Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10643-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-10643-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 17 Sep 2025
| 17 Sep 2025
Relation between total vertical column density and near-surface NO2 based on in situ and Pandora ground-based remote sensing observations
Ying Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Yuanyuan Wei
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Changcheng Institute of Metrology & Measurement, Beijing 100095, China
Gerrit de Leeuw
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), 3730AE De Bilt, the Netherlands
Ouyang Liu
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Yu Chen
CMA Public Meteorological Service Centre, Beijing 100081, China
Yang Lv
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yuanxun Zhang
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Zhengqiang Li
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Related authors
Qiansi Tu, Frank Hase, Ying Zhang, Jiaxin Fang, Yanwu Jiang, Xiaofan Li, Matthias Schneider, Zhuolin Yang, Xin Zhang, and Zhengqiang Li
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-966, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-966, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding GHG and air pollutant concentrations and emissions characteristics in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau cities remains limited. We present the first CO2, CH4 and CO column abundances using a portal FTIR spectrometer in Xining in 2024. Ground-based data exceeded satellite and model estimates, indicating higher local emissions. Significant CO discrepancies and a strong ∆XCO–∆XCO2 correlation under easterly winds highlight the value of portable FTIR for urban emission studies in the QTP.
Cheng Fan, Gerrit de Leeuw, Xiaoxi Yan, Jiantao Dong, Hanqing Kang, Chengwei Fang, Zhengqiang Li, and Ying Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-880, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-880, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study describes the analysis of time series of the MODIS-derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) over China between 2010 and 2024. Emission reduction policy has been effective in reducing the AOD until 2018. Thereafter the overall reduction until the end of the study was very small due to unfavorable meteorological factors cancelling favorable anthropogenic effects which resulted in AOD increase during extended periods. The variations over different areas in China are discussed.
Ouyang Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Yangyan Lin, Cheng Fan, Ying Zhang, Kaitao Li, Peng Zhang, Yuanyuan Wei, Tianzeng Chen, Jiantao Dong, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 377–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a trace gas which is important for atmospheric chemistry and may affect human health. To understand processes leading to harmful concentrations, it is important to monitor NO2 concentrations near the surface and higher up. To this end, a Pandora instrument has been installed in Beijing. An overview of the first year of data shows the large variability on diurnal to seasonal timescales and how this is affected by wind speed and direction and chemistry.
Wenyuan Chang, Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Jie Chen, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4403–4430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol simulation in WRF-Chem often uses the MOSAIC aerosol mechanism. Still, we need variational data assimilation (DA) for the MOSAIC aerosols to blend aerosol optical measurements. This study provides a developed GSI variational DA system, with a tangent linear operator designed for multi-source and multi-wavelength aerosol optical measurements. We successfully applied the DA system in an aerosol field campaign to assimilate aerosol optical data in northwestern China.
Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Yu Chen, Gerrit de Leeuw, Chi Zhang, Yisong Xie, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12795–12811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Observation of atmospheric aerosol components plays an important role in reducing uncertainty in climate assessment. In this study, an improved remote sensing method which can better distinguish scattering components is developed, and the aerosol components in the atmospheric column over China are retrieved based on the Sun–sky radiometer Observation NETwork (SONET). The component distribution shows there could be a sea salt component in northwest China from a paleomarine source in desert land.
Cheng Chen, Xuefeng Lei, Zhenhai Liu, Haorang Gu, Oleg Dubovik, Pavel Litvinov, David Fuertes, Yujia Cao, Haixiao Yu, Guangfeng Xiang, Binghuan Meng, Zhenwei Qiu, Xiaobing Sun, Jin Hong, and Zhengqiang Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 3497–3519, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3497-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3497-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Particulate Observing Scanning Polarization (POSP) on board the second GaoFen-5 (GF-5(02)) satellite is the first space-borne ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared–shortwave-infrared (UV–VIS–NIR–SWIR) multi-spectral cross-track scanning polarimeter. Due to its wide spectral range and polarimetric capabilities, POSP measurements provide rich information for aerosol and surface characterization. We present the detailed aerosol/surface products generated from POSP's first 18 months of operation, including spectral aerosol optical depth, aerosol-size-/absorption-related properties, surface black-sky and white-sky albedos, etc.
