Articles | Volume 25, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14221-2025
© 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-25-14221-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Technical note
| 
30 Oct 2025
Technical note |
| 30 Oct 2025
| 30 Oct 2025
Technical note: An interactive dashboard to facilitate quality control of in-situ atmospheric composition measurements
Yuri Brugnara
Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Martin Steinbacher
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Simone Baffelli
Scientific IT, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Lukas Emmenegger
Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
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Juan A. Añel, Juan-Carlos Antuña-Marrero, Antonio Cid Samamed, Celia Pérez-Souto, Laura de la Torre, Maria Antonia Valente, Yuri Brugnara, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, and Luis Gimeno
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2437–2446, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2437-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2437-2025, 2025
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Ozone (discovered in 1837) was first measured in 1847 using paper strips that reacted with ozone, providing an indication of its concentration based on colour changes. Here, we present the data, covering over 60 years of daily observations conducted along the eastern Atlantic coast, spanning from the tropics to the northern extratropics.
Peter Stucki, Lucas Pfister, Yuri Brugnara, Renate Varga, Chantal Hari, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 20, 2327–2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2327-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2327-2024, 2024
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In our work, we reconstruct the weather of the extremely cold and wet summer in 1816 using a weather forecasting model to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional weather simulations. We refine our simulations with surface pressure and temperature observations, representing a novel approach for this period. Our results show that this approach yields detailed and accurate weather reconstructions, opening the door to analyzing past weather events and their impacts in detail.
Stefan Brönnimann, Yuri Brugnara, and Clive Wilkinson
Clim. Past, 20, 757–767, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-757-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-757-2024, 2024
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The early 20th century warming – the first phase of global warming in the 20th century – started from a peculiar cold state around 1910. We digitised additional ship logbooks for these years to study this specific climate state and found that it is real and likely an overlap of several climatic anomalies, including oceanic variability (La Niña) and volcanic eruptions.
Rainer Hilland, Josh Hashemi, Stavros Stagakis, Dominik Brunner, Lionel Constantin, Natascha Kljun, Ann-Kristin Kunz, Betty Molinier, Samuel Hammer, Lukas Emmenegger, and Andreas Christen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 14279–14299, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14279-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14279-2025, 2025
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We present a study of simultaneously measured fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and co-emitted species in the city of Zurich. Flux measurements of CO2 alone cannot be attributed to specific emission sectors, such as road transport or residential heating. We present a model which uses the measured ratios of CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) as well as sector-specific reference ratios, to attribute measured fluxes to their emission sectors.
Ann-Kristin Kunz, Samuel Hammer, Patrick Aigner, Laura Bignotti, Lars Borchardt, Jia Chen, Julian Della Coletta, Lukas Emmenegger, Markus Eritt, Xochilt Gutiérrez, Josh Hashemi, Rainer Hilland, Christopher Holst, Armin Jordan, Natascha Kljun, Richard Kneißl, Changxing Lan, Virgile Legendre, Ingeborg Levin, Benjamin Loubet, Matthias Mauder, Betty Molinier, Susanne Preunkert, Michel Ramonet, Stavros Stagakis, and Andreas Christen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4856, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4856, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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We present radiocarbon (14C)-based fossil fuel CO2 fluxes from relaxed eddy accumulation measurements on tall towers in the cities of Zurich, Paris, and Munich. By separating net CO2 fluxes into fossil and non-fossil components, these data reveal significant and variable contributions from human, plant, and soil respiration, as well as point-source emissions. These unique insights into CO2 flux composition offer crucial information for observation-based validation of urban emission estimates.
Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, Luke Smallman, Jingfeng Xiao, Paolo Cristofanelli, Ove Hermansen, John Lee, Casper Labuschagne, Simonetta Montaguti, Steffen M. Noe, Stephen M. Platt, Xinrong Ren, Martin Steinbacher, and Irène Xueref-Remy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 13053–13076, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13053-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13053-2025, 2025
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The year 2023 saw unexpectedly large global atmospheric CO2 growth. Satellite data reveal a role for increased tropical emissions. Larger emissions over eastern Brazil can be explained by warmer temperatures, which has led to exceptional drought, while hydrological changes play more of a role in emission increases elsewhere in the tropics. Broadly, we find that this situation continues into 2024.
Simone Brunamonti, Harald Saathoff, Albert Hertzog, Glenn Diskin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Karen Rosenlof, Ottmar Möhler, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Nadir Amarouche, Georges Durry, Fabien Frérot, Jean-Christophe Samake, Claire Cenac, Julio Lopez, Paul Monnier, and Mélanie Ghysels
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 5321–5348, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5321-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5321-2025, 2025
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Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas, and accurate measurements of its concentration in the upper atmosphere (~8–25 km altitude) are crucial for reliable climate predictions. We investigated the performance of four airborne hygrometers, deployed on aircraft or stratospheric balloon platforms and based on different techniques, in a climate simulation chamber. The results demonstrate the high accuracy and reliability of the involved sensors for atmospheric monitoring and research applications.
Nikolai Ponomarev, Michael Steiner, Erik Koene, Pascal Rubli, Stuart Grange, Lionel Constantin, Michel Ramonet, Leslie David, Lukas Emmenegger, and Dominik Brunner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3668, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3668, 2025
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Urban inversions are gaining increasing attention, as cities are major contributors to anthropogenic emissions, making accurate emission estimates at this scale essential for supporting climate action plans and verifying reported emission reductions. We estimated carbon dioxide emissions in Zurich and Paris over one year by combining atmospheric observations with mesoscale model simulations. Our study shows how factors like city size, terrain, and measurement methods affect emission estimates.
Patrick Aigner, Jia Chen, Felix Böhm, Mali Chariot, Lukas Emmenegger, Lars Frölich, Stuart Grange, Daniel Kühbacher, Klaus Kürzinger, Olivier Laurent, Moritz Makowski, Pascal Rubli, Adrian Schmitt, and Adrian Wenzel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4157, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4157, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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Dense urban CO2 monitoring is challenging due to cost and operational constraints. We developed a mid-cost sensor network for Munich, deployed on 17 rooftops. Temperature-stabilized enclosures and automated 2-point calibration ensured reliable performance, assessed by side-by-side comparison with a Picarro reference. In the first year, the network collected 70 million measurements and resolved urban-rural gradients and seasonal diurnal patterns, capturing spatial CO2 variability at city scale.
Martine Collaud Coen, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Martin Gysel-Beer, Robin Modini, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Davide Putero, Maria I. Gini, and Kostantinos Eleftheriadis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4162, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4162, 2025
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Saharan dust is transported over long distances by large-scale atmospheric circulation and it reaches 30 to 150 times per year the Jungfraujoch high-altitude station. The study analyzes the influence of the instrument types on SD detected by the single scattering albedo spectral dependence. This method is then compared to detection methods based on the size distribution and the back-trajectories. A source sensitivity and a 23-year climatology of the dust frequency and mass are also performed.
Luce Creman, Stuart K. Grange, Pascal Rubli, Andrea Fischer, Dominik Brunner, Christoph Hueglin, Lukas Emmenegger, and Leonie Bernet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3425, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3425, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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ZiCOS-L is a network of low-cost sensors in Zurich (Switzerland) to monitor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. After correcting for drift and checking the sensor performance, we found that local factors like traffic, public events and vegetation affect CO2 levels. Even though the sensors have higher uncertainties than other sensors, the lower cost allows for a denser network with detailed insights into CO2 levels across the city, helping cities track emissions and support climate action plans.
Lubna Dada, Benjamin T. Brem, Lidia-Marta Amarandi-Netedu, Martine Collaud Coen, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Christoph Hueglin, Nora Nowak, Robin Modini, Martin Steinbacher, and Martin Gysel-Beer
Aerosol Research, 3, 315–336, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-315-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-315-2025, 2025
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We investigated the sources of ultrafine particles (UFPs) in Payerne, Switzerland, highlighting the significant role of secondary processes in elevating UFP concentrations to levels comparable to urban areas. As the first study in rural midland Switzerland to analyze new particle formation events and secondary contributions, it offers key insights for air quality regulation and the role of agriculture in Switzerland and central Europe.
Juan A. Añel, Juan-Carlos Antuña-Marrero, Antonio Cid Samamed, Celia Pérez-Souto, Laura de la Torre, Maria Antonia Valente, Yuri Brugnara, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, and Luis Gimeno
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2437–2446, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2437-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2437-2025, 2025
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Ozone (discovered in 1837) was first measured in 1847 using paper strips that reacted with ozone, providing an indication of its concentration based on colour changes. Here, we present the data, covering over 60 years of daily observations conducted along the eastern Atlantic coast, spanning from the tropics to the northern extratropics.
Gerrit Kuhlmann, Foteini Stavropoulou, Stefan Schwietzke, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Andrew Thorpe, Andreas Hueni, Lukas Emmenegger, Andreea Calcan, Thomas Röckmann, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5371–5385, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5371-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5371-2025, 2025
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A measurement campaign in 2019 found that methane emissions from oil and gas in Romania were significantly higher than reported. In 2021, our follow-up campaign using airborne remote sensing showed a marked decreases in emissions by 20 %–60 % due to improved infrastructure. The study highlights the importance of measurement-based emission monitoring and illustrates the value of a multi-scale assessment integrating ground-based observations with large-scale airborne remote sensing campaigns.
Dominik Brunner, Ivo Suter, Leonie Bernet, Lionel Constantin, Stuart K. Grange, Pascal Rubli, Junwei Li, Jia Chen, Alessandro Bigi, and Lukas Emmenegger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-640, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-640, 2025
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In order to support the city of Zurich in tracking its path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions planned to be reached by 2040, a CO2 emission monitoring system was established. The system combines a dense network of CO2 sensors with a high-resolution atmospheric transport model GRAMM/GRAL. This study presents the setup of the model together with its numerous inputs and evaluates its performance in comparison with the observations from the CO2 sensor network.
Sina Voshtani, Dylan B. A. Jones, Debra Wunch, Drew C. Pendergrass, Paul O. Wennberg, David F. Pollard, Isamu Morino, Hirofumi Ohyama, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Frank Hase, Ralf Sussmann, Damien Weidmann, Rigel Kivi, Omaira García, Yao Té, Jack Chen, Kerry Anderson, Robin Stevens, Shobha Kondragunta, Aihua Zhu, Douglas Worthy, Senen Racki, Kathryn McKain, Maria V. Makarova, Nicholas Jones, Emmanuel Mahieu, Andrea Cadena-Caicedo, Paolo Cristofanelli, Casper Labuschagne, Elena Kozlova, Thomas Seitz, Martin Steinbacher, Reza Mahdi, and Isao Murata
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-858, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-858, 2025
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We assess the complementarity of the greater temporal coverage provided by ground-based remote sensing data with the spatial coverage of satellite observations when these data are used together to quantify CO emissions from extreme wildfires in 2023. Our results reveal that the commonly used biomass burning emission inventories significantly underestimate the fire emissions and emphasize the importance of the ground-based remote sensing data in reducing uncertainties in the estimated emissions.
Stuart K. Grange, Pascal Rubli, Andrea Fischer, Dominik Brunner, Christoph Hueglin, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2781–2806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2781-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2781-2025, 2025
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a very important atmospheric pollutant, and to better understand the gas's source and sink dynamics, a mid-cost sensor network hosting 26 sites was deployed in and around Zurich, Switzerland. The sensor measurement performance was quantified, and natural and anthropogenic CO2 emission sources were explored with a focus on what drives high CO2 levels. The observations will be used further by others to validate what is thought to be known about CO2 emissions in the region.
Peter Stucki, Lucas Pfister, Yuri Brugnara, Renate Varga, Chantal Hari, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 20, 2327–2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2327-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2327-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In our work, we reconstruct the weather of the extremely cold and wet summer in 1816 using a weather forecasting model to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional weather simulations. We refine our simulations with surface pressure and temperature observations, representing a novel approach for this period. Our results show that this approach yields detailed and accurate weather reconstructions, opening the door to analyzing past weather events and their impacts in detail.
Stefan Brönnimann, Yuri Brugnara, and Clive Wilkinson
Clim. Past, 20, 757–767, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-757-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-757-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The early 20th century warming – the first phase of global warming in the 20th century – started from a peculiar cold state around 1910. We digitised additional ship logbooks for these years to study this specific climate state and found that it is real and likely an overlap of several climatic anomalies, including oceanic variability (La Niña) and volcanic eruptions.
