Towards Validation Of Ammonia (NH 3 ) Measurements From The IASI ...

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Articles | Volume 8, issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1575-2015 © Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1575-2015 © Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Articles | Volume 8, issue 3

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Research article | 26 Mar 2015 Research article | | 26 Mar 2015 Towards validation of ammonia (NH3) measurements from the IASI satellite M. Van Damme, L. Clarisse, E. Dammers, X. Liu, J. B. Nowak, C. Clerbaux, C. R. Flechard, C. Galy-Lacaux, W. Xu, J. A. Neuman, Y. S. Tang, M. A. Sutton, J. W. Erisman, and P. F. Coheur

M. Van Damme

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR martin.van.damme@ulb.ac.be https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1752-0558 × Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium Cluster Earth and Climate, Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

L. Clarisse

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8805-2141 × Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

E. Dammers

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0128-8205 × Cluster Earth and Climate, Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

X. Liu

× College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

J. B. Nowak

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5697-9807 × Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, Colorado, USA now at: Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA, USA

C. Clerbaux

× Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium UPMC; Université Versailles St. Quentin; CNRS/INSU, LATMOS-IPSL, Paris, France

C. R. Flechard

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5954-9925 × INRA, Agrocampus Ouest, UMR 1069 SAS, Rennes, France

C. Galy-Lacaux

× Laboratoire d'Aérologie, UMR 5560, Université Paul-Sabatier (UPS) and CNRS, Toulouse, France

W. Xu

× College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

J. A. Neuman

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3986-1727 × Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Y. S. Tang

× Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh Research Station, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, UK

M. A. Sutton

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1342-2072 × Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh Research Station, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, UK

J. W. Erisman

× Cluster Earth and Climate, Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Louis Bolk Institute, Driebergen, the Netherlands

P. F. Coheur

× Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Chimie Quantique et Photophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract. Limited availability of ammonia (NH3) observations is currently a barrier for effective monitoring of the nitrogen cycle. It prevents a full understanding of the atmospheric processes in which this trace gas is involved and therefore impedes determining its related budgets. Since the end of 2007, the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite has been observing NH3 from space at a high spatio-temporal resolution. This valuable data set, already used by models, still needs validation. We present here a first attempt to validate IASI-NH3 measurements using existing independent ground-based and airborne data sets. The yearly distributions reveal similar patterns between ground-based and space-borne observations and highlight the scarcity of local NH3 measurements as well as their spatial heterogeneity and lack of representativity. By comparison with monthly resolved data sets in Europe, China and Africa, we show that IASI-NH3 observations are in fair agreement, but they are characterized by a smaller variation in concentrations. The use of hourly and airborne data sets to compare with IASI individual observations allows investigations of the impact of averaging as well as the representativity of independent observations for the satellite footprint. The importance of considering the latter and the added value of densely located airborne measurements at various altitudes to validate IASI-NH3 columns are discussed. Perspectives and guidelines for future validation work on NH3 satellite observations are presented.

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Share How to cite. Van Damme, M., Clarisse, L., Dammers, E., Liu, X., Nowak, J. B., Clerbaux, C., Flechard, C. R., Galy-Lacaux, C., Xu, W., Neuman, J. A., Tang, Y. S., Sutton, M. A., Erisman, J. W., and Coheur, P. F.: Towards validation of ammonia (NH3) measurements from the IASI satellite, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1575–1591, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1575-2015, 2015. Received: 22 Sep 2014 – Discussion started: 04 Dec 2014 – Revised: 16 Feb 2015 – Accepted: 01 Mar 2015 – Published: 26 Mar 2015 Download

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Short summary In this study, comprehensive ground-based data sets (Europe, China, Africa and United States) are used to evaluate NH3 measurements from IASI. Global yearly and regional monthly comparisons show fair agreement, while hourly measurements are used to investigate the limitations of direct comparisons. In addition, dense airborne measurements are explored and show the highest correlation coefficients in this study. Finally, the urgent need for independent NH3 column measurements is discussed. In this study, comprehensive ground-based data sets (Europe, China, Africa and United States)... Read more Share