CO in the Tropical Troposphere: Spatiotemporal Variations and Retrieval Sensitivities from Several Space-Based Sensors

We compare spatio-temporal variations in tropical tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) aboard Terra, and Aqua's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) for the time period since 2004. We intercompare how tropospheric variations are reflected in these various measurements, taking into account coincident data values and vertical smoothing issues. We also compare model CO results from the Whole Community Atmosphere Model (WACCM) to the different satellite instrument retrievals. Furthermore, we compare results from MOPITT-assimilated results in the upper troposphere (UT) to MLS UT CO abundances. These analyses are performed in order to elucidate differences between these retrievals and differences in their sensitivities to CO variations and trends.