Publications (2)6.04 Total impact
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Article: Interannual variability of carbon monoxide emission estimates over South America from 2006 to 2010
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ABSTRACT: 1] We present the first inverse modeling study to estimate CO emissions constrained by both surface and satellite observations. Our 4D-Var system assimilates National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL) Global Monitoring Division (GMD) surface and Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite observations jointly by fitting a bias correction scheme. This approach leads to the identification of a positive bias of maximum 5 ppb in MOPITT column-averaged CO mixing ratios in the remote Southern Hemisphere (SH). The 4D-Var system is used to estimate CO emissions over South America in the period 2006–2010 and to analyze the interannual variability (IAV) of these emissions. We infer robust, high spatial resolution CO emission estimates that show slightly smaller IAV due to fires compared to the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) prior emissions. South American dry season (August and September) biomass burning emission estimates amount to 60, 92, 42, 16 and 93 Tg CO/yr for 2006 to 2010, respectively. Moreover, CO emissions probably associated with pre-harvest burning of sugar cane plantations in São Paulo state are underestimated in current inventories by 50–100%. We conclude that climatic conditions (such as the widespread drought in 2010) seem the most likely cause for the IAV in biomass burning CO emissions. However, socio-economic factors (such as the growing global demand for soy, beef and sugar cane ethanol) and associated deforestation fires, are also likely as drivers for the IAV of CO emissions, but are difficult to link directly to CO emissions.Journal of Geophysical Research 01/2012; 117. · 3.02 Impact Factor -
Article: Comparing optimized CO emission estimates using MOPITT or NOAA surface network observations
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ABSTRACT: This paper compares two global inversions to estimate carbon monoxide (CO) emissions for 2004. Either surface flask observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL) Global Monitoring Division (GMD) or CO total columns from the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument are assimilated in a 4D-Var framework. Inferred emission estimates from the two inversions are consistent over the Northern Hemisphere (NH). For example, both inversions increase anthropogenic CO emissions over Europe (from 46 to 94 Tg CO/yr) and Asia (from 222 to 420 Tg CO/yr). In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), three important findings are reported. First, due to their different vertical sensitivity, the stations-only inversion increases SH biomass burning emissions by 108 Tg CO/yr more than the MOPITT-only inversion. Conversely, the MOPITT-only inversion results in SH natural emissions (mainly CO from oxidation of NMVOCs) that are 185 Tg CO/yr higher compared to the stations-only inversion. Second, MOPITT-only derived biomass burning emissions are reduced with respect to the prior which is in contrast to previous (inverse) modeling studies. Finally, MOPITT derived total emissions are significantly higher for South America and Africa compared to the stations-only inversion. This is likely due to a positive bias in the MOPITT V4 product. This bias is also apparent from validation with surface stations and ground-truth FTIR columns. Our results show that a combined inversion is promising in the NH. However, implementation of a satellite bias correction scheme is essential to combine both observational data sets in the SH.Journal of Geophysical Research 01/2012; 117(D06309). · 3.02 Impact Factor
