Characterizing Regional-Scale Combustion Using Satellite Retrievals of CO, NO2 and CO2

Silva, S.J., and A. Arellano (2017), Characterizing Regional-Scale Combustion Using Satellite Retrievals of CO, NO2 and CO2, Remote Sensing, 9, 744, doi:10.3390/rs9070744.
Abstract

We present joint analyses of satellite-observed combustion products to examine bulk characteristics of combustion in megacities and fire regions. We use retrievals of CO, NO2 and CO2 from NASA/Terra Measurement of Pollution In The Troposphere, NASA/Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument, and JAXA Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite to estimate atmospheric enhancements of these co-emitted species based on their spatiotemporal variability (spread, ) within 14 regions dominated by combustion emissions. We find that patterns in XCO / XCO2 and XCO / XNO2 are able to distinguish between combustion types across the globe. These patterns show distinct groupings for biomass burning and the developing/developed status of a region that are not well represented in global emissions inventories. We show here that such multi-species analyses can provide constraints on emission inventories, and be useful in monitoring trends and understanding regional-scale combustion.

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Research Program
Atmospheric Composition Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP)