M. Seiler1, K. Pickering1, D. Allen1, and E. Bucsela2
1Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA, 2Science, Systems, and Applications, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA
Lightning is the largest source of NOx in the upper troposphere. Accurate quantification of the source is crucial as LNOx affects the distributions of tropospheric ozone, hydroxyl radical (OH), and methane. Convective systems that took place on June 11th, 2012 during the Deep Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) campaign and on August 23rd, 2013 during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) campaign were analyzed to better quantify the mean amount of LNOx produced per flash. In this research, vertically integrated in-cloud in-situ aircraft measurements of LNOx are being compared to columns of LNOx from the OMI satellite. A main goal of this study is to evaluate satellite-based estimates of the LNOx column using in-situ data from aircraft profiles. This type of comparison had not previously been attempted due to the lack of temporal overlap between satellite retrievals and aircraft passes. For these two case studies, aircraft transects of the storm anvils were completed near the time of the OMI satellite overpass, allowing for direct comparison of column amounts between the cloud top and the OMI optical cloud pressure (OCP). When aircraft measurements were not available for a layer, profile values were estimated using LNOx mass ratios from a cloud scale model. Comparison of OMI LNOx and aircraft LNOx will be useful for assessing uncertainties in the satellite-based columns. Decreasing uncertainty in LNOx will allow for more definitive estimates of the impact of LNOx on atmospheric composition and air quality following thunderstorms.
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