europe.
Qianqian Zhang, K. Folkert Boersma, Bin Zhao, Henk Eskes, Cuihong Chen, Haotian Zheng, and Xingying Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 551–563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-551-2023, 2023
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We developed an improved superposition column model and used the latest released (v2.3.1) TROPOMI satellite NO2 observations to estimate daily city-scale NOx and CO2 emissions. The results are verified against bottom-up emissions and OCO-2 XCO2 observations. We obtained the day-to-day variation of city NOx and CO2 emissions, allowing policymakers to gain real-time information on spatial–temporal emission patterns and the effectiveness of carbon and nitrogen regulation in urban environments.
Miriam Latsch, Andreas Richter, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Ping Wang, Pepijn Veefkind, Ronny Lutz, Diego Loyola, Athina Argyrouli, Pieter Valks, Thomas Wagner, Holger Sihler, Michel van Roozendael, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Richard Siddans, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, 2022
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The article investigates different S5P TROPOMI cloud retrieval algorithms for tropospheric trace gas retrievals. The cloud products show differences primarily over snow and ice and for scenes under sun glint. Some issues regarding across-track dependence are found for the cloud fractions as well as for the cloud heights.
Hanqing Kang, Bin Zhu, Gerrit de Leeuw, Bu Yu, Ronald J. van der A, and Wen Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10623–10634, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10623-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10623-2022, 2022
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This study quantified the contribution of each urban-induced meteorological effect (temperature, humidity, and circulation) to aerosol concentration. We found that the urban heat island (UHI) circulation dominates the UHI effects on aerosol. The UHI circulation transports aerosol and its precursor gases from the warmer lower boundary layer to the colder lower free troposphere and promotes the secondary formation of ammonium nitrate aerosol in the cold atmosphere.
Pieternel F. Levelt, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Ilse Aben, Maite Bauwens, Tobias Borsdorff, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk J. Eskes, Christophe Lerot, Diego G. Loyola, Fabian Romahn, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Nicolas Theys, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Tijl Verhoelst
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10319–10351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, 2022
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Using the COVID-19 lockdown periods as an example, we show how Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI trace gas data (NO2, SO2, CO, HCHO and CHOCHO) can be used to understand impacts on air quality for regions and cities around the globe. We also provide information for both experienced and inexperienced users about how we created the data using state-of-the-art algorithms, where to get the data, methods taking meteorological and seasonal variability into consideration, and insights for future studies.
Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón, Heidi Huntrieser, Thilo Erbertseder, Diego Loyola, Pieter Valks, Song Liu, Dale J. Allen, Kenneth E. Pickering, Eric J. Bucsela, Patrick Jöckel, Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, Sergio Soler, Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez, and Jeff Lapierre
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3329–3351, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3329-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3329-2022, 2022
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Lightning, one of the major sources of nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, contributes to the tropospheric concentration of ozone and to the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. In this work, we contribute to improving the estimation of lightning-produced nitrogen oxides in the Ebro Valley and the Pyrenees by using two different TROPOMI products and comparing the results.
Xin Zhang, Yan Yin, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, Yunyao Li, Xiang Kuang, Jeff L. Lapierre, Kui Chen, Zhongxiu Zhen, Jianlin Hu, Chuan He, Jinghua Chen, Rulin Shi, Jun Zhang, Xingrong Ye, and Hao Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5925–5942, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5925-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5925-2022, 2022
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The importance of convection to the ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced from lightning has long been an open question. We utilize the high-resolution chemistry model with ozonesondes and space observations to discuss the effects of convection over southeastern China, where few studies have been conducted. Our results show the transport and chemistry contributions for various storms and demonstrate the ability of TROPOMI to estimate the lightning NOx production over small-scale convection.
Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Tijl Verhoelst, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Antje Ludewig, K. Folkert Boersma, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2037–2060, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, 2022
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the main data products measured by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite. This study describes improvements in the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval leading to version v2.2, operational since 1 July 2021. It compares results with previous versions v1.2–v1.4 and with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and ground-based measurements.
Vitali Fioletov, Chris A. McLinden, Debora Griffin, Nickolay Krotkov, Fei Liu, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4201–4236, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4201-2022, 2022
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The COVID-19 lockdown had a large impact on anthropogenic emissions and particularly on nitrogen dioxide (NO2). A new method of isolation of background, urban, and industrial components in NO2 is applied to estimate the lockdown impact on each of them. From 16 March to 15 June 2020, urban NO2 declined by −18 % to −28 % in most regions of the world, while background NO2 typically declined by less than −10 %.
Takashi Sekiya, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Henk Eskes, Kengo Sudo, Masayuki Takigawa, and Yugo Kanaya
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1703–1728, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1703-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1703-2022, 2022
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This study gives a systematic comparison of TROPOMI version 1.2 and OMI QA4ECV tropospheric NO2 column through global chemical data assimilation (DA) integration for April–May 2018. DA performance is controlled by measurement sensitivities, retrieval errors, and coverage. Due to reduced errors in TROPOMI, agreements against assimilated and independent observations were improved by TROPOMI DA compared to OMI DA. These results demonstrate that TROPOMI DA improves global analyses of NO2 and ozone.
Tobias Christoph Valentin Werner Riess, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Jasper van Vliet, Wouter Peters, Maarten Sneep, Henk Eskes, and Jos van Geffen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1415–1438, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1415-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1415-2022, 2022
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This paper reports on improved monitoring of ship nitrogen oxide emissions by TROPOMI. With its fantastic resolution we can identify lanes of ship nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution not detected from space before. The quality of TROPOMI NO2 data over sea is improved further by recent upgrades in cloud retrievals and the use of sun glint scenes. Lastly, we study the impact of COVID-19 on ship NO2 in European seas and compare the found reductions to emission estimates gained from ship-specific data.
Steffen Beirle, Christian Borger, Steffen Dörner, Henk Eskes, Vinod Kumar, Adrianus de Laat, and Thomas Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2995–3012, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2995-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2995-2021, 2021
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A catalog of point sources of nitrogen oxides was created using satellite observations of NO2. Key for the identification of point sources was the divergence, i.e., the difference between upwind and downwind levels of NO2.
The catalog lists 451 locations, of which 242 could be automatically matched to power plants. Other point sources are metal smelters, cement plants, or industrial areas. The catalog thus allows checking and improving of existing emission inventories.
Cheng Fan, Zhengqiang Li, Ying Li, Jiantao Dong, Ronald van der A, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7723–7748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7723-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7723-2021, 2021
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Emission control policy in China has resulted in the decrease of nitrogen dioxide concentrations, which however leveled off and stabilized in recent years, as shown from satellite data. The effects of the further emission reduction during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 resulted in an initial improvement of air quality, which, however, was offset by chemical and meteorological effects. The study shows the regional dependence over east China, and results have a wider application than China only.
Wannan Wang, Ronald van der A, Jieying Ding, Michiel van Weele, and Tianhai Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7253–7269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7253-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7253-2021, 2021
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We developed a method to determine the type of photochemical regime of ozone formation by using only satellite observations of formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide as well as ozone measurements on the ground. It was found that many cities in China, because of their high level of air pollution, are in the so-called VOC-limited photochemical regime. This means that the current reductions of nitrogen dioxide resulted in higher levels of photochemical smog in these cities.
Ioanna Skoulidou, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Astrid Manders, Arjo Segers, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Myrto Gratsea, Dimitris Balis, Alkiviadis Bais, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Trisevgeni Stavrakou, Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, and Andreas Richter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5269–5288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5269-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5269-2021, 2021
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The performance of LOTOS-EUROS v2.2.001 regional chemical transport model NO2 simulations is investigated over Greece from June to December 2018. Comparison with in situ NO2 measurements shows a spatial correlation coefficient of 0.86, while the model underestimates the concentrations mostly during daytime (12 to 15:00 local time). Further, the simulated tropospheric NO2 columns are evaluated against ground-based MAX-DOAS NO2 measurements and S5P/TROPOMI observations for July and December 2018.
Eloise A. Marais, John F. Roberts, Robert G. Ryan, Henk Eskes, K. Folkert Boersma, Sungyeon Choi, Joanna Joiner, Nader Abuhassan, Alberto Redondas, Michel Grutter, Alexander Cede, Laura Gomez, and Monica Navarro-Comas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2389–2408, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2389-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2389-2021, 2021
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Nitrogen oxides in the upper troposphere have a profound influence on the global troposphere, but routine reliable observations there are exceedingly rare. We apply cloud-slicing to TROPOMI total columns of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at high spatial resolution to derive near-global observations of NO2 in the upper troposphere and show consistency with existing datasets. These data offer tremendous potential to address knowledge gaps in this oft underappreciated portion of the atmosphere.
Nicola Zoppetti, Simone Ceccherini, Bruno Carli, Samuele Del Bianco, Marco Gai, Cecilia Tirelli, Flavio Barbara, Rossana Dragani, Antti Arola, Jukka Kujanpää, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Ronald van der A, and Ugo Cortesi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2041–2053, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2041-2021, 2021
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The new platforms for Earth observation from space will provide an enormous amount of data that can be hard to exploit as a whole. The Complete Data Fusion algorithm can reduce the data volume while retaining the information of the full dataset. In this work, we applied the Complete Data Fusion algorithm to simulated ozone profiles, and the results show that the fused products are characterized by higher information content compared to individual L2 products.
Wannan Wang, Tianhai Cheng, Ronald J. van der A, Jos de Laat, and Jason E. Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1673–1687, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1673-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1673-2021, 2021
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This paper is an evaluation of the AIRS and MLS ozone (O3) algorithms via comparison with daytime and night-time O3 datasets. Results show that further refinements of the AIRS O3 algorithm are required for better surface emissivity retrievals and that cloud cover is another problem that needs to be solved. An inconsistency is found in the
AscDescModeflag of the MLS v4.20 standard O3 product for 90–60° S and 60–90° N, resulting in inconsistent O3 profiles in these regions before May 2015.
Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Ioanna Skoulidou, Andreas Karavias, Isaak Parcharidis, Dimitris Balis, Astrid Manders, Arjo Segers, Henk Eskes, and Jos van Geffen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1759–1774, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1759-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1759-2021, 2021
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In recent years, satellite observations have contributed to monitoring air quality. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, lower levels of nitrogen dioxide were observed over Greece by S5P/TROPOMI for March and April 2020 (than the preceding year) due to decreased transport emissions. Taking meteorology into account, using LOTOS-EUROS CTM simulations, the resulting decline due to the lockdown was estimated to range between 0 % and −37 % for the five largest Greek cities, with an average of ~ −10 %.
Frederik Tack, Alexis Merlaud, Marian-Daniel Iordache, Gaia Pinardi, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Henk Eskes, Bart Bomans, Pepijn Veefkind, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 615–646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-615-2021, 2021
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We assess the TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 product (OFFL v1.03.01; 3.5 km × 7 km at nadir observations) based on coinciding airborne APEX reference observations (~75 m × 120 m), acquired over polluted regions in Belgium. The TROPOMI NO2 product meets the mission requirements in terms of precision and accuracy. However, we show that TROPOMI is biased low over polluted areas, mainly due to the limited spatial resolution of a priori input for the AMF computation.
Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Henk J. Eskes, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Ann Mari Fjæraa, José Granville, Sander Niemeijer, Alexander Cede, Martin Tiefengraber, François Hendrick, Andrea Pazmiño, Alkiviadis Bais, Ariane Bazureau, K. Folkert Boersma, Kristof Bognar, Angelika Dehn, Sebastian Donner, Aleksandr Elokhov, Manuel Gebetsberger, Florence Goutail, Michel Grutter de la Mora, Aleksandr Gruzdev, Myrto Gratsea, Georg H. Hansen, Hitoshi Irie, Nis Jepsen, Yugo Kanaya, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Rigel Kivi, Karin Kreher, Pieternel F. Levelt, Cheng Liu, Moritz Müller, Monica Navarro Comas, Ankie J. M. Piters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Thierry Portafaix, Cristina Prados-Roman, Olga Puentedura, Richard Querel, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, John Rimmer, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Lidia Saavedra de Miguel, Valery P. Sinyakov, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Thomas Wagner, Folkard Wittrock, Margarita Yela González, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 481–510, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-481-2021, 2021
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This paper reports on the ground-based validation of the NO2 data produced operationally by the TROPOMI instrument on board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite. Tropospheric, stratospheric, and total NO2 columns are compared to measurements collected from MAX-DOAS, ZSL-DOAS, and PGN/Pandora instruments respectively. The products are found to satisfy mission requirements in general, though negative mean differences are found at sites with high pollution levels. Potential causes are discussed.
Ivar R. van der Velde, Guido R. van der Werf, Sander Houweling, Henk J. Eskes, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Tobias Borsdorff, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 597–616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-597-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-597-2021, 2021
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This paper compares the relative atmospheric enhancements of CO and NO2 measured by the space-based instrument TROPOMI over different fire-prone ecosystems around the world. We find distinct spatial and temporal patterns in the ΔNO2 / ΔCO ratio that correspond to regional differences in combustion efficiency. This joint analysis provides a better understanding of regional-scale combustion characteristics and can help the fire modeling community to improve existing global emission inventories.
Gaia Pinardi, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Nicolas Theys, Nader Abuhassan, Alkiviadis Bais, Folkert Boersma, Alexander Cede, Jihyo Chong, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Anatoly Dzhola, Henk Eskes, Udo Frieß, José Granville, Jay R. Herman, Robert Holla, Jari Hovila, Hitoshi Irie, Yugo Kanaya, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Natalia Kouremeti, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Jianzhong Ma, Enno Peters, Ankie Piters, Oleg Postylyakov, Andreas Richter, Julia Remmers, Hisahiro Takashima, Martin Tiefengraber, Pieter Valks, Tim Vlemmix, Thomas Wagner, and Folkard Wittrock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6141–6174, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6141-2020, 2020
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We validate several GOME-2 and OMI tropospheric NO2 products with 23 MAX-DOAS and 16 direct sun instruments distributed worldwide, highlighting large horizontal inhomogeneities at several sites affecting the validation results. We propose a method for quantification and correction. We show the application of such correction reduces the satellite underestimation in almost all heterogeneous cases, but a negative bias remains over the MAX-DOAS and direct sun network ensemble for both satellites.
Laura M. Judd, Jassim A. Al-Saadi, James J. Szykman, Lukas C. Valin, Scott J. Janz, Matthew G. Kowalewski, Henk J. Eskes, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Alexander Cede, Moritz Mueller, Manuel Gebetsberger, Robert Swap, R. Bradley Pierce, Caroline R. Nowlan, Gonzalo González Abad, Amin Nehrir, and David Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6113–6140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6113-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6113-2020, 2020
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This paper evaluates Sentinel-5P TROPOMI v1.2 NO2 tropospheric columns over New York City using data from airborne mapping spectrometers and a network of ground-based spectrometers (Pandora) collected in 2018. These evaluations consider impacts due to cloud parameters, a priori profile assumptions, and spatial and temporal variability. Overall, TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 columns appear to have a low bias in this region.
Dimitris Akritidis, Eleni Katragkou, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Prodromos Zanis, Stergios Kartsios, Johannes Flemming, Antje Inness, John Douros, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13557–13578, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13557-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13557-2020, 2020
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We assess the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global and regional forecasts performance during a complex aerosol transport event over Europe induced by the passage of Storm Ophelia in mid-October 2017. Comparison with satellite observations reveals a satisfactory performance of CAMS global forecast assisted by data assimilation, while comparison with ground-based measurements indicates that the CAMS regional system over-performs compared to the global one in terms of air quality.
Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Kevin Bowman, Takashi Sekiya, Henk Eskes, Folkert Boersma, Helen Worden, Nathaniel Livesey, Vivienne H. Payne, Kengo Sudo, Yugo Kanaya, Masayuki Takigawa, and Koji Ogochi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2223–2259, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2223-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2223-2020, 2020
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This study presents the results from the Tropospheric Chemistry Reanalysis version 2 (TCR-2) for 2005–2018 obtained from the assimilation of multiple satellite measurements of ozone, CO, NO2, HNO3, and SO2 from the OMI, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2, TES, MLS, and MOPITT instruments. The evaluation results demonstrate the capability of the reanalysis products to improve understanding of the processes controlling variations in atmospheric composition, including long-term changes in air quality and emissions.
Srijana Lama, Sander Houweling, K. Folkert Boersma, Henk Eskes, Ilse Aben, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Maarten C. Krol, Han Dolman, Tobias Borsdorff, and Alba Lorente
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10295–10310, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10295-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10295-2020, 2020
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Rapid urbanization has increased the consumption of fossil fuel, contributing the degradation of urban air quality. Burning efficiency is a major factor determining the impact of fuel burning on the environment. We quantify the burning efficiency of fossil fuel use over six megacities using satellite remote sensing data. City governance can use these results to understand air pollution scenarios and to formulate effective air pollution control strategies.
Mengyao Liu, Jintai Lin, Hao Kong, K. Folkert Boersma, Henk Eskes, Yugo Kanaya, Qin He, Xin Tian, Kai Qin, Pinhua Xie, Robert Spurr, Ruijing Ni, Yingying Yan, Hongjian Weng, and Jingxu Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4247–4259, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4247-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4247-2020, 2020
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Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are important air pollutants in the troposphere and play crucial roles in the formation of ozone and particulate matter. The recently launched TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) provides an opportunity to retrieve tropospheric concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at an unprecedented high horizontal resolution. This work presents a new NO2 retrieval product over East Asia and further quantifies key factors affecting the retrieval, including aerosol.
Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, Gaia Pinardi, José Granville, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Sander Niemeijer, Bruno Rino, Alkis Bais, Steffen Beirle, Folkert Boersma, John P. Burrows, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk Eskes, Florence Goutail, François Hendrick, Alba Lorente, Andrea Pazmino, Ankie Piters, Enno Peters, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Jos van Geffen, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, and Jean-Christopher Lambert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8017–8045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8017-2020, 2020
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Tropospheric and stratospheric NO2 columns from the OMI QA4ECV NO2 satellite product are validated by comparison with ground-based measurements at 11 sites. The OMI stratospheric column has a small negative bias, and the OMI tropospheric column has a stronger negative bias relative to the ground-based data. Discrepancies are attributed to comparison errors (e.g. difference in horizontal smoothing) and measurement errors (e.g. clouds, aerosols, vertical smoothing and a priori profile assumptions).
Xiaoyi Zhao, Debora Griffin, Vitali Fioletov, Chris McLinden, Alexander Cede, Martin Tiefengraber, Moritz Müller, Kristof Bognar, Kimberly Strong, Folkert Boersma, Henk Eskes, Jonathan Davies, Akira Ogyu, and Sum Chi Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2131–2159, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2131-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2131-2020, 2020
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Pandora NO2 measurements made at three sites located in the Toronto area are used to evaluate the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) NO2 data products, including standard NO2 and research data developed using a high-resolution regional air quality forecast model. TROPOMI pixels located upwind and downwind from the Pandora sites were analyzed by a new wind-based validation method, which revealed the spatial patterns of local and transported emissions and regional air quality changes.
Yuting Wang, Yong-Feng Ma, Henk Eskes, Antje Inness, Johannes Flemming, and Guy P. Brasseur
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4493–4521, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4493-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4493-2020, 2020
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The paper presents an evaluation of the CAMS global reanalysis of reactive gases performed for the period 2003–2016. The evaluation is performed by comparing concentrations of chemical species gathered during airborne field campaigns with calculated values. The reanalysis successfully reproduces the observed concentrations of ozone and carbon monoxide but generally underestimates the abundance of hydrocarbons. Large discrepancies exist for fast-reacting radicals such as OH and HO2.
Xin Zhang, Yan Yin, Ronald van der A, Jeff L. Lapierre, Qian Chen, Xiang Kuang, Shuqi Yan, Jinghua Chen, Chuan He, and Rulin Shi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1709–1734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1709-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1709-2020, 2020
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Lightning NOx has a strong impact on ozone and the hydroxyl radical production. However, the production efficiency of lightning NOx is still quite uncertain. This work develops the algorithm of estimating lightning NOx for both clean and polluted regions and evaluates the sensitivity of estimates to the model setting of lightning NO. Results reveal that our method reduces the sensitivity to the background NO2 and includes much of the below-cloud LNO2.
Jos van Geffen, K. Folkert Boersma, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Marina Zara, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1315–1335, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1315-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1315-2020, 2020
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The Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) provides atmospheric trace gase and cloud and aerosol property measurements at unprecedented spatial resolution. This study focusses on the TROPOMI NO2 slant column density (SCD) retrieval: the retrieval method used, the stability of and uncertainties in the SCDs, and a comparison with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 SCDs. TROPOMI shows a superior performance compared to OMI/QA4ECV and operates as anticipated from instrument specifications.
Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Joaquim Arteta, Adriana Coman, Lyana Curier, Henk Eskes, Gilles Foret, Clio Gielen, Francois Hendrick, Virginie Marécal, Frédérik Meleux, Jonathan Parmentier, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Ankie J. M. Piters, Matthieu Plu, Andreas Richter, Arjo Segers, Mikhail Sofiev, Álvaro M. Valdebenito, Michel Van Roozendael, Julius Vira, Tim Vlemmix, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2795–2823, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2795-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2795-2020, 2020
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MAX-DOAS tropospheric NO2 vertical column retrievals from a set of European measurement stations are compared to regional air quality models which contribute to the operational Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Correlations are on the order of 35 %–75 %; large differences occur for individual pollution plumes. The results demonstrate that future model development needs to concentrate on improving representation of diurnal cycles and associated temporal scalings.
Iolanda Ialongo, Henrik Virta, Henk Eskes, Jari Hovila, and John Douros
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 205–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-205-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-205-2020, 2020
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New satellite-based nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data from TROPOMI/Sentinel 5P are used to monitor air pollution levels at the urban site of Helsinki, Finland. NO2 is a polluting gas produced by fossil fuel combustion. TROPOMI NO2 data agree with ground-based reference measurements within 10 % and show similar day-to-day and weekly variability. The results confirm that satellite-based observations can bring additional information to traditional in situ measurements for urban air quality monitoring.
Samuel Quesada-Ruiz, Jean-Luc Attié, William A. Lahoz, Rachid Abida, Philippe Ricaud, Laaziz El Amraoui, Régina Zbinden, Andrea Piacentini, Mathieu Joly, Henk Eskes, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, Albert Christiaan Plechelmus Oude Nijhuis, Johanna Tamminen, Renske Timmermans, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 131–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-131-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-131-2020, 2020
Renske Timmermans, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Rachid Abida, Jean-Luc Attié, Laaziz El Amraoui, Henk Eskes, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, William Lahoz, Albert Oude Nijhuis, Samuel Quesada-Ruiz, Philippe Ricaud, Pepijn Veefkind, and Martijn Schaap
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12811–12833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12811-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12811-2019, 2019
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We present an evaluation of the added value of the Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5P missions for air quality analyses of NO2. For this, synthetic observations for both missions are generated and combined with a chemistry transport model. While hourly Sentinel-4 NO2 observations over Europe benefit modelled NO2 analyses throughout the entire day, daily Sentinel-5P NO2 observations with global coverage show an impact up to 3–6 h after overpass. This supports the need for a combination of missions.
Jacob C. A. van Peet and Ronald J. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8297–8309, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8297-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8297-2019, 2019
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In this research, we combine satellite measurements of ozone with a chemical transport model of the atmosphere. The focus is on the ozone concentration between the surface and 6 km above mean sea level, since in that altitude range ozone has the highest impact on living organisms. Monthly mean ozone fields show significant improvements and more detail, especially for features such as biomass-burning-enhanced ozone concentrations and outflow of ozone-rich air from Asia over the Pacific.
Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Ronald J. van der A, Piet Stammes, K. Folkert Boersma, and Henk J. Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6269–6294, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6269-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6269-2019, 2019
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In this paper, a ∼21-year self-consistent global dataset from four different satellite sensors is compiled for the first time to study the long-term tropospheric NO2 patterns and trends. A novel method capable of detecting the year when a reversal of trends happened shows that tropospheric NO2 concentrations switched from positive to negative trends and vice versa over several regions around the globe during the last 2 decades.
Anna Katinka Petersen, Guy P. Brasseur, Idir Bouarar, Johannes Flemming, Michael Gauss, Fei Jiang, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Richard Kranenburg, Bas Mijling, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Matthieu Pommier, Arjo Segers, Mikhail Sofiev, Renske Timmermans, Ronald van der A, Stacy Walters, Ying Xie, Jianming Xu, and Guangqiang Zhou
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1241–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1241-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1241-2019, 2019
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An operational multi-model forecasting system for air quality is providing daily forecasts of ozone, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter for 37 urban areas of China. The paper presents the evaluation of the different forecasts performed during the first year of operation.
Antje Inness, Melanie Ades, Anna Agustí-Panareda, Jérôme Barré, Anna Benedictow, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Juan Jose Dominguez, Richard Engelen, Henk Eskes, Johannes Flemming, Vincent Huijnen, Luke Jones, Zak Kipling, Sebastien Massart, Mark Parrington, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Miha Razinger, Samuel Remy, Michael Schulz, and Martin Suttie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3515–3556, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3515-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3515-2019, 2019
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This paper describes a new global dataset of atmospheric composition data for the years 2003-2016 that has been produced by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). It is called the CAMS reanalysis and provides information on aerosols and reactive gases. The CAMS reanalysis shows an improved performance compared to our previous atmospheric composition reanalyses; has smaller biases compared to independent O3, CO, NO2 and aerosol observations; and is more consistent in time.
Guy P. Brasseur, Ying Xie, Anna Katinka Petersen, Idir Bouarar, Johannes Flemming, Michael Gauss, Fei Jiang, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Richard Kranenburg, Bas Mijling, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Matthieu Pommier, Arjo Segers, Mikhail Sofiev, Renske Timmermans, Ronald van der A, Stacy Walters, Jianming Xu, and Guangqiang Zhou
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 33–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-33-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-33-2019, 2019
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An operational multi-model forecasting system for air quality provides daily forecasts of ozone, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter for 37 urban areas in China. The paper presents an intercomparison of the different forecasts performed during a specific period of time and highlights recurrent differences between the model output. Pathways to improve the forecasts by the multi-model system are suggested.
Mengyao Liu, Jintai Lin, K. Folkert Boersma, Gaia Pinardi, Yang Wang, Julien Chimot, Thomas Wagner, Pinhua Xie, Henk Eskes, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Pucai Wang, Ting Wang, Yingying Yan, Lulu Chen, and Ruijing Ni
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1–21, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1-2019, 2019
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China has become the world’s largest emitter of NOx, which mainly comes from vehicle exhaust, power plants, etc. However, there are no official ground-based measurements before 2013, so satellites have been widely used to monitor and analyze NOx pollution here. Aerosol is the key factor influencing the accuracy of the satellite NOx product. Our study provides a more accurate way to account for aerosol's influence compared to current widely used products.
K. Folkert Boersma, Henk J. Eskes, Andreas Richter, Isabelle De Smedt, Alba Lorente, Steffen Beirle, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Marina Zara, Enno Peters, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ronald J. van der A, Joanne Nightingale, Anne De Rudder, Hitoshi Irie, Gaia Pinardi, Jean-Christopher Lambert, and Steven C. Compernolle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6651–6678, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6651-2018, 2018
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This paper describes a new, improved data record of 22+ years of coherent nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution measurements from different satellite instruments. Our work helps to ensure that climate data are of sufficient quality to draw reliable conclusions and shape decisions. It shows how dedicated intercomparisons of retrieval sub-steps have led to improved NO2 measurements from the GOME, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2(A), and OMI sensors, and how quality assurance of the new data product is achieved.
Larisa Sogacheva, Edith Rodriguez, Pekka Kolmonen, Timo H. Virtanen, Giulia Saponaro, Gerrit de Leeuw, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Georgia Alexandri, Konstantinos Kourtidis, and Ronald J. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 16631–16652, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16631-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16631-2018, 2018
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Understanding long-term trends in aerosol optical density (AOD) is essential for evaluating health and climate effects and the effectiveness of pollution control policies. A method to construct a combined AOD long time series (1995-2017) using ATSR and MODIS spaceborne instruments is introduced. The effect of changes in the emission regulation policy in China is seen in a gradual AOD decrease after 2011. The effect is more visible in highly populated and industrialized areas in southeast China.
Dimitris Akritidis, Eleni Katragkou, Prodromos Zanis, Ioannis Pytharoulis, Dimitris Melas, Johannes Flemming, Antje Inness, Hannah Clark, Matthieu Plu, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15515–15534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15515-2018, 2018
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Analysis and evaluation of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global and regional forecast systems during a deep stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone transport event over Europe in January 2017. Radiosondes, satellite images, ozonesondes and aircraft measurements were used to investigate the folding of the tropopause at several European sites and the induced presence of dry and ozone-rich air in the troposphere.
Larisa Sogacheva, Gerrit de Leeuw, Edith Rodriguez, Pekka Kolmonen, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Georgia Alexandri, Konstantinos Kourtidis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Eleni Marinou, Vassilis Amiridis, Yong Xue, and Ronald J. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11389–11407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11389-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11389-2018, 2018
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Using AATSR ADV (1995–2011) and MODIS C6.1 (2000–2017) annual and seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD) aggregates, we obtained information regarding the occurrence of aerosols and their spatial and temporal variation over China. We specifically focused on regional differences in annual and seasonal AOD behavior for selected regions. AOD dataset comparisons, validation results and AOD tendencies during the overlapping period (2000–2011) are discussed.
Marina Zara, K. Folkert Boersma, Isabelle De Smedt, Andreas Richter, Enno Peters, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Michel Van Roozendael, Sergey Marchenko, Lok N. Lamsal, and Henk J. Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4033–4058, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4033-2018, 2018
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Nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde satellite data are used for air quality and climate studies. We quantify and characterise slant column uncertainties from different research groups. Our evaluation is motivated by recently improved techniques and by a desire to provide fully traceable uncertainty budget for climate records generated within the QA4ECV project. The improved slant columns are in agreement but with substantial differences in the reported uncertainties between groups and instruments.
Arno Keppens, Jean-Christopher Lambert, José Granville, Daan Hubert, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Barry Latter, Brian Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Anne Boynard, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Cathy Clerbaux, Catherine Wespes, Daniel R. Hurtmans, Pierre-François Coheur, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Ronald J van der A, Katerina Garane, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris S. Balis, Andy Delcloo, Rigel Kivi, Réné Stübi, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Michel Van Roozendael, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3769–3800, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3769-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3769-2018, 2018
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This work, performed at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and the second in a series of four Ozone_cci papers, reports for the first time on data content studies, information content studies, and comparisons with co-located ground-based reference observations for all 13 nadir ozone profile data products that are part of the Climate Research Data Package (CRDP) on atmospheric ozone of the European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative.
Stephen Broccardo, Klaus-Peter Heue, David Walter, Christian Meyer, Alexander Kokhanovsky, Ronald van der A, Stuart Piketh, Kristy Langerman, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2797–2819, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2797-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2797-2018, 2018
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Measurements of nitrogen dioxide, known to originate from industrial and automotive combustion sources, have been made from space for two decades. Successive generations of instrument bring improvements in ground-pixel resolution; however features in the atmosphere are known to be smaller than what the satellites can resolve. Measurements of urban and industrial areas using a high-resolution airborne instrument allow the impact of the satellite's relatively low resolution to be evaluated.
Lisa K. Behrens, Andreas Hilboll, Andreas Richter, Enno Peters, Henk Eskes, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2769–2795, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2769-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2769-2018, 2018
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We developed a novel NO2 DOAS retrieval for the GOME-2A instrument in the UV spectral range, which is compared with a NO2 retrieval in the visible and model values. Regions representative for both anthropogenic and biomass burning NO2 pollution are investigated. Anthropogenic air pollution is mostly located in the boundary layer close to the surface. In contrast, biomass burning NO2 is often uplifted into elevated layers.
Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Thomas Danckaert, Christophe Lerot, Steven Compernolle, Michel Van Roozendael, Andreas Richter, Andreas Hilboll, Enno Peters, Mattia Pedergnana, Diego Loyola, Steffen Beirle, Thomas Wagner, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, Klaas Folkert Boersma, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2395–2426, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2395-2018, 2018
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This paper introduces the formaldehyde (HCHO) tropospheric vertical column retrieval algorithm implemented in the TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor operational processor, and comprehensively describes its various retrieval steps. Furthermore, algorithmic improvements developed in the framework of the EU FP7-project QA4ECV are described for future updates of the processor. Detailed error estimates are discussed in the light of Copernicus user requirements and needs for validation are highlighted.
