Could satellite measurement of CO help us to better understand sources of atmospheric CO2?
Global warming and CO2
More and more evidence has made us realize the truth that human activities do result in a serious increase of CO2 concentration in atmosphere, which is a leading factor of global warming.
As we all know, anthropogenic and biospheric fields are two major contributors to the total CO2 amount in the atmosphere. Fossil fuel burning, industrial processes, respiration of vegetation all emit CO2 in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, photosynthesis of green vegetation absorbs a great amount of CO2 from the atmosphere.
As we all know, anthropogenic and biospheric fields are two major contributors to the total CO2 amount in the atmosphere. Fossil fuel burning, industrial processes, respiration of vegetation all emit CO2 in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, photosynthesis of green vegetation absorbs a great amount of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Why introduce CO
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an important trace gas in the troposphere. Different from CO2, the production of CO is mainly by combustion without adequate oxygen (O2).
Correlation between CO and CO2 in some aspects has been used by some researchers.
Suntharalingam et al. (2004) found strong correlation between CO and CO2 concentrations using measurements from the TRACE_P aircraft campaign. They also found the observed CO2/CO correlation slopes display distinct regional signatures due to different terrestrial biosphere and industrialized extent.
H. Wang et al. (2009) used error correlation in the chemical transport model between CO and CO2 to better estimate the surface fluxes of CO2.
Fires (volcanic activities, forest fires and biomass burning), as well as some anthropogenic activities (fossil fuel burning, industrial waste, etc), all contribute to CO emission. We should note that these activities also emit CO2 in the atmosphere.
CO has a short life span, about two months in the atmosphere. Moreover, satellite measurement of CO has relatively high precision.
Can we use the satellite measurements of CO to better estimate surface emissions of CO2 from fires and anthropogenic emissions?
Correlation between CO and CO2 in some aspects has been used by some researchers.
Suntharalingam et al. (2004) found strong correlation between CO and CO2 concentrations using measurements from the TRACE_P aircraft campaign. They also found the observed CO2/CO correlation slopes display distinct regional signatures due to different terrestrial biosphere and industrialized extent.
H. Wang et al. (2009) used error correlation in the chemical transport model between CO and CO2 to better estimate the surface fluxes of CO2.
Fires (volcanic activities, forest fires and biomass burning), as well as some anthropogenic activities (fossil fuel burning, industrial waste, etc), all contribute to CO emission. We should note that these activities also emit CO2 in the atmosphere.
CO has a short life span, about two months in the atmosphere. Moreover, satellite measurement of CO has relatively high precision.
Can we use the satellite measurements of CO to better estimate surface emissions of CO2 from fires and anthropogenic emissions?
What we will do
In order to answer the question above, we need to know, how strong is the relationship between emission sources and satellite measurements of CO?
Although we have known that fires and anthropogenic emissions are major contributors of CO emission, the correlation between the two may not be as strong as we thought due to the atmospheric movement as well as coarse spatial resolution of gridded satellite measurements.
In this project, analysis on three domains will be conducted. Each domain has different land type and industry density. The objective is to find relationships between sources (fire emissions database and anthropogenic emissions pool) and measurements (CO from MOPITT SCIAMACHY, CO2 from SCIAMACHY).
Although we have known that fires and anthropogenic emissions are major contributors of CO emission, the correlation between the two may not be as strong as we thought due to the atmospheric movement as well as coarse spatial resolution of gridded satellite measurements.
In this project, analysis on three domains will be conducted. Each domain has different land type and industry density. The objective is to find relationships between sources (fire emissions database and anthropogenic emissions pool) and measurements (CO from MOPITT SCIAMACHY, CO2 from SCIAMACHY).