Qiansi Tu, Frank Hase, Ying Zhang, Jiaxin Fang, Yanwu Jiang, Xiaofan Li, Matthias Schneider, Zhuolin Yang, Xin Zhang, and Zhengqiang Li
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-966, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-966, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding GHG and air pollutant concentrations and emissions characteristics in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau cities remains limited. We present the first CO2, CH4 and CO column abundances using a portal FTIR spectrometer in Xining in 2024. Ground-based data exceeded satellite and model estimates, indicating higher local emissions. Significant CO discrepancies and a strong ∆XCO–∆XCO2 correlation under easterly winds highlight the value of portable FTIR for urban emission studies in the QTP.
Cheng Fan, Gerrit de Leeuw, Xiaoxi Yan, Jiantao Dong, Hanqing Kang, Chengwei Fang, Zhengqiang Li, and Ying Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-880, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-880, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study describes the analysis of time series of the MODIS-derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) over China between 2010 and 2024. Emission reduction policy has been effective in reducing the AOD until 2018. Thereafter the overall reduction until the end of the study was very small due to unfavorable meteorological factors cancelling favorable anthropogenic effects which resulted in AOD increase during extended periods. The variations over different areas in China are discussed.
Zhe Ji, Zhengqiang Li, Gerrit de Leeuw, Zihan Zhang, Yan Ma, Zheng Shi, Cheng Fan, and Qiao Yao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-91, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-91, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The global AODs for the one of few single-angle polarimeters currently in orbit, Particulate Observing Scanning Polarimeter (POSP) has been proposed. We compared them with observations from the AERONET site and MODIS AOD products. From 19314 collocations, we find an overall high accuracy for the POSP AOD product, with correlation coefficients (R) of 0.914, R2 of 0.825, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.085, the fraction within in expected error (EE) of 78.5 %.
Wenxin Zhao, Yu Zhao, Yu Zheng, Dong Chen, Jinyuan Xin, Kaitao Li, Huizheng Che, Zhengqiang Li, Mingrui Ma, and Yun Hang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6593–6612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6593-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6593-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluate the long-term (2000–2020) variabilities of aerosol absorption optical depth, black carbon emissions, and associated health risks in China with an integrated framework that combines multiple observations and modeling techniques. We demonstrate the remarkable emission abatement resulting from the implementation of national pollution controls and show how human activities affected the emissions with a spatiotemporal heterogeneity, thus supporting differentiated policy-making by region.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Liuqing Shao, Xinran Li, Chaoshun Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Mingliang Ma, Di Han, Yibing Sun, Zhe Zheng, Ruijie Li, Ni-Bin Chang, and Jianping Guo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2425–2448, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A global gap-free high-resolution air pollutant dataset (LGHAP v2) was generated to provide spatially contiguous AOD and PM2.5 concentration maps with daily 1 km resolution from 2000 to 2021. This gap-free dataset has good data accuracies compared to ground-based AOD and PM2.5 concentration observations, which is a reliable database to advance aerosol-related studies and trigger multidisciplinary applications for environmental management, health risk assessment, and climate change analysis.
Yuqin Liu, Tao Lin, Jiahua Zhang, Fu Wang, Yiyi Huang, Xian Wu, Hong Ye, Guoqin Zhang, Xin Cao, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4651–4673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4651-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4651-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A new method, the geographical detector method (GDM), has been applied to satellite data, in addition to commonly used statistical methods, to study the sensitivity of cloud properties to aerosol over China. Different constraints for aerosol and cloud liquid water path apply over polluted and clean areas. The GDM shows that cloud parameters are more sensitive to combinations of parameters than to individual parameters, but confounding effects due to co-variation of parameters cannot be excluded.
Ouyang Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Yangyan Lin, Cheng Fan, Ying Zhang, Kaitao Li, Peng Zhang, Yuanyuan Wei, Tianzeng Chen, Jiantao Dong, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 377–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a trace gas which is important for atmospheric chemistry and may affect human health. To understand processes leading to harmful concentrations, it is important to monitor NO2 concentrations near the surface and higher up. To this end, a Pandora instrument has been installed in Beijing. An overview of the first year of data shows the large variability on diurnal to seasonal timescales and how this is affected by wind speed and direction and chemistry.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Jie Luo, Zhengqiang Li, Chenchong Zhang, Qixing Zhang, Yongming Zhang, Ying Zhang, Gabriele Curci, and Rajan K. Chakrabarty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7647–7666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7647-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7647-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The fractal black carbon was applied to re-evaluate the regional impacts of morphologies on aerosol–radiation interactions (ARIs), and the effects were compared between the US and China. The regional-mean clear-sky ARI is significantly affected by the BC morphology, and relative differences of 17.1 % and 38.7 % between the fractal model with a Df of 1.8 and the spherical model were observed in eastern China and the northwest US, respectively.