Pieternel F. Levelt, Joanna Joiner, Johanna Tamminen, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Pawan K. Bhartia, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Bryan N. Duncan, David G. Streets, Henk Eskes, Ronald van der A, Chris McLinden, Vitali Fioletov, Simon Carn, Jos de Laat, Matthew DeLand, Sergey Marchenko, Richard McPeters, Jerald Ziemke, Dejian Fu, Xiong Liu, Kenneth Pickering, Arnoud Apituley, Gonzalo González Abad, Antti Arola, Folkert Boersma, Christopher Chan Miller, Kelly Chance, Martin de Graaf, Janne Hakkarainen, Seppo Hassinen, Iolanda Ialongo, Quintus Kleipool, Nickolay Krotkov, Can Li, Lok Lamsal, Paul Newman, Caroline Nowlan, Raid Suleiman, Lieuwe Gijsbert Tilstra, Omar Torres, Huiqun Wang, and Krzysztof Wargan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5699–5745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5699-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5699-2018, 2018
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The aim of this paper is to highlight the many successes of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) spanning more than 13 years. Data from OMI have been used in a wide range of applications. Due to its unprecedented spatial resolution, in combination with daily global coverage, OMI plays a unique role in measuring trace gases important for the ozone layer, air quality, and climate change. OMI data continue to be used for new research and applications.
Theano Drosoglou, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Natalia Kouremeti, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Irene Zyrichidou, Dimitris Balis, Ronald J. van der A, Jin Xu, and Ang Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2239–2255, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2239-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2239-2018, 2018
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A diurnal pattern of tropospheric NO2 with two maxima around late morning and late afternoon is revealed, reflecting high anthropogenic emissions, and a minimum at noon, due to photochemical destruction of tropospheric NO2. GOME-2B shows the smallest underestimation despite its large pixel size. The distance between the measurement location and the satellite pixel center affects mostly GOME-2B data selection. The effect of clouds is more profound on the selection of OMI overpass data.
Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Nicolas Theys, Jieying Ding, Irene Zyrichidou, Bas Mijling, Dimitrios Balis, and Ronald Johannes van der A
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1817–1832, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1817-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1817-2018, 2018
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Within the framework of the EU FP7 project MarcoPolo (Monitoring and Assessment of Regional air quality in China using space Observations), a new SO2 emission inventory over China was calculated using the CHIMERE CTM simulations, 10 years of OMI/Aura total SO2 columns and the bottom-up Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC v1.2).
Fei Liu, Ronald J. van der A, Henk Eskes, Jieying Ding, and Bas Mijling
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4171–4186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4171-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4171-2018, 2018
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We used ground measurements from the recently developed air quality monitoring network in China to validate modeling surface NO2 concentrations from the regional chemical transport model (CTM). The CTM simulations driven by satellite-derived and bottom-up inventories show negative and positive differences against the ground measurements, respectively. Our study suggests an improvement of the distribution of emissions between urban and rural areas in the satellite-derived inventory.
Jacob C. A. van Peet, Ronald J. van der A, Hennie M. Kelder, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1685–1704, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1685-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1685-2018, 2018
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Ozone profiles measured by two satellite instruments (GOME-2A and OMI) have been combined with a chemical transport model using data assimilation. The results give a better insight into the global spatial and temporal ozone distribution than either measurement or model results alone. Validation with independent measurements shows biases varying between -5 % and +10 % between the surface and 100 hPa, while between 100 and 10 hPa the biases vary between -3 % and +3 %.
Gerrit de Leeuw, Larisa Sogacheva, Edith Rodriguez, Konstantinos Kourtidis, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Georgia Alexandri, Vassilis Amiridis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Eleni Marinou, Yong Xue, and Ronald van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1573–1592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1573-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1573-2018, 2018
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The complementary use of two sensors, ATSR and MODIS, to provide aerosol information over two decades (1995–2015) is described. To this end, the AOD retrieved from both instruments had to be compared, showing that ATSR slightly underestimates and MODIS overestimates by a similar amount. Results show the increase of aerosols over the years, with an indication of the onset of a decrease in recent years. The AOD spatial distribution shows seasonal variations across China.
Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, Julien Chimot, Huizheng Che, Georgia Alexandri, Ioannis Binietoglou, Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Konstantinos A. Kourtidis, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Ronald J. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1337–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1337-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1337-2018, 2018
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We provide a 3-D climatology of desert dust aerosols over South and East Asia, based on 9 years of CALIPSO observations and an EARLINET methodology. The results provide the horizontal, vertical and seasonal distribution of dust aerosols over SE Asia along with the change in dust transport pathways. The dataset is unique for its potential applications, including evaluation and assimilation activities in atmospheric simulations and the estimation of the climatic impact of dust aerosols.
Astrid M. M. Manders, Peter J. H. Builtjes, Lyana Curier, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Carlijn Hendriks, Sander Jonkers, Richard Kranenburg, Jeroen J. P. Kuenen, Arjo J. Segers, Renske M. A. Timmermans, Antoon J. H. Visschedijk, Roy J. Wichink Kruit, W. Addo J. van Pul, Ferd J. Sauter, Eric van der Swaluw, Daan P. J. Swart, John Douros, Henk Eskes, Erik van Meijgaard, Bert van Ulft, Peter van Velthoven, Sabine Banzhaf, Andrea C. Mues, Rainer Stern, Guangliang Fu, Sha Lu, Arnold Heemink, Nils van Velzen, and Martijn Schaap
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 4145–4173, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-4145-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-4145-2017, 2017
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The regional-scale air quality model LOTOS–EUROS has been developed by a consortium of Dutch institutes. Recently, version 2.0 of the model was released as an open-source version. Next to a technical description and model evaluation for 2012, this paper presents the model developments in context of the history of air quality modelling and provides an outlook for future directions. Key and innovative applications of LOTOS–EUROS are also highlighted.
Jieying Ding, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Ronald Johannes van der A, Bas Mijling, Jun-ichi Kurokawa, SeogYeon Cho, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Qiang Zhang, Fei Liu, and Pieternel Felicitas Levelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10125–10141, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10125-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10125-2017, 2017
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To evaluate the quality of the satellite-derived NOx emissions, we compare nine emission inventories of nitrogen oxides including four satellite-derived NOx inventories and bottom-up inventories for East Asia. The temporal and spatial distribution of NOx emissions over East Asia are evaluated. We analyse the differences in satellite-derived emissions from two different inversion methods. The paper ends with recommendations for future improvements of emission estimates.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Qiang Zhang, Ronald J. van der A, Bo Zheng, Dan Tong, and Kebin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9261–9275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9261-2017, 2017
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We assess NOx emission trends over Chinese cities based on satellite NO2 observations using a method independent of chemical transport models. NOx emissions over 48 Chinese cities have decreased significantly since 2011. Cities with different dominant emission sources (i.e. power, industrial, and transportation sectors) showed variable emission decline timelines that corresponded to the schedules for emission control in different sectors.
Melina-Maria Zempila, Jos H. G. M. van Geffen, Michael Taylor, Ilias Fountoulakis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Michiel van Weele, Ronald J. van der A, Alkiviadis Bais, Charikleia Meleti, and Dimitrios Balis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7157–7174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7157-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7157-2017, 2017
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NILU irradiances at five UV channels were used to produce CIE, vitamin D, and DNA- damage daily doses via a neural network (NN) model. The NN was trained with collocated weighted Brewer spectra and uncertainty in the NILU-derived UV effective doses was 7.5 %. TEMIS UV products were found to be ~ 12.5 % higher than the NILU estimates. The results improve for cloud-free days with differences of 0.57 % for CIE, 1.22 % for vitamin D, and 1.18 % for DNA damage, with standard deviations of ~ 11–13 %.
Jieying Ding, Ronald Johannes van der A, Bas Mijling, and Pieternel Felicitas Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 925–938, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-925-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-925-2017, 2017
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We improve the DECSO algorithm for NOx emission estimates from satellite observations, especially over remote regions. The accuracy is about 20 percent for monthly NOx emissions with a spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees. We are able to distinguish ship emissions below the outflow of NO2 from the mainland of China.
Ronald J. van der A, Bas Mijling, Jieying Ding, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Fei Liu, Qing Li, Huiqin Mao, and Nicolas Theys
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1775–1789, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1775-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1775-2017, 2017
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The SO2 concentrations and NOx emissions over China derived from satellite observations are compared with the national fossil fuel consumption and air quality regulations. It is shown that not only NO2 concentrations but also NOx emissions in all Chinese provinces decreased in the last 2 years. We conclude that without the air quality regulations the SO2 concentrations would be about 2.5 times higher and the NO2 concentrations would be at least 25 % higher than they are today in China.
Rachid Abida, Jean-Luc Attié, Laaziz El Amraoui, Philippe Ricaud, William Lahoz, Henk Eskes, Arjo Segers, Lyana Curier, Johan de Haan, Jukka Kujanpää, Albert Oude Nijhuis, Johanna Tamminen, Renske Timmermans, and Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1081–1103, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1081-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1081-2017, 2017
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A detailed Observing System Simulation Experiment is performed to quantify the impact of future satellite instrument S-5P carbon monoxide (CO) on tropospheric analyses and forecasts. We focus on Europe for the period of northern summer 2003, when there was a severe heat wave episode. S-5P is able to capture the CO from forest fires that occurred in Portugal. Furthermore, our results provide evidence of S-5P CO benefits for monitoring processes contributing to atmospheric pollution.
Cristen Adams, Elise N. Normand, Chris A. McLinden, Adam E. Bourassa, Nicholas D. Lloyd, Douglas A. Degenstein, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Maria Belmonte Rivas, K. Folkert Boersma, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 4103–4122, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4103-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-4103-2016, 2016
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A new "OMI-minus-OSIRIS" (OmO) prototype dataset for tropospheric NO2 was created by combining information from the OMI satellite instrument, which is sensitive to NO2 in both the troposphere and stratosphere, with information from the OSIRIS satellite instrument, which measures NO2 in the stratosphere. This paper demonstrates that this approach is feasible and could be applied to future geostationary missions.
Dimitris Balis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Nikolaos Siomos, Spyridon Dimopoulos, Lucia Mona, Gelsomina Pappalardo, Franco Marenco, Lieven Clarisse, Lucy J. Ventress, Elisa Carboni, Roy G. Grainger, Ping Wang, Gijsbert Tilstra, Ronald van der A, Nicolas Theys, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5705–5720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5705-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5705-2016, 2016
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The ESA-funded SACS-2 and SMASH projects developed and improved dedicated satellite-derived ash plume and sulfur dioxide level assessments. These estimates were validated using ground-based and aircraft lidar measurements. The validation results are promising for most satellite products and are within the estimated uncertainties of each of the comparative data sets. The IASI data show a better consistency concerning the ash optical depth and ash layer height.
Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Marina Zara, Christophe Lerot, Konstantinos Fragkos, Dimitris Balis, Michel van Roozendael, Marcus Antonius Franciscus Allart, and Ronald Johannes van der A
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2055–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2055-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2055-2016, 2016
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The main aim of the paper is to demonstrate an approach for the post-processing of the Dobson spectrophotometers' total ozone columns (TOCs) in order to compensate for their known stratospheric effective temperature dependency
and its resulting effect on the usage of the Dobson TOCs for satellite TOCs' validation.
K. F. Boersma, G. C. M. Vinken, and H. J. Eskes
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 875–898, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-875-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-875-2016, 2016
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Satellite measurements of pollutants and greenhouse gases are useful to test and improve atmospheric models. But this requires that modellers account for the spatial and temporal representativeness and the vertical sensitivity of the satellite measurements. This paper provides guidelines on how to carry out a faithful model-satellite comparison for species such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde that play a key role in air pollution studies.
