Recorded presentation10.5
Satellite observations of megacity air pollution, biomass burning emissions, and their long-range transport
Wallace McMillan, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; and L. Yurganov, A. Krueger, R. Hoff, C. D. Barnet, J. Gleason, E. Celarier, N. Krotkov, X. Liu, T. Kurosu, G. Osterman, and O. Torres
Recent NASA and EUMETSAT satellites offer unparalleled capabilities for remote sensing of air quality throughout the troposphere. Combining both active and passive remote sensing, these instruments probe atmospheric aerosols, clouds and trace gases across the spectrum from the ultraviolet to the microwave. Onboard the Aqua satellite leading NASA's A-Train afternoon satellite constellation, the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) see 70% of the Earth both day and night and provide detailed vertical retrievals of temperature and water vapor and weighted free tropospheric concentrations of CO, CH4, CO2, and O3. AIRS' broad horizontal views are complemented by more detailed vertical profiles of CO and O3 afforded by the Tropospheric Emission Sounder (TES) onboard the Aura satellite bringing up the end of the A-Train 8 minutes behind Aqua in the same orbit. During the daytime, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) also onboard Aura provides retrievals of total column SO2, NO2, HCHO, CHO-CHO, and O3, and information on the abundance and absorption of aerosols in the free troposphere. Total column aerosol information is retrieved from observations of the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Aqua. Additional information on the vertical distribution and shape of aerosols comes from the CALIOP lidar onboard the Calipso satellite in the middle of the A-Train. Providing coverage from morning orbits are NASA's Terra satellite containing another MODIS and the Measurement Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) CO monitoring instrument and EUMETSAT's Metop-A satellite carrying the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) with similar capabilities to AIRS. We will present integrated analyses using these diverse measurements to observe temporal changes in air pollution over several densely populated areas including the Sichuan Basin, China's north coastal plain, and Mexico City. In addition, we will present satellite observations of long-range transport of air pollution and biomass burning emissions.
Session 10, Air pollution in mega cities in the world
Thursday, 15 January 2009, 3:30 PM-5:00 PM, Room 127A
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