Jie Luo, Zhengqiang Li, Cheng Fan, Hua Xu, Ying Zhang, Weizhen Hou, Lili Qie, Haoran Gu, Mengyao Zhu, Yinna Li, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2767–2789, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2767-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A single model is difficult to represent various shapes of dust. We proposed a tunable model to represent dust with various shapes. Two tunable parameters were used to represent the effects of the erosion degree and binding forces from the mass center. Thus, the model can represent various dust shapes by adjusting the tunable parameters. Besides, the applicability of the spheroid model in calculating the optical properties and polarimetric characteristics is evaluated.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Mingliang Ma, Kaitao Li, Zhengqiang Li, Jianping Guo, Ni-Bin Chang, Zhuo Tan, and Di Han
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 907–927, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-907-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-907-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Long-term Gap-free High-resolution Air Pollutant concentration dataset, providing gap-free aerosol optical depth (AOD) and PM2.5 and PM10 concentration with a daily 1 km resolution for 2000–2020 in China, is generated and made publicly available. This is the first long-term gap-free high-resolution aerosol dataset in China and has great potential to trigger multidisciplinary applications in Earth observations, climate change, public health, ecosystem assessment, and environment management.
Boming Liu, Jianping Guo, Wei Gong, Yong Zhang, Lijuan Shi, Yingying Ma, Jian Li, Xiaoran Guo, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-26, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-26, 2022
Publication in AMT not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China were thus far not evaluated by in-situ comparison. This work is the comparison of wind speed on a large scale between the Aeolus, ERA5 and RS , shedding important light on the data application of Aeolus wind products.
Yuqin Liu, Tao Lin, Juan Hong, Yonghong Wang, Lamei Shi, Yiyi Huang, Xian Wu, Hao Zhou, Jiahua Zhang, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12331–12358, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The four-dimensional variation of aerosol properties over the BTH, YRD and PRD (east China) were investigated using satellite observations from 2007 to 2020. Distinct differences between the aerosol optical depth and vertical distribution of the occurrence of aerosol types over these regions depend on season, aerosol loading and meteorological conditions. Day–night differences between the vertical distribution of aerosol types suggest effects of boundary layer dynamics and aerosol transport.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Nick Schutgens, Oleg Dubovik, Otto Hasekamp, Omar Torres, Hiren Jethva, Peter J. T. Leonard, Pavel Litvinov, Jens Redemann, Yohei Shinozuka, Gerrit de Leeuw, Stefan Kinne, Thomas Popp, Michael Schulz, and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6895–6917, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6895-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6895-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Absorptive aerosol has a potentially large impact on climate change. We evaluate and intercompare four global satellite datasets of absorptive aerosol optical depth (AAOD) and single-scattering albedo (SSA). We show that these datasets show reasonable correlations with the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) reference, although significant biases remain. In a follow-up paper we show that these observations nevertheless can be used for model evaluation.
Wenyuan Chang, Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Jie Chen, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4403–4430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4403-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol simulation in WRF-Chem often uses the MOSAIC aerosol mechanism. Still, we need variational data assimilation (DA) for the MOSAIC aerosols to blend aerosol optical measurements. This study provides a developed GSI variational DA system, with a tangent linear operator designed for multi-source and multi-wavelength aerosol optical measurements. We successfully applied the DA system in an aerosol field campaign to assimilate aerosol optical data in northwestern China.
Yang Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Zhihong Liu, Yongqian Wang, Lili Qie, Yisong Xie, Weizhen Hou, and Lu Leng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1655–1672, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1655-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1655-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The aerosol fine-mode fraction (FMF) is an important parameter reflecting the content of man-made aerosols. This study carried out the retrieval of FMF in China based on multi-angle polarization data and validated the results. The results of this study can contribute to the FMF retrieval algorithm of multi-angle polarization sensors. At the same time, a high-precision FMF dataset of China was obtained, which can provide basic data for atmospheric environment research.
Jianping Guo, Boming Liu, Wei Gong, Lijuan Shi, Yong Zhang, Yingying Ma, Jian Zhang, Tianmeng Chen, Kaixu Bai, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2945–2958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2945-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2945-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical wind profiles are crucial to a wide range of atmospheric disciplines. Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China have thus far not been evaluated by in situ comparison. This work is expected to let the public and science community better know the Aeolus wind products and to encourage use of these valuable data in future research and applications.
Boming Liu, Jianping Guo, Wei Gong, Yong Zhang, Lijuan Shi, Yingying Ma, Jian Li, Xiaoran Guo, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-41, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-41, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical wind profiles are crucial to a wide range of atmospheric disciplines. Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China were thus far not evaluated by in-situ comparison. This work is expected to let the public and science community better know the Aeolus wind products and to encourage use of these valuable data in future researches and applications.
Qiaoyun Hu, Haofei Wang, Philippe Goloub, Zhengqiang Li, Igor Veselovskii, Thierry Podvin, Kaitao Li, and Mikhail Korenskiy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13817–13834, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13817-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13817-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the characteristics of Taklamakan dust particles derived from lidar measurements collected in the dust aerosol observation field campaign. It provides comprehensive parameters for Taklamakan dust properties and vertical distributions of Taklamakan dust. This paper also points out the importance of polluted dust which was frequently observed in the field campaign. The results contribute to improving knowledge about dust and reducing uncertainties in the climatic model.
Ying Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, Yu Chen, Gerrit de Leeuw, Chi Zhang, Yisong Xie, and Kaitao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12795–12811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12795-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Observation of atmospheric aerosol components plays an important role in reducing uncertainty in climate assessment. In this study, an improved remote sensing method which can better distinguish scattering components is developed, and the aerosol components in the atmospheric column over China are retrieved based on the Sun–sky radiometer Observation NETwork (SONET). The component distribution shows there could be a sea salt component in northwest China from a paleomarine source in desert land.
Nick Schutgens, Andrew M. Sayer, Andreas Heckel, Christina Hsu, Hiren Jethva, Gerrit de Leeuw, Peter J. T. Leonard, Robert C. Levy, Antti Lipponen, Alexei Lyapustin, Peter North, Thomas Popp, Caroline Poulsen, Virginia Sawyer, Larisa Sogacheva, Gareth Thomas, Omar Torres, Yujie Wang, Stefan Kinne, Michael Schulz, and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12431–12457, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12431-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12431-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We intercompare 14 different datasets of satellite observations of aerosol. Such measurements are challenging but also provide the best opportunity to globally observe an atmospheric component strongly related to air pollution and climate change. Our study shows that most datasets perform similarly well on a global scale but that locally errors can be quite different. We develop a technique to estimate satellite errors everywhere, even in the absence of surface reference data.
Li Li, Zhengqiang Li, Wenyuan Chang, Yang Ou, Philippe Goloub, Chengzhe Li, Kaitao Li, Qiaoyun Hu, Jianping Wang, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10845–10864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10845-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10845-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Dust Aerosol Observation-Kashi (DAO-K) campaign was conducted near the Taklimakan Desert in April 2019 to obtain comprehensive aerosol, atmosphere, and surface parameters. Estimations of aerosol solar radiative forcing by a radiative transfer (RT) model were improved based on the measured aerosol parameters, additionally considering atmospheric profiles and diurnal variations of surface albedo. RT simulations agree well with simultaneous irradiance observations, even in dust-polluted conditions.
Cited articles
Atkinson, R.: Atmospheric chemistry of VOCs and NOx, Atmos. Environ., 34, 2063–2101, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00460-4, 2000.
Boersma, K. F., Jacob, D. J., Trainic, M., Rudich, Y., DeSmedt, I., Dirksen, R., and Eskes, H. J.: Validation of urban NO2 concentrations and their diurnal and seasonal variations observed from the SCIAMACHY and OMI sensors using in situ surface measurements in Israeli cities, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 3867–3879, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-3867-2009, 2009.
Cede, A.: Manual for Blick Software Suite 1.8; Manual version 1.8-5, 14 Aug 2024, 202 pp., https://www.pandonia-global-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BlickSoftwareSuite_Manual_v1-8-5.pdf (last access: 21 January, 2025), 2024.
Chang, B., Liu, H., Zhang, C., Xing, C., Tan, W., and Liu, C.: Relating satellite NO2 tropospheric columns to near-surface concentrations: implications from ground-based MAX-DOAS NO2 vertical profile observations, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 8, 1, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00891-z, 2025.
Chang, L.-S., Kim, D., Hong, H., Kim, D.-R., Yu, J.-A., Lee, K., Lee, H., Kim, D., Hong, J., Jo, H.-Y., and Kim, C.-H.: Evaluation of correlated Pandora column NO2 and in situ surface NO2 measurements during GMAP campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10703–10720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10703-2022, 2022.