A. Wagner, A.-M. Blechschmidt, I. Bouarar, E.-G. Brunke, C. Clerbaux, M. Cupeiro, P. Cristofanelli, H. Eskes, J. Flemming, H. Flentje, M. George, S. Gilge, A. Hilboll, A. Inness, J. Kapsomenakis, A. Richter, L. Ries, W. Spangl, O. Stein, R. Weller, and C. Zerefos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 14005–14030, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-14005-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-14005-2015, 2015
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The Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate project (MACC) operationally produces global analyses and forecasts of reactive gases and aerosol fields. We have investigated the ability of the model to simulate concentrations of reactive gases (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone) between 2009 and 2012. The model reproduced reactive gas concentrations with consistent quality, however, with a seasonally dependent bias compared to surface and satellite observations.
M. Belmonte Rivas, P. Veefkind, H. Eskes, and P. Levelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13519–13553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13519-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13519-2015, 2015
H. Eskes, V. Huijnen, A. Arola, A. Benedictow, A.-M. Blechschmidt, E. Botek, O. Boucher, I. Bouarar, S. Chabrillat, E. Cuevas, R. Engelen, H. Flentje, A. Gaudel, J. Griesfeller, L. Jones, J. Kapsomenakis, E. Katragkou, S. Kinne, B. Langerock, M. Razinger, A. Richter, M. Schultz, M. Schulz, N. Sudarchikova, V. Thouret, M. Vrekoussis, A. Wagner, and C. Zerefos
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3523–3543, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3523-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3523-2015, 2015
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The MACC project is preparing the operational atmosphere service of the European Copernicus Programme, and uses data assimilation to combine atmospheric models with available observations. Our paper provides an overview of the aerosol and trace gas validation activity of MACC. Topics are the validation requirements, the measurement data, the assimilation systems, the upgrade procedure, operational aspects and the scoring methods. A summary is provided of recent results, including special events.
J. Ding, R. J. van der A, B. Mijling, P. F. Levelt, and N. Hao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9399–9412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9399-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9399-2015, 2015
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We derived the NOx emissions from the OMI satellite observations. We find a NOx emission reduction of at least 25% during the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. The emission estimate algorithm has detected an emission reduction of 10% during the Chinese Spring Festival. This paper also shows that the observed concentrations and the derived emissions from space have different patterns that provide complimentary information.
E. Katragkou, P. Zanis, A. Tsikerdekis, J. Kapsomenakis, D. Melas, H. Eskes, J. Flemming, V. Huijnen, A. Inness, M. G. Schultz, O. Stein, and C. S. Zerefos
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2299–2314, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2299-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2299-2015, 2015
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This work is an extended evaluation of near-surface ozone as part of the global reanalysis of atmospheric composition, produced within the European-funded project MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate). It includes an evaluation over the period 2003-2012 and provides an overall assessment of the modelling system performance with respect to near surface ozone for specific European subregions.
R. J. van der A, M. A. F. Allaart, and H. J. Eskes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3021–3035, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3021-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3021-2015, 2015
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The ozone multi-sensor reanalysis (MSR2) is a multi-decadal ozone column analysis for the period 1970-2012 based on all available ozone column satellite datasets, surface Brewer-Dobson observations and a data assimilation technique with detailed error modelling. The latest total ozone retrievals of 15 different satellite instruments are used: BUV-Nimbus4, TOMS-Nimbus7, TOMS-EP, SBUV-7, -9, -11, -14, -16, -17, -18, -19, GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME-2.
K. Miyazaki, H. J. Eskes, and K. Sudo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8315–8348, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8315-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8315-2015, 2015
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This paper reports on an 8-year reanalysis of tropospheric chemistry based on an assimilation of multiple satellite-derived data sets. The reanalysis performed well on regional and global scales and for seasonal and interannual variations. The simultaneous assimilation of multiple-species data, involving the optimisation of both concentration and emission fields, provides unique information on year-to-year variations in the atmospheric environment.
A. Keppens, J.-C. Lambert, J. Granville, G. Miles, R. Siddans, J. C. A. van Peet, R. J. van der A, D. Hubert, T. Verhoelst, A. Delcloo, S. Godin-Beekmann, R. Kivi, R. Stübi, and C. Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2093–2120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, 2015
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This work thoroughly discusses a methodology, as summarized in a flowchart, for the round-robin evaluation and geophysical validation of nadir ozone profile retrievals and applies the proposed best practice to a pair of optimal-estimation algorithms run on exactly the same level-1 radiance measurements. The quality assessment combines data set content studies, information content studies, and comparisons with ground-based reference measurements.
A. Inness, A.-M. Blechschmidt, I. Bouarar, S. Chabrillat, M. Crepulja, R. J. Engelen, H. Eskes, J. Flemming, A. Gaudel, F. Hendrick, V. Huijnen, L. Jones, J. Kapsomenakis, E. Katragkou, A. Keppens, B. Langerock, M. de Mazière, D. Melas, M. Parrington, V. H. Peuch, M. Razinger, A. Richter, M. G. Schultz, M. Suttie, V. Thouret, M. Vrekoussis, A. Wagner, and C. Zerefos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5275–5303, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5275-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5275-2015, 2015
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The paper presents results from data assimilation studies with the new Composition-IFS model developed in the MACC project. This system was used in MACC to produce daily analyses and 5-day forecasts of atmospheric composition and is now run daily in the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. The paper looks at the quality of the CO, O3 and NO2 analysis fields obtained with this system, comparing them against observations, a control run and an older version of the model.
K. Lefever, R. van der A, F. Baier, Y. Christophe, Q. Errera, H. Eskes, J. Flemming, A. Inness, L. Jones, J.-C. Lambert, B. Langerock, M. G. Schultz, O. Stein, A. Wagner, and S. Chabrillat
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2269–2293, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2269-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2269-2015, 2015
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We validate and discuss the analyses of stratospheric ozone delivered in near-real time between 2009 and 2012 by four different data assimilation systems: IFS-MOZART, BASCOE, SACADA and TM3DAM. It is shown that the characteristics of the assimilation systems are much less important than those of the assimilated data sets. A correct representation of the vertical distribution of ozone requires satellite observations which are well resolved vertically and extend into the lowermost stratosphere.
P. Schneider, W. A. Lahoz, and R. van der A
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1205–1220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1205-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1205-2015, 2015
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We use a homogeneous 10-year record of satellite data to study recent trends in NO2 over the world's major urban agglomerations. The results indicate distinct spatial patterns in trends, with moderate but consistent reductions in NO2 throughout most developed countries and rapid increases of up to 15 % per year over many sites in Asia, Africa, and South America. We also show links between urban NO2 trends and economic as well as demographic factors, and how the latter drive regional differences.
A. T. J. de Laat, R. J. van der A, and M. van Weele
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 79–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-79-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-79-2015, 2015
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Recent research suggests the Antarctic ozone hole has started to shrink due to decreasing ozone-depleting substances. Because it could be questioned how robust these results are, we provide an assessment of uncertainties in both the underlying ozone observational records and the detection-attribution method. Although Antarctic ozone concentrations are definitely increasing slowly, the formal identification of recovery is not yet justified, although this will likely become possible this decade.
A. T. J. de Laat, I. Aben, M. Deeter, P. Nédélec, H. Eskes, J.-L. Attié, P. Ricaud, R. Abida, L. El Amraoui, and J. Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3783–3799, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3783-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3783-2014, 2014
J. S. Knibbe, R. J. van der A, and A. T. J. de Laat
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8461–8482, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8461-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8461-2014, 2014
M. Belmonte Rivas, P. Veefkind, F. Boersma, P. Levelt, H. Eskes, and J. Gille
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2203–2225, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2203-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2203-2014, 2014
B. Hassler, I. Petropavlovskikh, J. Staehelin, T. August, P. K. Bhartia, C. Clerbaux, D. Degenstein, M. De Mazière, B. M. Dinelli, A. Dudhia, G. Dufour, S. M. Frith, L. Froidevaux, S. Godin-Beekmann, J. Granville, N. R. P. Harris, K. Hoppel, D. Hubert, Y. Kasai, M. J. Kurylo, E. Kyrölä, J.-C. Lambert, P. F. Levelt, C. T. McElroy, R. D. McPeters, R. Munro, H. Nakajima, A. Parrish, P. Raspollini, E. E. Remsberg, K. H. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, T. Sano, Y. Sasano, M. Shiotani, H. G. J. Smit, G. Stiller, J. Tamminen, D. W. Tarasick, J. Urban, R. J. van der A, J. P. Veefkind, C. Vigouroux, T. von Clarmann, C. von Savigny, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, J. Wild, and J. M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, 2014
H. Brenot, N. Theys, L. Clarisse, J. van Geffen, J. van Gent, M. Van Roozendael, R. van der A, D. Hurtmans, P.-F. Coheur, C. Clerbaux, P. Valks, P. Hedelt, F. Prata, O. Rasson, K. Sievers, and C. Zehner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1099–1123, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1099-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1099-2014, 2014
K. Miyazaki, H. J. Eskes, K. Sudo, and C. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3277–3305, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3277-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3277-2014, 2014
J. C. A. van Peet, R. J. van der A, O. N. E. Tuinder, E. Wolfram, J. Salvador, P. F. Levelt, and H. M. Kelder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 859–876, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-859-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-859-2014, 2014
B. Mijling, R. J. van der A, and Q. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12003–12012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12003-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12003-2013, 2013
T. Stavrakou, J.-F. Müller, K. F. Boersma, R. J. van der A, J. Kurokawa, T. Ohara, and Q. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9057–9082, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9057-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9057-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Air quality trends and regimes in South Korea inferred from 2015–2023 surface and satellite observations
What can we learn about tropospheric OH from satellite observations of methane?