Davide Putero, Paolo Cristofanelli, Kai-Lan Chang, Gaëlle Dufour, Gregory Beachley, Cédric Couret, Peter Effertz, Daniel A. Jaffe, Dagmar Kubistin, Jason Lynch, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Melissa Puchalski, Timothy Sharac, Barkley C. Sive, Martin Steinbacher, Carlos Torres, and Owen R. Cooper
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15693–15709, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15693-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15693-2023, 2023
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We investigated the impact of societal restriction measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on surface ozone at 41 high-elevation sites worldwide. Negative ozone anomalies were observed for spring and summer 2020 for all of the regions considered. In 2021, negative anomalies continued for Europe and partially for the eastern US, while western US sites showed positive anomalies due to wildfires. IASI satellite data and the Carbon Monitor supported emission reductions as a cause of the anomalies.
Paolo Cristofanelli, Cosimo Fratticioli, Lynn Hazan, Mali Chariot, Cedric Couret, Orestis Gazetas, Dagmar Kubistin, Antti Laitinen, Ari Leskinen, Tuomas Laurila, Matthias Lindauer, Giovanni Manca, Michel Ramonet, Pamela Trisolino, and Martin Steinbacher
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5977–5994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5977-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5977-2023, 2023
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We investigated the application of two automatic methods for detecting spikes due to local emissions in greenhouse gas (GHG) observations at a subset of sites from the ICOS Atmosphere network. We analysed the sensitivity to the spike frequency of using different methods and settings. We documented the impact of the de-spiking on different temporal aggregations (i.e. hourly, monthly and seasonal averages) of CO2, CH4 and CO 1 min time series.
Leonard Kirago, Örjan Gustafsson, Samuel Mwaniki Gaita, Sophie L. Haslett, Michael J. Gatari, Maria Elena Popa, Thomas Röckmann, Christoph Zellweger, Martin Steinbacher, Jörg Klausen, Christian Félix, David Njiru, and August Andersson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14349–14357, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14349-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14349-2023, 2023
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This study provides ground-observational evidence that supports earlier suggestions that savanna fires are the main emitters and modulators of carbon monoxide gas in Africa. Using isotope-based techniques, the study has shown that about two-thirds of this gas is emitted from savanna fires, while for urban areas, in this case Nairobi, primary sources approach 100 %. The latter has implications for air quality policy, suggesting primary emissions such as traffic should be targeted.
Ioannis Katharopoulos, Dominique Rust, Martin K. Vollmer, Dominik Brunner, Stefan Reimann, Simon J. O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Tanja Schuck, Jgor Arduini, Lukas Emmenegger, and Stephan Henne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14159–14186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, 2023
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The effectiveness of climate change mitigation needs to be scrutinized by monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Countries report their emissions to the UN in a bottom-up manner. By combining atmospheric observations and transport models someone can independently validate emission estimates in a top-down fashion. We report Swiss emissions of synthetic GHGs based on kilometer-scale transport and inverse modeling, highlighting the role of appropriate resolution in complex terrain.
Simone Brunamonti, Manuel Graf, Tobias Bühlmann, Céline Pascale, Ivan Ilak, Lukas Emmenegger, and Béla Tuzson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4391–4407, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, 2023
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The abundance of water vapor (H2O) in the upper atmosphere has a significant impact on the rate of global warming. We developed a new lightweight spectrometer (ALBATROSS) for H2O measurements aboard meteorological balloons. Here, we assess the accuracy and precision of ALBATROSS using metrology-grade reference gases. The results demonstrate the exceptional potential of mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy as a new reference method for in situ measurements of H2O in the upper atmosphere.
Foteini Stavropoulou, Katarina Vinković, Bert Kers, Marcel de Vries, Steven van Heuven, Piotr Korbeń, Martina Schmidt, Julia Wietzel, Pawel Jagoda, Jaroslav M. Necki, Jakub Bartyzel, Hossein Maazallahi, Malika Menoud, Carina van der Veen, Sylvia Walter, Béla Tuzson, Jonas Ravelid, Randulph Paulo Morales, Lukas Emmenegger, Dominik Brunner, Michael Steiner, Arjan Hensen, Ilona Velzeboer, Pim van den Bulk, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Antonio Delre, Maklawe Essonanawe Edjabou, Charlotte Scheutz, Marius Corbu, Sebastian Iancu, Denisa Moaca, Alin Scarlat, Alexandru Tudor, Ioana Vizireanu, Andreea Calcan, Magdalena Ardelean, Sorin Ghemulet, Alexandru Pana, Aurel Constantinescu, Lucian Cusa, Alexandru Nica, Calin Baciu, Cristian Pop, Andrei Radovici, Alexandru Mereuta, Horatiu Stefanie, Alexandru Dandocsi, Bas Hermans, Stefan Schwietzke, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Huilin Chen, and Thomas Röckmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10399–10412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10399-2023, 2023
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In this study, we quantify CH4 emissions from onshore oil production sites in Romania at source and facility level using a combination of ground- and drone-based measurement techniques. We show that the total CH4 emissions in our studied areas are much higher than the emissions reported to UNFCCC, and up to three-quarters of the detected emissions are related to operational venting. Our results suggest that oil and gas production infrastructure in Romania holds a massive mitigation potential.
Lars Mächler, Daniel Baggenstos, Florian Krauss, Jochen Schmitt, Bernhard Bereiter, Remo Walther, Christoph Reinhard, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, and Hubertus Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 355–372, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-355-2023, 2023
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We present a new method to extract the gases from ice cores and measure their greenhouse gas composition. The ice is sublimated continuously with a near-infrared laser, releasing the gases, which are then analyzed on a laser absorption spectrometer. The main advantage over previous efforts is a low effective resolution of 1–2 cm. This capability is crucial for the analysis of highly thinned ice, as expected from ongoing drilling efforts to extend ice core history further back in time.
Peter Bergamaschi, Arjo Segers, Dominik Brunner, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Michel Ramonet, Tim Arnold, Tobias Biermann, Huilin Chen, Sebastien Conil, Marc Delmotte, Grant Forster, Arnoud Frumau, Dagmar Kubistin, Xin Lan, Markus Leuenberger, Matthias Lindauer, Morgan Lopez, Giovanni Manca, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Simon O'Doherty, Bert Scheeren, Martin Steinbacher, Pamela Trisolino, Gabriela Vítková, and Camille Yver Kwok
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13243–13268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, 2022
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We present a novel high-resolution inverse modelling system, "FLEXVAR", and its application for the inverse modelling of European CH4 emissions in 2018. The new system combines a high spatial resolution of 7 km x 7 km with a variational data assimilation technique, which allows CH4 emissions to be optimized from individual model grid cells. The high resolution allows the observations to be better reproduced, while the derived emissions show overall good consistency with two existing models.
Simone M. Pieber, Béla Tuzson, Stephan Henne, Ute Karstens, Christoph Gerbig, Frank-Thomas Koch, Dominik Brunner, Martin Steinbacher, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10721–10749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10721-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10721-2022, 2022
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Understanding regional greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere is a prerequisite to mitigate climate change. In this study, we investigated the regional contributions of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the location of the high Alpine observatory Jungfraujoch (JFJ, Switzerland, 3580 m a.s.l.). To this purpose, we combined receptor-oriented atmospheric transport simulations for CO2 concentration in the period 2009–2017 with stable carbon isotope (δ13C–CO2) information.
Matthias Schneider, Benjamin Ertl, Qiansi Tu, Christopher J. Diekmann, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Amelie N. Röhling, Frank Hase, Darko Dubravica, Omaira E. García, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Tobias Borsdorff, Jochen Landgraf, Alba Lorente, André Butz, Huilin Chen, Rigel Kivi, Thomas Laemmel, Michel Ramonet, Cyril Crevoisier, Jérome Pernin, Martin Steinbacher, Frank Meinhardt, Kimberly Strong, Debra Wunch, Thorsten Warneke, Coleen Roehl, Paul O. Wennberg, Isamu Morino, Laura T. Iraci, Kei Shiomi, Nicholas M. Deutscher, David W. T. Griffith, Voltaire A. Velazco, and David F. Pollard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4339–4371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4339-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4339-2022, 2022
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We present a computationally very efficient method for the synergetic use of level 2 remote-sensing data products. We apply the method to IASI vertical profile and TROPOMI total column space-borne methane observations and thus gain sensitivity for the tropospheric methane partial columns, which is not achievable by the individual use of TROPOMI and IASI. These synergetic effects are evaluated theoretically and empirically by inter-comparisons to independent references of TCCON, AirCore, and GAW.
Cyril Brunner, Benjamin T. Brem, Martine Collaud Coen, Franz Conen, Martin Steinbacher, Martin Gysel-Beer, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7557–7573, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7557-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7557-2022, 2022
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Microscopic particles called ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are essential for ice crystals to form in clouds. INPs are a tiny proportion of atmospheric aerosol, and their abundance is poorly constrained. We study how the concentration of INPs changes diurnally and seasonally at a mountaintop station in central Europe. Unsurprisingly, a diurnal cycle is only found when considering air masses that have had lower-altitude ground contact. The highest INP concentrations occur in spring.
Makoto Saito, Tomohiro Shiraishi, Ryuichi Hirata, Yosuke Niwa, Kazuyuki Saito, Martin Steinbacher, Doug Worthy, and Tsuneo Matsunaga
Biogeosciences, 19, 2059–2078, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2059-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2059-2022, 2022
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This study tested combinations of two sources of AGB data and two sources of LCC data and used the same burned area satellite data to estimate BB CO emissions. Our analysis showed large discrepancies in annual mean CO emissions and explicit differences in the simulated CO concentrations among the BB emissions estimates. This study has confirmed that BB emissions estimates are sensitive to the land surface information on which they are based.
Randulph Morales, Jonas Ravelid, Katarina Vinkovic, Piotr Korbeń, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Huilin Chen, Martina Schmidt, Sebastian Humbel, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2177–2198, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, 2022
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Mapping trace gas emission plumes using in situ measurements from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is an emerging and attractive possibility to quantify emissions from localized sources. We performed an extensive controlled-release experiment to develop an optimal quantification method and to determine the related uncertainties under various environmental and sampling conditions. Our approach was successful in quantifying local methane sources from drone-based measurements.
Dominique Rust, Ioannis Katharopoulos, Martin K. Vollmer, Stephan Henne, Simon O'Doherty, Daniel Say, Lukas Emmenegger, Renato Zenobi, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2447–2466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, 2022
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Artificial halocarbons contribute to ozone layer depletion and to global warming. We measured the atmospheric concentrations of halocarbons at the Beromünster tower, modelled the Swiss emissions, and compared the results to the internationally reported Swiss emissions inventory. For most of the halocarbons, we found good agreement, whereas one refrigerant might be overestimated in the inventory. In addition, we present first emission estimates of the newest types of halocarbons.
Cyril Brunner, Benjamin T. Brem, Martine Collaud Coen, Franz Conen, Maxime Hervo, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Martin Gysel-Beer, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18029–18053, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18029-2021, 2021
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Special microscopic particles called ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are essential for ice crystals to form in the atmosphere. INPs are sparse and their atmospheric concentration and properties are not well understood. Mineral dust particles make up a significant fraction of INPs but how much remains unknown. Here, we address this knowledge gap by studying periods when mineral particles are present in large quantities at a mountaintop station in central Europe.
Larissa Lacher, Hans-Christian Clemen, Xiaoli Shen, Stephan Mertes, Martin Gysel-Beer, Alireza Moallemi, Martin Steinbacher, Stephan Henne, Harald Saathoff, Ottmar Möhler, Kristina Höhler, Thea Schiebel, Daniel Weber, Jann Schrod, Johannes Schneider, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16925–16953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16925-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16925-2021, 2021
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We investigate ice-nucleating particle properties at Jungfraujoch during the 2017 joint INUIT/CLACE field campaign, to improve the knowledge about those rare particles in a cloud-relevant environment. By quantifying ice-nucleating particles in parallel to single-particle mass spectrometry measurements, we find that mineral dust and aged sea spray particles are potential candidates for ice-nucleating particles. Our findings are supported by ice residual analysis and source region modeling.
Alex Resovsky, Michel Ramonet, Leonard Rivier, Jerome Tarniewicz, Philippe Ciais, Martin Steinbacher, Ivan Mammarella, Meelis Mölder, Michal Heliasz, Dagmar Kubistin, Matthias Lindauer, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Sebastien Conil, and Richard Engelen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6119–6135, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6119-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6119-2021, 2021
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We present a technical description of a statistical methodology for extracting synoptic- and seasonal-length anomalies from greenhouse gas time series. The definition of what represents an anomalous signal is somewhat subjective, which we touch on throughout the paper. We show, however, that the method performs reasonably well in extracting portions of time series influenced by significant North Atlantic Oscillation weather episodes and continent-wide terrestrial biospheric aberrations.
Dac-Loc Nguyen, Hendryk Czech, Simone M. Pieber, Jürgen Schnelle-Kreis, Martin Steinbacher, Jürgen Orasche, Stephan Henne, Olga B. Popovicheva, Gülcin Abbaszade, Guenter Engling, Nicolas Bukowiecki, Nhat-Anh Nguyen, Xuan-Anh Nguyen, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8293–8312, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8293-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8293-2021, 2021
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Southeast Asia is well-known for emission-intense and recurring wildfires and after-harvest crop residue burning during the pre-monsoon season from February to April. We describe a biomass burning (BB) plume arriving at remote Pha Din meteorological station, outline its carbonaceous particulate matter (PM) constituents based on more than 50 target compounds and discuss possible BB sources. This study adds valuable information on chemical PM composition for a region with scarce data availability.
Stuart K. Grange, James D. Lee, Will S. Drysdale, Alastair C. Lewis, Christoph Hueglin, Lukas Emmenegger, and David C. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4169–4185, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4169-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4169-2021, 2021
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The changes in mobility across Europe due to the COVID-19 lockdowns had consequences for air quality. We compare what was experienced to estimates of "what would have been" without the lockdowns. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an important vehicle-sourced pollutant, decreased by a third. However, ozone (O3) increased in response to lower NO2. Because NO2 is decreasing over time, increases in O3 can be expected in European urban areas and will require management to avoid future negative outcomes.
Manuel Graf, Philipp Scheidegger, André Kupferschmid, Herbert Looser, Thomas Peter, Ruud Dirksen, Lukas Emmenegger, and Béla Tuzson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1365–1378, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1365-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1365-2021, 2021
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Water vapor is the most important natural greenhouse gas. The accurate and frequent measurement of its abundance, especially in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), is technically challenging. We developed and characterized a mid-IR absorption spectrometer for highly accurate water vapor measurements in the UTLS. The instrument is sufficiently small and lightweight (3.9 kg) to be carried by meteorological balloons, which enables frequent and cost-effective soundings.
Camille Yver-Kwok, Carole Philippon, Peter Bergamaschi, Tobias Biermann, Francescopiero Calzolari, Huilin Chen, Sebastien Conil, Paolo Cristofanelli, Marc Delmotte, Juha Hatakka, Michal Heliasz, Ove Hermansen, Kateřina Komínková, Dagmar Kubistin, Nicolas Kumps, Olivier Laurent, Tuomas Laurila, Irene Lehner, Janne Levula, Matthias Lindauer, Morgan Lopez, Ivan Mammarella, Giovanni Manca, Per Marklund, Jean-Marc Metzger, Meelis Mölder, Stephen M. Platt, Michel Ramonet, Leonard Rivier, Bert Scheeren, Mahesh Kumar Sha, Paul Smith, Martin Steinbacher, Gabriela Vítková, and Simon Wyss
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 89–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-89-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-89-2021, 2021
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The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a pan-European research infrastructure which provides harmonized and high-precision scientific data on the carbon cycle and the greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. All stations have to undergo a rigorous assessment before being labeled, i.e., receiving approval to join the network. In this paper, we present the labeling process for the ICOS atmospheric network through the 23 stations that were labeled between November 2017 and November 2019.
Bernhard Bereiter, Béla Tuzson, Philipp Scheidegger, André Kupferschmid, Herbert Looser, Lars Mächler, Daniel Baggenstos, Jochen Schmitt, Hubertus Fischer, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6391–6406, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6391-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6391-2020, 2020
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The record of past greenhouse gas composition from ice cores is crucial for our understanding of global climate change. Deciphering this archive requires highly accurate and spatially resolved analysis of the very small amount of gas that is trapped in the ice. This is achieved with a mid-IR laser absorption spectrometer that provides simultaneous, high-precision measurements of CH4, N2O, CO2, and δ13C(CO2) and which will be coupled to a quantitative sublimation extraction method.
Cited articles
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Short summary
GAW-QC (Global Atmosphere Watch-Quality Control) is an interactive dashboard for the quality control of in-situ atmospheric composition measurements made at stations taking part in the Global Atmosphere Watch network. Even though it is mainly targeted at station operators who want to analyze recent, not yet published measurements, it allows anybody to verify the quality of already published measurements using various anomaly detection algorithms as well as visual comparisons.
GAW-QC (Global Atmosphere Watch-Quality Control) is an interactive dashboard for the quality...
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