Chang, X., Wang, S., Zhao, B., Xing, J., Liu, X., Wei, L., Song, Y., Wu, W., Cai, S., Zheng, H., Ding, D., and Zheng, M.: Contributions of inter-city and regional transport to PM2.5 concentrations in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its implications on regional joint air pollution control, Sci. Total Environ., 660, 1191–1200, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.474, 2019.
Cheng, N., Li, Y., Sun, F., Chen, C., Wang, B., Li, Q., Wei, P., and Cheng, B.: Ground-Level NO2 in Urban Beijing: Trends, Distribution, and Effects of Emission Reduction Measures, Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 18, 343–356, https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.02.0092, 2018.
de Leeuw, G., van der A, R., Bai, J., Xue, Y., Varotsos, C., Li, Z., Fan, C., Chen, X., Christodoulakis, I., Ding, J., Hou, X., Kouremadas, G., Li, D., Wang, J., Zara, M., Zhang, K., and Zhang, Y.: Air Quality over China, Remote Sens., 13, 3542, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13173542, 2021.
de Souza, A., Aristone, F., Abreu, M. C., de Oliveira-Júnior, J. F., Fernandes, W. A., and Pobocikova, I.: Spatio-temporal variations of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide in South Mato Grosso based on remote sensing by satellite, Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 134, 19, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-021-00855-5, 2022.
Ding, J., van der A, R. J., Mijling, B., Jalkanen, J.-P., Johansson, L., and Levelt, P. F.: Maritime NOx Emissions Over Chinese Seas Derived From Satellite Observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 2031–2037, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076788, 2018.
Dong, Z., Wang, S., Xing, J., Chang, X., Ding, D., and Zheng, H.: Regional transport in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its changes during 2014–2017: The impacts of meteorology and emission reduction, Sci. Total Environ., 737, 139792, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139792, 2020.
Dou, X., Liao, C., Wang, H., Huang, Y., Tu, Y., Huang, X., Peng, Y., Zhu, B., Tan, J., Deng, Z., Wu, N., Sun, T., Ke, P., and Liu, Z.: Estimates of daily ground-level NO2 concentrations in China based on Random Forest model integrated K-means, Advances in Applied Energy, 2, 100017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adapen.2021.100017, 2021.
Draxler, R. R. and Hess, G. D.: An Overview of the HYSPLIT_4 Modelling System for Trajectories, Dispersion, and Deposition, https://www.arl.noaa.gov/documents/reports/MetMag.pdf (last access: 25 April 2025), 1998.
Duncan, B. N., Lamsal, L. N., Thompson, A. M., Yoshida, Y., Lu, Z., Streets, D. G., Hurwitz, M. M., and Pickering, K. E.: A space-based, high-resolution view of notable changes in urban NOx pollution around the world (2005–2014), J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 976–996, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024121, 2016.
Eum, K.-D., Kazemiparkouhi, F., Wang, B., Manjourides, J., Pun, V., Pavlu, V., and Suh, H.: Long-term NO2 exposures and cause-specific mortality in American older adults, Environ. Int., 124, 10–15, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.12.060, 2019.
Eum, K.-D., Honda, T. J., Wang, B., Kazemiparkouhi, F., Manjourides, J., Pun, V. C., Pavlu, V., and Suh, H.: Long-term nitrogen dioxide exposure and cause-specific mortality in the U.S. Medicare population, Environ. Res., 207, 112154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.112154, 2022.
Fan, C., Li, Z., Li, Y., Dong, J., van der A, R., and de Leeuw, G.: Variability of NO2 concentrations over China and effect on air quality derived from satellite and ground-based observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7723–7748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7723-2021, 2021.
Flynn, C. M., Pickering, K. E., Crawford, J. H., Lamsal, L., Krotkov, N., Herman, J., Weinheimer, A., Chen, G., Liu, X., Szykman, J., Tsay, S.-C., Loughner, C., Hains, J., Lee, P., Dickerson, R. R., Stehr, J. W., and Brent, L.: Relationship between column-density and surface mixing ratio: Statistical analysis of O3 and NO2 data from the July 2011 Maryland DISCOVER-AQ mission, Atmos. Environ., 92, 429–441, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.04.041, 2014.
Goldberg, D. L., Anenberg, S. C., Kerr, G. H., Mohegh, A., Lu, Z., and Streets, D. G.: TROPOMI NO2 in the United States: A Detailed Look at the Annual Averages, Weekly Cycles, Effects of Temperature, and Correlation With Surface NO2 Concentrations, Earth's Future, 9, e2020EF001665, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001665, 2021.