Identifying missing sources and reducing NOx emissions uncertainty over China using daily satellite data and a mass-conserving method
Feasibility of robust estimates of ozone production rates using a synergy of satellite observations, ground-based remote sensing, and models
Upper-tropospheric pollutants observed by MIPAS: geographic and seasonal variations
Comparing space-based to reported carbon monoxide emission estimates for Europe's iron and steel plants
Unleashing the potential of geostationary satellite observations in air quality forecasting through artificial intelligence techniques
Tropical upper-tropospheric trends in ozone and carbon monoxide (2005–2020): observational and model results
Global seasonal urban, industrial, and background NO2 estimated from TROPOMI satellite observations
Opposing trends in the peak and low ozone concentrations in eastern China: anthropogenic and meteorological influences
Quantifying biases in TROPESS AIRS, CrIS, and joint AIRS+OMI tropospheric ozone products using ozonesondes
Vertical profiles of global tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) obtained by cloud slicing the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI)
Opinion: Beyond global means – novel space-based approaches to indirectly constrain the concentrations of and trends and variations in the tropospheric hydroxyl radical (OH)
Monitoring of total and off-road NOx emissions from Canadian oil sands surface mining using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument
Increase in Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) observed by satellite in the northern hemisphere over the summers of 2008–2023, linked to an increase in wildfires
Satellite-observed relationships between land cover, burned area, and atmospheric composition over the southern Amazon
Ammonia emission estimates using CrIS satellite observations over Europe
Large Reductions in Satellite-Derived and Modelled European Lower Tropospheric Ozone During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020–2022)
Insights into the long-term (2005–2021) spatiotemporal evolution of summer ozone production sensitivity in the Northern Hemisphere derived with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)
Tropical tropospheric ozone distribution and trends from in situ and satellite data
Estimation of ground-level NO2 and its spatiotemporal variations in China using GEMS measurements and a nested machine learning model
Investigation of the impact of satellite vertical sensitivity on long-term retrieved lower-tropospheric ozone trends
Quantifying the diurnal variation in atmospheric NO2 from Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) observations
Ammonia in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS): GLORIA airborne measurements for CAMS model evaluation in the Asian monsoon and in biomass burning plumes above the South Atlantic
A lightweight NO2-to-NOx conversion model for quantifying NOx emissions of point sources from NO2 satellite observations
Towards a sector-specific CO∕CO2 emission ratio: satellite-based observations of CO release from steel production in Germany
Pyrogenic HONO seen from space: insights from global IASI observations
First evaluation of the GEMS formaldehyde product against TROPOMI and ground-based column measurements during the in-orbit test period
High-resolution mapping of nitrogen oxide emissions in large US cities from TROPOMI retrievals of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide columns
Quantifying the tropospheric ozone radiative effect and its temporal evolution in the satellite era
A satellite chronology of plumes from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent
Investigation of spatial and temporal variability in lower tropospheric ozone from RAL Space UV–Vis satellite products
Two years of satellite-based carbon dioxide emission quantification at the world's largest coal-fired power plants
Tropical tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide distributions: characteristics, origins, and control factors, as seen by IAGOS and IASI
Investigation of the summer 2018 European ozone air pollution episodes using novel satellite data and modelling
Bridging the spatial gaps of the Ammonia Monitoring Network using satellite ammonia measurements
A roadmap to estimating agricultural ammonia volatilization over Europe using satellite observations and simulation data
Investigation of meteorological conditions and BrO during ozone depletion events in Ny-Ålesund between 2010 and 2021
Quantification of carbon monoxide emissions from African cities using TROPOMI
Nitrogen oxides emissions from selected cities in North America, Europe, and East Asia observed by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Remotely sensed and surface measurement- derived mass-conserving inversion of daily NOx emissions and inferred combustion technologies in energy-rich northern China
Examining TROPOMI formaldehyde to nitrogen dioxide ratios in the Lake Michigan region: implications for ozone exceedances
Impact of different sources of precursors on an ozone pollution outbreak over Europe analysed with IASI+GOME2 multispectral satellite observations and model simulations
Monitoring and quantifying CO2 emissions of isolated power plants from space
Technical note: Constraining the hydroxyl (OH) radical in the tropics with satellite observations of its drivers – first steps toward assessing the feasibility of a global observation strategy
Significant contribution of inland ships to the total NOx emissions along the Yangtze River
Characteristics of interannual variability in space-based XCO2 global observations
Toward a versatile spaceborne architecture for immediate monitoring of the global methane pledge
Methane emissions are predominantly responsible for record-breaking atmospheric methane growth rates in 2020 and 2021
Ground solar absorption observations of total column CO, CO2, CH4, and aerosol optical depth from California's Sequoia Lightning Complex Fire: emission factors and modified combustion efficiency at regional scales
Yujin J. Oak, Daniel J. Jacob, Drew C. Pendergrass, Ruijun Dang, Nadia K. Colombi, Heesung Chong, Seoyoung Lee, Su Keun Kuk, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3233–3252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3233-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3233-2025, 2025
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We analyze 2015–2023 air quality trends in South Korea using surface and satellite observations. Primary pollutants have decreased, consistent with emissions reductions. Surface O3 continues to increase and PM2.5 has decreased overall, but the nitrate component has not. O3 and PM2.5 nitrate depend on nonlinear responses from precursor emissions. Satellite data indicate a recent shift to NOx-sensitive O3 and nitrate formation, where further NOx reductions will benefit both O3 and PM2.5 pollution.
Elise Penn, Daniel J. Jacob, Zichong Chen, James D. East, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Lori Bruhwiler, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Yuzhong Zhang, and John Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2947–2965, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2947-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2947-2025, 2025
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The hydroxyl radical (OH) destroys many air pollutants, including methane. Global-mean OH cannot be directly measured, and thus it is inferred with the methyl chloroform (MCF) proxy. MCF is decreasing, and a replacement is needed. We use satellite observations of methane in two spectral ranges as a proxy for OH. We find shortwave infrared observations can characterize yearly OH and its seasonality but not the latitudinal distribution. Thermal infrared observations add little information.
Lingxiao Lu, Jason Blake Cohen, Kai Qin, Xiaolu Li, and Qin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2291–2309, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2291-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2291-2025, 2025
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This study applies an approach that assimilates NO2 vertical column densities from TROPOMI in a mass-conserving manner and inverts daily NOx emissions, presented over rapidly changing regions in China. Source attribution is quantified by the local thermodynamics of the combustion temperature (NOx/NO2). Emission results identify sources which do not exist in the a priori datasets, especially medium industrial sources located next to the Yangtze River.
Amir H. Souri, Gonzalo González Abad, Glenn M. Wolfe, Tijl Verhoelst, Corinne Vigouroux, Gaia Pinardi, Steven Compernolle, Bavo Langerock, Bryan N. Duncan, and Matthew S. Johnson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2061–2086, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2061-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2061-2025, 2025
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We establish a simple yet robust relationship between ozone production rates and geophysical parameters obtained from several intensive atmospheric composition campaigns. We show that satellite remote sensing data can effectively constrain these parameters, enabling us to produce the first global maps of ozone production rates with unprecedented resolution.
Norbert Glatthor, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Bernd Funke, Sylvia Kellmann, and Andrea Linden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1175–1208, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1175-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1175-2025, 2025
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We present global upper-tropospheric distributions of the pollutants HCN, CO, C2H2, C2H6, PAN, and HCOOH, observed between 2002 and 2012 by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on the Environmental Satellite (Envisat). By comparing the spatial distributions of their volume mixing ratios and by global correlation and regression analyses, we draw conclusions on their sources, such as biomass burning, anthropogenic sources, and biogenic release.
Gijs Leguijt, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Arjo J. Segers, Tobias Borsdorff, Ivar R. van der Velde, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 555–574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-555-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-555-2025, 2025
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The production of steel coincides with large emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants including carbon monoxide. European facilities are required to report their emissions, which are estimated using a variety of methods. We evaluate these estimates using carbon monoxide concentrations measured via satellite. We find generally good agreement between our values and those reported but also identify some uncertainties, showing that satellites can provide insights into these emissions.
Chengxin Zhang, Xinhan Niu, Hongyu Wu, Zhipeng Ding, Ka Lok Chan, Jhoon Kim, Thomas Wagner, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 759–770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-759-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-759-2025, 2025
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This research utilizes hourly air pollution observations from the world’s first geostationary satellite to develop a spatiotemporal neural network model for full-coverage surface NO2 pollution prediction over the next 24 hours, achieving outstanding forecasting performance and efficacy. These results highlight the profound impact of geostationary satellite observations in advancing air quality forecasting models, thereby contributing to future models for health exposure to air pollution.
Lucien Froidevaux, Douglas E. Kinnison, Benjamin Gaubert, Michael J. Schwartz, Nathaniel J. Livesey, William G. Read, Charles G. Bardeen, Jerry R. Ziemke, and Ryan A. Fuller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 597–624, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-597-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-597-2025, 2025
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We compare observed changes in ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the tropical upper troposphere (10–15 km altitude) for 2005–2020 to predictions from model simulations that track the evolution of natural and industrial emissions transported to this region. An increasing trend in measured upper-tropospheric O3 is well matched by model trends. We find that changes in modeled industrial CO surface emissions lead to better model agreement with observed slight decreases in upper-tropospheric CO.
Vitali Fioletov, Chris A. McLinden, Debora Griffin, Xiaoyi Zhao, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 575–596, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-575-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-575-2025, 2025
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Satellite data were used to estimate urban per capita emissions for 261 major cities worldwide. Three components in tropospheric NO2 data (background NO2, NO2 from urban sources, and NO2 from industrial point sources) were isolated, and then each of these components was analyzed separately. The largest per capita emissions were found in the Middle East and the smallest in India and southern Africa. Urban weekend emissions are 20 %–50 % less than workday emissions for all regions except China.
Zhuang Wang, Chune Shi, Hao Zhang, Xianguang Ji, Yizhi Zhu, Congzi Xia, Xiaoyun Sun, Xinfeng Lin, Shaowei Yan, Suyao Wang, Yuan Zhou, Chengzhi Xing, Yujia Chen, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 347–366, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-347-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-347-2025, 2025
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This study attempts to explain the surface ozone background and typical and peak trends in eastern China by combining a large number of ground-based and satellite observations. We found diametrically opposed trends in peak (decreasing) and low (increasing) ozone concentrations. Anthropogenic emissions primarily drive trends in low and peak ozone concentrations in eastern China, though meteorological effects also play a role.
Elyse A. Pennington, Gregory B. Osterman, Vivienne H. Payne, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Kevin W. Bowman, and Jessica L. Neu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3701, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3701, 2024
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Tropospheric ozone is a harmful pollutant & powerful greenhouse gas. For satellite products to accurately quantify trends in tropospheric ozone, they must have low bias compared to a reliable source of data. This study compares 3 TROPESS satellite products – CrIS, AIRS, & AIRSOMI – to ozonesonde data. They have low global measurement bias & thus can be used to detect global tropospheric ozone trends, but the measurement bias should be considered in certain regions & time periods.
Rebekah P. Horner, Eloise A. Marais, Nana Wei, Robert G. Ryan, and Viral Shah
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13047–13064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13047-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen oxides (NOx ≡ NO + NO2) affect tropospheric ozone and the hydroxyl radical, influencing climate and atmospheric oxidation. To address the lack of routine observations of NOx, we cloud slice satellite observations of NO2 to derive a new dataset of global vertical profiles of NO2. We evaluate our data against in situ aircraft observations and use these data to critique the contemporary understanding of tropospheric NOx, as simulated by the GEOS-Chem model.
Bryan N. Duncan, Daniel C. Anderson, Arlene M. Fiore, Joanna Joiner, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Can Li, Dylan B. Millet, Julie M. Nicely, Luke D. Oman, Jason M. St. Clair, Joshua D. Shutter, Amir H. Souri, Sarah A. Strode, Brad Weir, Glenn M. Wolfe, Helen M. Worden, and Qindan Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13001–13023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13001-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13001-2024, 2024
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Trace gases emitted to or formed within the atmosphere may be chemically or physically removed from the atmosphere. One trace gas, the hydroxyl radical (OH), is responsible for initiating the chemical removal of many trace gases, including some greenhouse gases. Despite its importance, scientists have not been able to adequately measure OH. In this opinion piece, we discuss promising new methods to indirectly constrain OH using satellite data of trace gases that control the abundance of OH.
Chris McLinden, Debora Griffin, Vitali Fioletov, Junhua Zhang, Enrico Dammers, Cristen Adams, Mallory Loria, Nicolay Krotkov, and Lok Lamsal
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2856, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2856, 2024
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The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) was used to understand the evolution of NOx emissions from the Canadian oil sands. OMI NO2 combined with winds and reported stack emissions, found emissions from the heavy-hauler mine fleet increased by about 20 % since 2005, whereas the total oil sands mined nearly doubled. This difference is a result of emissions standards limiting NOx emissions becoming more stringent over this period confirming the efficacy of the policy enacting these standards.
Antoine Ehret, Solène Turquety, Maya George, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, and Cathy Clerbaux
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3128, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3128, 2024
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Biomass burning has a considerable effect on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and climate, due to the emission of trace gases and aerosols. We examine the relationship between fire variability and the values of carbon monoxide and aerosol optical depth observed by satellite. The observed increase in wildfires has led to a corresponding rise in the mean and extreme values of carbon monoxide and aerosol optical depth during the summer and early autumn across the northern hemisphere.
Emma Sands, Richard J. Pope, Ruth M. Doherty, Fiona M. O'Connor, Chris Wilson, and Hugh Pumphrey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11081–11102, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11081-2024, 2024
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Changes in vegetation alongside biomass burning impact regional atmospheric composition and air quality. Using satellite remote sensing, we find a clear linear relationship between forest cover and isoprene and a pronounced non-linear relationship between burned area and nitrogen dioxide in the southern Amazon, a region of substantial deforestation. These quantified relationships can be used for model evaluation and further exploration of biosphere-atmosphere interactions in Earth System Models.
Jieying Ding, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, Enrico Dammers, Mark Shephard, Roy Wichink Kruit, Marc Guevara, and Leonor Tarrason
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10583–10599, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10583-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10583-2024, 2024
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Here we applied the existing Daily Emissions Constrained by Satellite Observations (DECSO) inversion algorithm to NH3 observations from the CrIS satellite instrument to estimate NH3 emissions. As NH3 in the atmosphere is influenced by NOx, we implemented DECSO to estimate NOx and NH3 emissions simultaneously. The emissions are derived over Europe for 2020 at a spatial resolution of 0.2° using daily observations from CrIS and TROPOMI. Results are compared to bottom-up emission inventories.
Matilda A. Pimlott, Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Wuhu Feng, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2736, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2736, 2024
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Globally, lockdowns were implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19, leading to a decrease in emissions of key air pollutants. Here, we use novel satellite data and a chemistry model to investigate the impact of the pandemic on tropospheric ozone (O3), a key pollutant, in 2020. Overall, we found substantial decreases of up to 20 %, 2/3s of which came from emission reductions while 1/3 was due to a decrease in the stratospheric ozone flux into the troposphere.
Matthew S. Johnson, Sajeev Philip, Scott Meech, Rajesh Kumar, Meytar Sorek-Hamer, Yoichi P. Shiga, and Jia Jung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10363–10384, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10363-2024, 2024
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Satellites, like the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), retrieve proxy species of ozone (O3) formation (formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide) and the ratios (FNRs) which can define O3 production sensitivity regimes. Here we investigate trends of OMI FNRs from 2005 to 2021, and they have increased in major cities, suggesting a transition from radical- to NOx-limited regimes. OMI also observed the impact of reduced emissions during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown that resulted in increased FNRs.
Audrey Gaudel, Ilann Bourgeois, Meng Li, Kai-Lan Chang, Jerald Ziemke, Bastien Sauvage, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Debra E. Kollonige, Nadia Smith, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Juan Cuesta, Klaus-Peter Heue, Pepijn Veefkind, Kenneth Aikin, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Thomas B. Ryerson, Gregory J. Frost, Brian C. McDonald, and Owen R. Cooper
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9975–10000, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9975-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9975-2024, 2024
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The study examines tropical tropospheric ozone changes. In situ data from 1994–2019 display increased ozone, notably over India, Southeast Asia, and Malaysia and Indonesia. Sparse in situ data limit trend detection for the 15-year period. In situ and satellite data, with limited sampling, struggle to consistently detect trends. Continuous observations are vital over the tropical Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, western Africa, and South Asia for accurate ozone trend estimation in these regions.
Naveed Ahmad, Changqing Lin, Alexis K. H. Lau, Jhoon Kim, Tianshu Zhang, Fangqun Yu, Chengcai Li, Ying Li, Jimmy C. H. Fung, and Xiang Qian Lao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9645–9665, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9645-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9645-2024, 2024
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This study developed a nested machine learning model to convert the GEMS NO2 column measurements into ground-level concentrations across China. The model directly incorporates the NO2 mixing height (NMH) into the methodological framework. The study underscores the importance of considering NMH when estimating ground-level NO2 from satellite column measurements and highlights the significant advantages of new-generation geostationary satellites in air quality monitoring.
Richard J. Pope, Fiona M. O'Connor, Mohit Dalvi, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Anne Boynard, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, Catherine Wespes, and Richard Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9177–9195, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9177-2024, 2024
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant in the lower troposphere, with adverse impacts on human health. Satellite records of tropospheric ozone currently show large-scale inconsistencies in long-term trends. Our detailed study of the potential factors (e.g. satellite errors, where the satellite can observe ozone) potentially driving these inconsistencies found that, in North America, Europe, and East Asia, the underlying trends are typically small with large uncertainties.
David P. Edwards, Sara Martínez-Alonso, Duseong S. Jo, Ivan Ortega, Louisa K. Emmons, John J. Orlando, Helen M. Worden, Jhoon Kim, Hanlim Lee, Junsung Park, and Hyunkee Hong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8943–8961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8943-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8943-2024, 2024
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Until recently, satellite observations of atmospheric pollutants at any location could only be obtained once a day. New geostationary satellites stare at a region of the Earth to make hourly measurements, and the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer is the first looking at Asia. These data and model simulations show how the change seen for one important pollutant that determines air quality depends on a combination of pollution emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology.
Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Thomas Gulde, Vincent Huijnen, Anne Kleinert, Erik Kretschmer, Guido Maucher, Tom Neubert, Hans Nordmeyer, Christof Piesch, Peter Preusse, Martin Riese, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, Gerald Wetzel, and Wolfgang Woiwode
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8125–8138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8125-2024, 2024
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We present airborne infrared limb sounding GLORIA measurements of ammonia (NH3) in the upper troposphere of air masses within the Asian monsoon and of those connected with biomass burning. Comparing CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) model data, we find that the model reproduces the measured enhanced NH3 within the Asian monsoon well but not that within biomass burning plumes, where no enhanced NH3 is measured in the upper troposphere but considerable amounts are simulated by CAMS.
Sandro Meier, Erik F. M. Koene, Maarten Krol, Dominik Brunner, Alexander Damm, and Gerrit Kuhlmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7667–7686, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7667-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7667-2024, 2024
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Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are important air pollutants. This study addresses the challenge of accurately estimating NOx emissions from NO2 satellite observations. We develop a realistic model to convert NO2 to NOx by using simulated plumes from various power plants. We apply the model to satellite NO2 observations, significantly reducing biases in estimated NOx emissions. The study highlights the potential for a consistent, high-resolution estimation of NOx emissions using satellite data.
Oliver Schneising, Michael Buchwitz, Maximilian Reuter, Michael Weimer, Heinrich Bovensmann, John P. Burrows, and Hartmut Bösch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7609–7621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7609-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7609-2024, 2024
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Large quantities of CO and CO2 are emitted during conventional steel production. As satellite-based estimates of CO2 emissions at the facility level are challenging, co-emitted CO can indicate the carbon footprint of steel plants. We estimate CO emissions for German steelworks and use CO2 emissions from emissions trading data to derive a sector-specific CO/CO2 emission ratio for the steel industry; it is a prerequisite to use CO as a proxy for CO2 emissions from similar steel production sites.
Bruno Franco, Lieven Clarisse, Nicolas Theys, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Cathy Clerbaux, and Pierre Coheur
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4973–5007, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4973-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4973-2024, 2024
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Using IASI global infrared measurements, we retrieve nitrous acid (HONO) in fire plumes from space. We detect large enhancements of pyrogenic HONO worldwide, especially from intense wildfires at Northern Hemisphere mid- and high latitudes. Predominance of IASI nighttime over daytime measurements sheds light on HONO's extended lifetime and secondary formation during long-range transport in smoke plumes. Our findings deepen the understanding of atmospheric HONO, crucial for air quality assessment.
Gitaek T. Lee, Rokjin J. Park, Hyeong-Ahn Kwon, Eunjo S. Ha, Sieun D. Lee, Seunga Shin, Myoung-Hwan Ahn, Mina Kang, Yong-Sang Choi, Gyuyeon Kim, Dong-Won Lee, Deok-Rae Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Bavo Langerock, Corinne Vigouroux, Christophe Lerot, Francois Hendrick, Gaia Pinardi, Isabelle De Smedt, Michel Van Roozendael, Pucai Wang, Heesung Chong, Yeseul Cho, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4733–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4733-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4733-2024, 2024
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This study evaluates the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) HCHO product by comparing its vertical column densities (VCDs) with those of TROPOMI and ground-based observations. Based on some sensitivity tests, obtaining radiance references under clear-sky conditions significantly improves HCHO retrieval quality. GEMS HCHO VCDs captured seasonal and diurnal variations well during the first year of observation, showing consistency with TROPOMI and ground-based observations.
Fei Liu, Steffen Beirle, Joanna Joiner, Sungyeon Choi, Zhining Tao, K. Emma Knowland, Steven J. Smith, Daniel Q. Tong, Siqi Ma, Zachary T. Fasnacht, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3717–3728, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3717-2024, 2024
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Using satellite data, we developed a coupled method independent of the chemical transport model to map NOx emissions across US cities. After validating our technique with synthetic data, we charted NOx emissions from 2018–2021 in 39 cities. Our results closely matched EPA estimates but also highlighted some inconsistencies in both magnitude and spatial distribution. This research can help refine strategies for monitoring and managing air quality.
Richard J. Pope, Alexandru Rap, Matilda A. Pimlott, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Anne Boynard, Christian Retscher, Wuhu Feng, Richard Rigby, Sandip S. Dhomse, Catherine Wespes, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3613–3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, 2024
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Tropospheric ozone is an important short-lived climate forcer which influences the incoming solar short-wave radiation and the outgoing long-wave radiation in the atmosphere (8–15 km) where the balance between the two yields a net positive (i.e. warming) effect at the surface. Overall, we find that the tropospheric ozone radiative effect ranges between 1.21 and 1.26 W m−2 with a negligible trend (2008–2017), suggesting that tropospheric ozone influences on climate have remained stable with time.
Isabelle A. Taylor, Roy G. Grainger, Andrew T. Prata, Simon R. Proud, Tamsin A. Mather, and David M. Pyle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15209–15234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15209-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15209-2023, 2023
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This study looks at sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ash emissions from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière on St Vincent. Using satellite data, 35 eruptive events were identified. Satellite data were used to track SO2 as it was transported around the globe. The majority of SO2 was emitted into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Similarities with the 1979 eruption of La Soufrière highlight the value of studying these eruptions to be better prepared for future eruptions.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, and Richard Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14933–14947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, 2023
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant, and we present the first study to investigate long-term changes in lower tropospheric column ozone (LTCO3) from space. We have constructed a merged LTCO3 dataset from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY and OMI between 1996 and 2017. Comparing LTCO3 between the 1996–2000 and 2013–2017 5-year averages, we find significant positive increases in the tropics/sub-tropics, while in the northern mid-latitudes, we find small-scale differences.
Daniel H. Cusworth, Andrew K. Thorpe, Charles E. Miller, Alana K. Ayasse, Ralph Jiorle, Riley M. Duren, Ray Nassar, Jon-Paul Mastrogiacomo, and Robert R. Nelson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14577–14591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14577-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14577-2023, 2023
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from combustion sources are uncertain in many places across the globe. Satellites have the ability to detect and quantify emissions from large CO2 point sources, including coal-fired power plants. In this study, we tasked two satellites to routinely observe CO2 emissions at 30 coal-fired power plants between 2021 and 2022. These results present the largest dataset of space-based CO2 emission estimates to date.
Maria Tsivlidou, Bastien Sauvage, Yasmine Bennouna, Romain Blot, Damien Boulanger, Hannah Clark, Eric Le Flochmoën, Philippe Nédélec, Valérie Thouret, Pawel Wolff, and Brice Barret
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14039–14063, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14039-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14039-2023, 2023
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The tropics are a region where the ozone increase has been most apparent since 1980 and where observations are sparse. Using aircraft, satellite, and model data, we document the characteristics of tropospheric ozone and CO over the whole tropics for the last 2 decades. We explore the origin of the observed CO anomalies and investigate transport processes driving the tropical CO and O3 distribution. Our study highlights the importance of anthropogenic emissions, mostly over the northern tropics.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Matilda A. Pimlott, Wuhu Feng, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry D. Hayman, Stephen R. Arnold, and Ailish M. Graham
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13235–13253, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, 2023
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In the summer of 2018, Europe experienced several persistent large-scale ozone (O3) pollution episodes. Satellite tropospheric O3 and surface O3 data recorded substantial enhancements in 2018 relative to other years. Targeted model simulations showed that meteorological processes and emissions controlled the elevated surface O3, while mid-tropospheric O3 enhancements were dominated by stratospheric O3 intrusion and advection of North Atlantic O3-rich air masses into Europe.
Rui Wang, Da Pan, Xuehui Guo, Kang Sun, Lieven Clarisse, Martin Van Damme, Pierre-François Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux, Melissa Puchalski, and Mark A. Zondlo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13217–13234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13217-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13217-2023, 2023
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Ammonia (NH3) is a key precursor for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and a primary form of reactive nitrogen, yet it has sparse ground measurements. We perform the first comprehensive comparison between ground observations and satellite retrievals in the US, demonstrating that satellite NH3 data can help fill spatial gaps in the current ground monitoring networks. Trend analyses using both datasets highlight increasing NH3 trends across the US, including the NH3 hotspots and urban areas.
Rimal Abeed, Camille Viatte, William C. Porter, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Cathy Clerbaux, Lieven Clarisse, Martin Van Damme, Pierre-François Coheur, and Sarah Safieddine
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12505–12523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12505-2023, 2023
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Ammonia emissions from agricultural activities will inevitably increase with the rise in population. We use a variety of datasets (satellite, reanalysis, and model simulation) to calculate the first regional map of ammonia emission potential during the start of the growing season in Europe. We then apply our developed method using a climate model to show the effect of the temperature increase on future ammonia columns under two possible climate scenarios.
Bianca Zilker, Andreas Richter, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Peter von der Gathen, Ilias Bougoudis, Sora Seo, Tim Bösch, and John Philip Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9787–9814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9787-2023, 2023
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During Arctic spring, near-surface ozone is depleted by bromine released from salty sea ice and/or snow-covered areas under certain meteorological conditions. To study this ozone depletion and the prevailing meteorological conditions, two ozone data sets from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, have been evaluated. We found that during ozone depletion events lower pressure over the Barents Sea and higher pressure in the Icelandic Low area led to a transport of cold polar air from the north to Ny-Ålesund.
Gijs Leguijt, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Arjo J. Segers, Tobias Borsdorff, and Ilse Aben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8899–8919, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8899-2023, 2023
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We present a fast method to evaluate carbon monoxide emissions from cities in Africa. Carbon monoxide is important for climate change in an indirect way, as it is linked to ozone, methane, and carbon dioxide. Our measurements are made with a satellite that sees the entire globe every single day. This means that we can check from space whether the current knowledge of emission rates is up to date. We make the comparison and show that the emission rates in northern Africa are underestimated.
Chantelle R. Lonsdale and Kang Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8727–8748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8727-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8727-2023, 2023
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The COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, emerged in 2019, and its still evolving variants have resulted in unprecedented shifts in human activities and anthropogenic emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. We present monthly nitrogen oxide emissions over three major continents from May 2018 to January 2023 to capture variations before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on a diverse collection of 54 cities to quantify the post-COVID-19 perturbations.
Xiaolu Li, Jason Blake Cohen, Kai Qin, Hong Geng, Xiaohui Wu, Liling Wu, Chengli Yang, Rui Zhang, and Liqin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8001–8019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8001-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8001-2023, 2023
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Remotely sensed NO2 and surface NOx are combined with a mathematical method to estimate daily NOx emissions. The results identify new sources and improve existing estimates. The estimation is driven by three flexible factors: thermodynamics of combustion, chemical loss, and atmospheric transport. The thermodynamic term separates power, iron, and cement from coking, boilers, and aluminum. This work finds three causes for the extremes: emissions, UV radiation, and transport.
Juanito Jerrold Mariano Acdan, Robert Bradley Pierce, Angela F. Dickens, Zachariah Adelman, and Tsengel Nergui
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7867–7885, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7867-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7867-2023, 2023
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Ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to human health. Near the surface of Earth, ozone is created when other pollutants react in the presence of sunlight. This study uses satellite data to investigate how ozone levels can be decreased in the Lake Michigan region of the United States. Our results indicate that ozone levels can be decreased by decreasing volatile organic compound emissions in urban areas and decreasing nitrogen oxide emissions in the region as a whole.
Sachiko Okamoto, Juan Cuesta, Matthias Beekmann, Gaëlle Dufour, Maxim Eremenko, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Cathy Boonne, Hiroshi Tanimoto, and Hajime Akimoto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7399–7423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7399-2023, 2023
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We present a detailed analysis of the daily evolution of the lowermost tropospheric ozone documented by IASI+GOME2 multispectral satellite observations and that of its precursors from TCR-2 tropospheric chemistry reanalysis. It reveals that the ozone outbreak across Europe in July 2017 was produced during favorable condition for photochemical production of ozone and was associated with multiple sources of ozone precursors: biogenic, anthropogenic, and biomass burning emissions.
Xiaojuan Lin, Ronald van der A, Jos de Laat, Henk Eskes, Frédéric Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Zhu Deng, Yuanhao Geng, Xuanren Song, Xiliang Ni, Da Huo, Xinyu Dou, and Zhu Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6599–6611, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6599-2023, 2023
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Satellite observations provide evidence for CO2 emission signals from isolated power plants. We use these satellite observations to quantify emissions. We found that for power plants with multiple observations, the correlation of estimated and reported emissions is significantly improved compared to a single observation case. This demonstrates that accurate estimation of power plant emissions can be achieved by monitoring from future satellite missions with more frequent observations.
Daniel C. Anderson, Bryan N. Duncan, Julie M. Nicely, Junhua Liu, Sarah A. Strode, and Melanie B. Follette-Cook
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6319–6338, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6319-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6319-2023, 2023
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We describe a methodology that combines machine learning, satellite observations, and 3D chemical model output to infer the abundance of the hydroxyl radical (OH), a chemical that removes many trace gases from the atmosphere. The methodology successfully captures the variability of observed OH, although further observations are needed to evaluate absolute accuracy. Current satellite observations are of sufficient quality to infer OH, but retrieval validation in the remote tropics is needed.
Xiumei Zhang, Ronald van der A, Jieying Ding, Xin Zhang, and Yan Yin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5587–5604, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5587-2023, 2023
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We compiled a ship emission inventory based on automatic identification system (AIS) signals in the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River. This ship emission inventory was compared with Chinese bottom-up inventories and the satellite-derived emissions from TROPOMI. The result shows a consistent spatial distribution, with riverine cities having high NOx emissions. Inland ship emissions of NOx are shown to contribute at least 40 % to air pollution along the river.
Yifan Guan, Gretchen Keppel-Aleks, Scott C. Doney, Christof Petri, Dave Pollard, Debra Wunch, Frank Hase, Hirofumi Ohyama, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Kei Shiomi, Kim Strong, Rigel Kivi, Matthias Buschmann, Nicholas Deutscher, Paul Wennberg, Ralf Sussmann, Voltaire A. Velazco, and Yao Té
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5355–5372, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5355-2023, 2023
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We characterize spatial–temporal patterns of interannual variability (IAV) in atmospheric CO2 based on NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). CO2 variation is strongly impacted by climate events, with higher anomalies during El Nino years. We show high correlation in IAV between space-based and ground-based CO2 from long-term sites. Because OCO-2 has near-global coverage, our paper provides a roadmap to study IAV where in situ observation is sparse, such as open oceans and remote lands.
Yuchen Wang, Xvli Guo, Yajie Huo, Mengying Li, Yuqing Pan, Shaocai Yu, Alexander Baklanov, Daniel Rosenfeld, John H. Seinfeld, and Pengfei Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5233–5249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5233-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5233-2023, 2023
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Substantial advances have been made in recent years toward detecting and quantifying methane super-emitters from space. However, such advances have rarely been expanded to measure the global methane pledge because large-scale swaths and high-resolution sampling have not been coordinated. Here we present a versatile spaceborne architecture that can juggle planet-scale and plant-level methane retrievals, challenge official emission reports, and remain relevant for stereoscopic measurements.
Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, Robert J. Parker, Mark F. Lunt, and Hartmut Bösch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4863–4880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4863-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4863-2023, 2023
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Our understanding of recent changes in atmospheric methane has defied explanation. Since 2007, the atmospheric growth of methane has accelerated to record-breaking values in 2020 and 2021. We use satellite observations of methane to show that (1) increasing emissions over the tropics are mostly responsible for these recent atmospheric changes, and (2) changes in the OH sink during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown can explain up to 34% of changes in atmospheric methane for that year.
Isis Frausto-Vicencio, Sajjan Heerah, Aaron G. Meyer, Harrison A. Parker, Manvendra Dubey, and Francesca M. Hopkins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4521–4543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4521-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4521-2023, 2023
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Wildfires are increasing in the western USA, making it critical to understand the impacts of greenhouse gases and air pollutants on the atmosphere. We used a ground-based remote sensing technique to measure the greenhouse gases and aerosol in the atmosphere. We isolate a large smoke plume from a nearby wildfire and calculate variables to understand the fuel properties and combustion phases. We find that a significant amount of methane is emitted from the 2020 California wildfire season.
Cited articles
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Short summary
Using observations of the Sentinel-5P satellite and the latest version of the inversion algorithm DECSO, anthropogenic NOx emissions are derived for Europe for the years 2019–2022 with a spatial resolution of 0.2°. The results are compared with European emissions of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Using observations of the Sentinel-5P satellite and the latest version of the inversion...
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