References

ACP

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

ACP

1680-7324

Copernicus GmbH

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/acp-8-2555-2008

A framework for comparing remotely sensed and in-situ CO2 concentrations

Macatangay

¹ ² Warneke

¹ Gerbig

² Körner

² Ahmadov

² Heimann

² Notholt

Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany

16 05 2008

8 9 2555 2568

This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/2555/2008/acp-8-2555-2008.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/2555/2008/acp-8-2555-2008.pdf

A framework has been developed that allows validating CO2 column averaged volume mixing ratios (VMRs) retrieved from ground-based solar absorption measurements using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTS) against measurements made in-situ (such as from aircrafts and tall towers). Since in-situ measurements are done frequently and at high accuracy on the global calibration scale, linking this scale with FTS total column retrievals ultimately provides a calibration scale for remote sensing. FTS, tower and aircraft data were analyzed from measurements during the CarboEurope Regional Experiment Strategy (CERES) from May to June 2005 in Biscarrosse, France. Carbon dioxide VMRs from the MetAir Dimona aircraft, the TM3 global transport model and Observations of the Middle Stratosphere (OMS) balloon based experiments were combined and integrated to compare with the FTS measurements. The comparison allows for calibrating the retrieved carbon dioxide VMRs from the FTS. The Stochastic Time Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model was then utilized to identify differences in surface influence regions or footprints between the FTS and the aircraft CO2 concentrations. Additionally, the STILT model was used to compare carbon dioxide concentrations from a tall tower situated in close proximity to the FTS station. The STILT model was then modified to produce column concentrations of CO2 to facilitate comparison with the FTS data. These comparisons were additionally verified by using the Weather Research and Forecasting – Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (WRF-VPRM). The differences between the model-tower and the model-FTS were then used to calculate an effective bias of approximately −2.5 ppm between the FTS and the tower. This bias is attributed to the scaling factor used in the FTS CO2 data, which was to a large extent derived from the aircraft measurements made within a 50 km distance from the FTS station: spatial heterogeneity of carbon dioxide in the coastal area caused a low bias in the FTS calibration. Using STILT for comparing remotely sensed CO2 data with tower measurements of carbon dioxide and quantifying this comparison by means of an effective bias, provided a framework or a "transfer standard" that allowed validating the FTS retrievals versus measurements made in-situ.

References 1

Ahmadov, R., Gerbig, C., Kretschmer, R., Koerner, S., Neininger, B., Dolman, A. J., and Sarrat, C.:, Mesoscale covariance of transport and CO2 fluxes: evidence from observations and simulations using the WRF-VPRM coupled atmosphere-biosphere model, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D22107, doi:10.1029/2007JD008552, 2007.

Boering, K. A., Wofsy, S. C., Daube, B. C., Schneider, H. R., Loewenstein, M., Podolske, J. R., and Conway, T. J.: Stratospheric Mean Ages and Transport Rates from Observations of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide, Science, 274, 5291, doi:10.1126/science.274.5291.1340, 1996.

Burrows, J. P., Schneider, W., Geary, J. C., Chance, K. V., Goede, A. P. H., Aarts, H. J. M., de Vries, J., Smorenburg, C., and Visser, H.: Atmospheric remote sensing with SCIAMACHY, Digest of Topical Meeting on Optical Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Optical Society of America, Washington D.C., 4, 71, 1990.

Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group (CCGG): CMDL CCGG Data, ftp://ftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccg/, NOAA Clim. Monit. Diagnostics Lab., Boulder, Colo, 2003.

Crisp, D., Atlas, R. M., Breon, F. M., Brown, L. R., Burrows, J. P., Ciais, P., Connor, B. J., Doney, S. C., Fung, I. Y., Jacob, D. J., Miller, C. E., O'Brien, D., Pawson, S., Randerson, J. T., Rayner, P., Salawitch, R. J., Sander, S. P., Sen, B., Stephens, G. L., Tans, P. P., Toon, G. C., Wennberg, P. O., Wofsy, S. C., Yung, Y. L., Kuang, Z., Chudasama, B., Sprague, G., Weiss, B., Pollock, R., Kenyon, D., and Schroll, S.: The orbiting carbon observatory (OCO) mission, Adv. Space Res., 34, 700–709, 2004.

Dolman, A. J., Noilhan, J., Durand, P., Sarrat, C., Brut, A., Piguet, B., Butet, A., Jarosz, N.,Brunet, Y., Loustau, D., Lamaud, E., Tolk, L., Ronda, R., Miglietta, F., Gioli, B., Magliulo,V., Esposito, M., Gerbig, C., Körner, S., Glademard, P., Ramonet, M., Ciais, P., Neininger,B., Hutjes, R. W. A., Elbers, J. A., Macatangay, R., Schrems, O., P'erez-Landa, G., Sanz, M. J., Scholz,Y., Facon, G., Ceschia, E., and Beziat, P.: The CarboEurope Regional Experiment Strategy, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 87, 1367–1379, 2006.

Draxler, R. R. and Hess, G. D.: Description of the HYSPLIT_4 modeling system, NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL ARL-224, 24 pp., 1997.

Draxler, R. R. and Hess, G. D.: An overview of the HYSPLIT_4 modelling system for trajectories, dispersion, and deposition, Aust. Meteorol. Mag., 47, 295–308, 1998.

Dufour, E., Bréon, F., and Peyling, P.: CO2 column averaged mixing ratio from inversion of ground-based solar spectra, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D09304, doi:10.1029/2003JD004469, 2004.

Galdemard, P., Ramonet, M., Schmidt, M., Ciais, P., Jourd'heuil, L., Arranger, D., Allard, J., Azoulay, R., Bargueden, P., Beauvais, P., Belorgey, J., Boussuge, O., Clou' e, P., Contrepois, P., De Antoni, P., Durand, G. A., Eppelle', D., Jannin, J. L., Joubert, J. M., Le Noa, Y., Noury, J., Massinger, M., S'eguier, P., Walter, C., Bhatt, B. C., and Vinod Gaur, K.: CARIBOU: New Instruments for Continuous CO2 Measurements and On-line Data Transmission, Proc. of the 13th WMO/IAEA Meeting of Experts on Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Related Tracer Measurement Techniques, 20 Boulder, Colorado, USA, 19–22 September 2005, WMO-GAW Report 168, edited by: Miller, J. B., 83–89, December 2006.

Gerbig, C., Körner, S., and Lin, J. C.: Vertical mixing in atmospheric tracer transport models: error characterization and propagation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 591–602, 2008.

Gerbig, C., Lin, J. C., Munger, J. W., and Wofsy, S. C.: What can tracer observations in the continental boundary layer tell us about surface-atmosphere fluxes?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 539–554, 2006.

Gerbig, C., Lin, J. C., Wofsy, S. C., Daube, B. C., Andrews, A. E., Stephens, B. B., Bakwin, P. S., and Grainger, C. A.: Toward constraining regional-scale fluxes of CO2 with atmospheric observations over a continent: 2. Analysis of COBRA data using a receptor-oriented framework, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D24), 4757, doi:10.1029/2003JD03770, 2003.

Heimann, M. and Körner, S.: The Global Atmospheric Tracer Model, TM3, Model Description and Users Manual Release 3.8a, No. 5, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC), Jena, Germany, 2003.

IPCC, Mertz, B., Davidson, O., de Coninck, H., Loos, M., and Meyer, L.: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, 2005.

Keppel-Aleks, G., Toon, G. C., Wennberg, P. O., and Deutscher, N. M.: Reducing the impact of source brightness fluctuations on spectra obtained by Fourier-transform spectrometry, Appl. Optics, 46(21), 4774–4779, 2007.

Knox, J. A.: On converting potential temperature to altitude in the middle atmosphere, Eos Trans. of the American Geophysical Union, 79(31), p 376, 1998.

Lin, J. C., Gerbig, C., Wofsy, S. C., Andrews, A. E., Daube, B. C., Davis, K. J., and Grainger, C. A.: A near-field tool for simulating the upstream influence of atmospheric observations: The Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D16), 4493, doi:10.1029/2002JD003161, 2003.

McCartney, E.: Absorption and Emission by Atmospheric Gases: The Physical Processes, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA, 2–7, 1983.

Neininger, B., Fuchs, W., Baeumle, M., Volz-Thomas, A., Prévôt, A. S. H., and Dommen, J.: A Small Aircraft for More than Just Ozone: METAIR's "Dimona" After Ten Years of Evolving Development, Proc. of the 11th Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, 81st AMS Annual Meeting, 14–19 January 2001, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 123–128, 2001.

Peters, W., Jacobson, A. R., Sweeney, C., Andrews, A. E., Conway, T. J, Masarie, K., Miller, J. B., Bruhwiler, L. M. P., Petron, G., Hirsch, A. I., Worthy, D. E. J., van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Wennberg, P. O., Krol, M. C., and Tans, P. P.: An atmospheric perspective on North American carbon dioxide exchange: CarbonTracker, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104, 18 925–18 930, 2007.

Peylin, P., Bousquet, P., Le Qu'er'e, C., Sitch, S., Friedlingstein, P., McKinley, G., Gruber, N., Rayner, P., and Ciais, P.: Multiple constraints on regional CO2 flux variations over land and oceans, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 19, GB1011, doi:10.1029/2003GB002214, 2005.

Rodgers, C. D. and Connor, B. J.: Intercomparison of remote sounding instruments, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D3), 4116, doi:10.1029/2002JD002299, 2003.

Rödenbeck, C., Conway, T. J., and Langenfelds, R. L.: The effect of systematic measurement errors on atmospheric CO2 inversions: a quantitative assessment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 149–161, 2006.

Sarrat, C., Noilhan, J., Lacarrère, P., Donier, S., Lac, C., Calvet, J. C., Dolman, A. J., Gerbig, C., Neininger, B., Ciais, P., Paris, J. D., Boumard, F., Ramonet, M., and Butet, A.: Atmospheric CO2 modeling at the regional scale: Application to the CarboEurope Regional Experiment, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D12105, doi:10.1029/20067JD008107, 2007.

Toon, G. C., Farmer, C. B., Schaper, P. W., Lowes, L. L., and Norton, R. H.: Composition Measurements of the 1989 Arctic Winter Stratosphere by Airborne Infrared Solar Absorption Spectroscopy, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 7939–7961, doi:10.1029/91JD03114, 1992.

Warneke, T., Yang, Z., Olsen, S., Körner, S., Notholt, J., Toon, G., Velazco, V., Schulz, A., and Schrems, O.: Seasonal and latitudinal variations of column averaged volume-mixing ratios of atmospheric CO2, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L03808, doi:10.1029/2004GL021597, 2005.

Warneke, T., Meirink, J. F., Bergamaschi, P., Grooß, J.-U., Notholt, J., Toon, G. C., Velazco, V., Goede, A. P. H., and Schrems, O.: Seasonal and latitudinal variations of atmospheric methane: A ground-based and ship-borne solar IR spectroscopic study, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L14812, doi:10.1029/2006GL025874, 2006.

Washenfelder, R. A., Toon, G. C., Blavier, J.-F., Yang, Z., Allen, N. T., Wennberg, P. O., Vay, S. A., Matross, D. M., and Daube, B. C.: Carbon dioxide column abundances at the Wisconsin Tall Tower site, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D22305, doi:10.1029/2006JD07154, 2006.

Waugh, D. W. and Hall, T. M.: Age of stratospheric air: Theory, observations, and models, Rev. Geophys, 40(4), 1010, doi:10.1029/2000RG000101, 2002.

Yang, Z., Toon, G. C., Margolis, J. S., and Wennberg, P. O.: Atmospheric CO2 retrieved from ground-based near IR solar spectra, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(9), 1339, doi:10.1029/2001GL014537, 2002.