Herman, J., Cede, A., Spinei, E., Mount, G., Tzortziou, M., and Abuhassan, N.: NO2 column amounts from ground-based Pandora and MFDOAS spectrometers using the direct-sun DOAS technique: Intercomparisons and application to OMI validation, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D13307, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD011848, 2009.
Herman, J., Abuhassan, N., Kim, J., Kim, J., Dubey, M., Raponi, M., and Tzortziou, M.: Underestimation of column NO2 amounts from the OMI satellite compared to diurnally varying ground-based retrievals from multiple PANDORA spectrometer instruments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5593–5612, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5593-2019, 2019.
Huang, X., Yang, K., Kondragunta, S., Wei, Z., Valin, L., Szykman, J., and Goldberg, M.: NO2 retrievals from NOAA-20 OMPS: Algorithm, evaluation, and observations of drastic changes during COVID-19, Atmos. Environ., 290, 119367, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119367, 2022.
Ialongo, I., Virta, H., Eskes, H., Hovila, J., and Douros, J.: Comparison of TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor NO2 observations with ground-based measurements in Helsinki, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 205–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-205-2020, 2020.
Kang, Y., Tang, G., Li, Q., Liu, B., Cao, J., Hu, Q., and Wang, Y.: Evaluation and Evolution of MAX-DOAS-observed Vertical NO2 Profiles in Urban Beijing, Adv. Atmos. Sci., 38, 1188–1196, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-021-0370-1, 2021.
Kim, J., Jeong, U., Ahn, M.-H., et al.: New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space: Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS), B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 101, E1–E22, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0013.1, 2020.
Knepp, T., Pippin, M., Crawford, J., Chen, G., Szykman, J., Long, R., Cowen, L., Cede, A., Abuhassan, N., Herman, J., Delgado, R., Compton, J., Berkoff, T., Fishman, J., Martins, D., Stauffer, R., Thompson, A. M., Weinheimer, A., Knapp, D., Montzka, D., Lenschow, D., and Neil, D.: Estimating surface NO2 and SO2 mixing ratios from fast-response total column observations and potential application to geostationary missions, J. Atmos. Chem., 72, 261–286, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-013-9257-6, 2015.
KNMI: Algorithm theoretical basis document for the TROPOMI L01b data processor, Tech. Rep. S5P-KNMI-L01B 0009-SD, Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI), CI-6480-ATBD, issue 8.0.0, https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/documents/247904/2476257/Sentinel-5P-TROPOMI-Level-1B-ATBD (last access: 11 January 2020), 2017.
Kornartit, C., Sokhi, R. S., Burton, M. A., and Ravindra, K.: Activity pattern and personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide in indoor and outdoor microenvironments, Environ. Int., 36, 36–45, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2009.09.004, 2010.
Lamsal, L. N., Krotkov, N. A., Celarier, E. A., Swartz, W. H., Pickering, K. E., Bucsela, E. J., Gleason, J. F., Martin, R. V., Philip, S., Irie, H., Cede, A., Herman, J., Weinheimer, A., Szykman, J. J., and Knepp, T. N.: Evaluation of OMI operational standard NO2 column retrievals using in situ and surface-based NO2 observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11587–11609, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11587-2014, 2014.
Levelt, P. F., Oord, G. H. J. v. d., Dobber, M. R., Malkki, A., Huib, V., Johan de, V., Stammes, P., Lundell, J. O. V., and Saari, H.: The ozone monitoring instrument, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 44, 1093–1101, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2006.872333, 2006.
Li, D., Liu, J., Zhang, J., Gui, H., Du, P., Yu, T., Wang, J., Lu, Y., Liu, W., and Cheng, Y.: Identification of long-range transport pathways and potential sources of PM2.5 and PM10 in Beijing from 2014 to 2015, J. Environ. Sci., 56, 214–229, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2016.06.035, 2017.
Li, J., Wang, Y., Zhang, R., Smeltzer, C., Weinheimer, A., Herman, J., Boersma, K. F., Celarier, E. A., Long, R. W., Szykman, J. J., Delgado, R., Thompson, A. M., Knepp, T. N., Lamsal, L. N., Janz, S. J., Kowalewski, M. G., Liu, X., and Nowlan, C. R.: Comprehensive evaluations of diurnal NO2 measurements during DISCOVER-AQ 2011: effects of resolution-dependent representation of NOx emissions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11133–11160, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11133-2021, 2021.
Liu, O., Li, Z., Lin, Y., Fan, C., Zhang, Y., Li, K., Zhang, P., Wei, Y., Chen, T., Dong, J., and de Leeuw, G.: Evaluation of the first year of Pandora NO2 measurements over Beijing and application to satellite validation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 377–395, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-377-2024, 2024.
Nordeide Kuiper, I., Svanes, C., Markevych, I., Accordini, S., Bertelsen, R. J., Bråbäck, L., Heile Christensen, J., Forsberg, B., Halvorsen, T., Heinrich, J., Hertel, O., Hoek, G., Holm, M., de Hoogh, K., Janson, C., Malinovschi, A., Marcon, A., Miodini Nilsen, R., Sigsgaard, T., and Johannessen, A.: Lifelong exposure to air pollution and greenness in relation to asthma, rhinitis and lung function in adulthood, Environ. Int., 146, 106219, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106219, 2021.
Reed, A. J., Thompson, A. M., Kollonige, D. E., Martins, D. K., Tzortziou, M. A., Herman, J. R., Berkoff, T. A., Abuhassan, N. K., and Cede, A.: Effects of local meteorology and aerosols on ozone and nitrogen dioxide retrievals from OMI and pandora spectrometers in Maryland, USA during DISCOVER-AQ 2011, J. Atmos. Chem., 72, 455–482, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-013-9254-9, 2015.
Song, J., Zang, L., Mao, F., Zhang, Y., and Chen, J.: Hourly near-ground NO2 concentration retrieval from geostationary satellite observations, Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-1-2024, 599–604, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-2024-599-2024, 2024.
Stein, A. F., Draxler, R. R., Rolph, G. D., Stunder, B. J. B., Cohen, M. D., and Ngan, F.: NOAA's HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 96, 2059–2077, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00110.1, 2015.
Stull, R. B.: An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 666 pp., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3027-8, ISBN 90-227-2768-6, 1988.
Sun, T., Zhang, T., Xiang, Y., Fan, G., Fu, Y., and Lv, L.: Investigation on the vertical distribution and transportation of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on stereoscopic observation network, Atmos. Environ., 294, 119511, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119511, 2023.
Tang, T., Cheng, T., Zhu, H., Ye, X., Fan, D., Li, X., and Tong, H.: Quantifying instantaneous nitrogen oxides emissions from power plants based on space observations, Sci. Total Environ., 938, 173479, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173479, 2024.
Thompson, A. M., Stauffer, R. M., Boyle, T. P., Kollonige, D. E., Miyazaki, K., Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Abuhassan, N., Jordan, C. E., and Lamb, B. T.: Comparison of Near-Surface NO2 Pollution With Pandora Total Column NO2 During the Korea-United States Ocean Color (KORUS OC) Campaign, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 13560–13575, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030765, 2019.
Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Cede, A., Loughner, C. P., Abuhassan, N., and Naik, S.: Spatial and temporal variability of ozone and nitrogen dioxide over a major urban estuarine ecosystem, J. Atmos. Chem., 72, 287–309, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-013-9255-8, 2015.
Tzortziou, M., Parker, O., Lamb, B., Herman, J. R., Lamsal, L., Stauffer, R., and Abuhassan, N.: Atmospheric Trace Gas (NO2 and O3) Variability in South Korean Coastal Waters, and Implications for Remote Sensing of Coastal Ocean Color Dynamics, Remote Sens., 10, 1587, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101587, 2018.
van der A, R. J., Peters, D. H. M. U., Eskes, H., Boersma, K. F., Van Roozendael, M., De Smedt, I., and Kelder, H. M.: Detection of the trend and seasonal variation in tropospheric NO2 over China, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D12317, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006594, 2006.
van der A, R. J., Mijling, B., Ding, J., Koukouli, M. E., Liu, F., Li, Q., Mao, H., and Theys, N.: Cleaning up the air: effectiveness of air quality policy for SO2 and NOx emissions in China, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1775–1789, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1775-2017, 2017.
van Geffen, J. H. G. M., Boersma, K. F., Van Roozendael, M., Hendrick, F., Mahieu, E., De Smedt, I., Sneep, M., and Veefkind, J. P.: Improved spectral fitting of nitrogen dioxide from OMI in the 405–465 nm window, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1685–1699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1685-2015, 2015.
van Geffen, J. H. G. M., Eskes, H. J., Boersma, K. F., Maasakkers, J. D., and Veefkind, J. P.: TROPOMI ATBD of the total and tropospheric NO2 data products, Tech. Rep. S5P-KNMI-L2-0005-RP, Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI), CI-7430-ATBD, issue 1.4.0, https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/documents/247904/2476257/Sentinel-5P-TROPOMI-ATBD-NO2-data-products (last access: 11 January 2020), 2019.
Veefkind, J. P., Aben, I., McMullan, K., Förster, H., de Vries, J., Otter, G., Claas, J., Eskes, H. J., de Haan, J. F., Kleipool, Q., van Weele, M., Hasekamp, O., Hoogeveen, R., Landgraf, J., Snel, R., Tol, P., Ingmann, P., Voors, R., Kruizinga, B., Vink, R., Visser, H., and Levelt, P. F.: TROPOMI on the ESA Sentinel-5 Precursor: A GMES mission for global observations of the atmospheric composition for climate, air quality and ozone layer applications, Remote Sens. Environ., 120, 70–83, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.027, 2012.
Wei, J., Liu, S., Li, Z., Liu, C., Qin, K., Liu, X., Pinker, R. T., Dickerson, R. R., Lin, J., Boersma, K. F., Sun, L., Li, R., Xue, W., Cui, Y., Zhang, C., and Wang, J.: Ground-Level NO2 Surveillance from Space Across China for High Resolution Using Interpretable Spatiotemporally Weighted Artificial Intelligence, Environ. Sci. Technol., 56, 9988–9998, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c03834, 2022.
Xing, C., Liu, C., Wang, S., Chan, K. L., Gao, Y., Huang, X., Su, W., Zhang, C., Dong, Y., Fan, G., Zhang, T., Chen, Z., Hu, Q., Su, H., Xie, Z., and Liu, J.: Observations of the vertical distributions of summertime atmospheric pollutants and the corresponding ozone production in Shanghai, China, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14275–14289, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14275-2017, 2017.
Yin, D., Song, Q., Guo, Y., Jiang, Y., Dong, Z., Zhao, B., Wang, S., Gao, D., Chang, X., Zheng, H., Li, S., Li, Y., and Liu, B.: Regional transport characteristics of PM2.5 pollution events in Beijing during 2018–2021, J. Environ. Sci., 152, 503–515, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2024.05.044, 2025.
Zhang, C., Liu, C., Li, B., Zhao, F., and Zhao, C.: Spatiotemporal neural network for estimating surface NO2 concentrations over north China and their human health impact, Environ. Pollut., 307, 119510, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119510, 2022.
Zhang, T., Zhang, R., Zhong, J., Che, H., Wang, J., and Guo, L.: The vertical pollution structure reflected by aerosol optical properties in Beijing and its relation with meteorological conditions in the autumn and winter of 2017–2020, Atmos. Environ., 308, 119870, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119870, 2023.
Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, G., Smeltzer, C., Crawford, J., Olson, J., Szykman, J., Weinheimer, A. J., Knapp, D. J., Montzka, D. D., Wisthaler, A., Mikoviny, T., Fried, A., and Diskin, G.: Large vertical gradient of reactive nitrogen oxides in the boundary layer: Modeling analysis of DISCOVER-AQ 2011 observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 1922–1934, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024203, 2016.
Zhao, X., Griffin, D., Fioletov, V., McLinden, C., Cede, A., Tiefengraber, M., Müller, M., Bognar, K., Strong, K., Boersma, F., Eskes, H., Davies, J., Ogyu, A., and Lee, S. C.: Assessment of the quality of TROPOMI high-spatial-resolution NO2 data products in the Greater Toronto Area, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2131–2159, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2131-2020, 2020.
Zhao, Z., Lu, Y., Zhan, Y., Cheng, Y., Yang, F., Brook, J. R., and He, K.: Long-term spatiotemporal variations in surface NO2 for Beijing reconstructed from surface data and satellite retrievals, Sci. Total Environ., 904, 166693, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166693, 2023.
Short summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a major pollutant that, at high concentrations, may affect human health. We evaluated the remote sensing column NO2 in relation to near-surface concentrations throughout the day and found that the prohibition of vertical transport in the morning and the mixing in the afternoon resulted in different relations between the near-surface (NS) and total column NO2 concentrations. These different relationships have consequences for the use of satellite remote sensing to estimate NS NO2 concentrations.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a major pollutant that, at high concentrations, may affect human...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint