American Geophysical Union Become an AGU Member
Subscribe to AGU Journals		 AGU Home AGU Publications

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 857653 bytes)

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, D09301, doi:10.1029/2007JD009229, 2008

Global AIRS and MOPITT CO measurements: Validation, comparison, and links to biomass burning variations and carbon cycle

Leonid N. Yurganov

Joint Center for Earth System Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA


W. Wallace McMillan

Joint Center for Earth System Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA


Anatoly V. Dzhola

Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia


Evgeny I. Grechko

Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia


Nicholas B. Jones

Department of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia


Guido R. van der Werf

Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands


Abstract

New results of CO global total column measurements using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard the Aqua satellite in comparison with Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) sensor aboard the Terra satellite are presented. Both data sets are validated using ground-based total column measurements in Russia and Australia. A quality parameter based on the Profile Percent A Priori values from the standard MOPITT product is introduced. AIRS data (version 4) for biomass burning events are in agreement or lower than both MOPITT and ground measurements, but CO bursts can be seen by AIRS in most cases. For the cases of low CO amounts in the Southern Hemisphere AIRS has a positive bias of ∼30–40% compared to MOPITT and ground truth. MOPITT data were used to estimate interannual variations of CO sources assuming a standard seasonal cycle for the main CO remover OH. A positive trend of CO global emissions for the second half of the year between 2000 and 2006 was found with no visible trend for the first half of the year. CO annual emission in 2006 was 184 ± 40 Tg higher that that in 2000–2001. The monthly emission anomalies correlate well with an independently calculated Global Fire Emission Database (GFED2). Total carbon contribution from biomass burning in 1997, 1998 (both estimated by GFED2), and 2006 (according to MOPITT) were as high as (0.6–1) Pg C/year larger than in 2000, suggesting that fires can explain a substantial fraction of the interannual variability of CO2.

Received 27 July 2007; accepted 29 January 2008; published 10 May 2008.

Keywords: satellites; carbon monoxide.

Index Terms: 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: composition and chemistry; 0428 Biogeosciences: Carbon cycling (4806); 0480 Biogeosciences: Remote sensing; 0426 Biogeosciences: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions (0315).

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 857653 bytes)

Citation: Yurganov, L. N., W. W. McMillan, A. V. Dzhola, E. I. Grechko, N. B. Jones, and G. R. van der Werf (2008), Global AIRS and MOPITT CO measurements: Validation, comparison, and links to biomass burning variations and carbon cycle, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D09301, doi:10.1029/2007JD009229.