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Validation and analysis of MOPITT CO observations of the Amazon Basin

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (2016) 9(8) 3999-4012
DOI: 10.5194/amt-9-3999-2016
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Abstract

We analyze satellite retrievals of carbon monoxide from the MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) instrument over the Amazon Basin, focusing on the MOPITT Version 6 "multispectral" retrieval product (exploiting both thermal-infrared and near-infrared channels). Validation results based on in situ vertical profiles measured between 2010 and 2013 are presented for four sites in the Amazon Basin. Results indicate a significant negative bias in retrieved lower-tropospheric CO concentrations. The possible influence of smoke aerosol as a source of retrieval bias is investigated using collocated Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements at two sites but does not appear to be significant. Finally, we exploit the MOPITT record to analyze both the mean annual cycle and the interannual variability of CO over the Amazon Basin since 2002.

Figures

  • Figure 1. Comparison of (a) climatological MOPITT surface-level CO a priori concentrations, (b) V6 TIR-only retrieved surface-level CO, and (c) V6 TIR-NIR retrieved surface-level CO for a daytime MOPITT overpass of the western Amazon Basin on 17 September 2010. Country abbreviations in (a) include “Pe” for Peru, “Br” for Brazil, and “Bo” for Bolivia. Gridded fire counts based on MODIS Aqua observations for the 8-day period from 15 to 22 September 2010 are shown in (d). The map of V6 TIR-NIR surface-level retrievals reveals a region of high CO concentrations over much of western Brazil, whereas the V6 TIR-only retrievals tend more towards the a priori.
  • Figure 2. Comparison of mean retrieval averaging kernels for the MOPITT Version 6 TIR-only (top panel) and TIR-NIR (bottom panel) products for the western Amazon Basin (within 10–5◦ S, 70– 65◦W) on 1 July 2010. For clarity, only the averaging kernels for alternating levels in the MOPITT retrieval grid (i.e., surface, 800 hPa, 600 hPa, etc.) are actually plotted.
  • Figure 3. Comparison of mean retrieval averaging kernels for the MOPITT Version 6 TIR-only (top panel) and TIR-NIR (bottom panel) products for the western Amazon Basin on 17 September 2010.
  • Figure 4. MOPITT Version 6 TIR-only validation results for MOPITT mid- and lower-tropospheric CO retrievals based on aircraft profiles acquired at four Amazonian sites: Alta Floresta (ALF), Rio Branco (RBA), Tabatinga (TAB), and Santarém SAN). Validation statistics are based on log(VMR), to be consistent with the retrieval state vector. Vertical error bars indicate the variability (standard deviation) of the MOPITT data used to calculate each of the plotted mean values. Each panel shows the least-squares best-fit line (dashed) as well as boundaries around the ideal one-to-one line corresponding to ±10 % errors (indicated by the dotted lines). Summary statistics (bias, standard deviation, and correlation coefficient) are listed on each panel in addition to the mean kernel area (A6); this diagnostic provides a useful index for a priori dependence.
  • Figure 5. MOPITT Version 6 TIR-NIR validation results for MOPITT mid- and lower-tropospheric CO retrievals based on aircraft profiles acquired at four Amazonian sites. See caption to Fig. 4.
  • Table 1. MOPITT validation results based on in situ CO vertical profiles acquired at four sites in the Amazon Basin from 2010 to 2013. Correlation coefficients shown in parentheses indicate results obtained when a priori influence is excluded, as described in Sect. 3.2.3.
  • Figure 6. MOPITT Version 6 TIR-only validation results (as presented in Fig. 4), with a priori influence removed from both the MOPITT retrieved values and simulated retrievals based on the in situ data. As discussed in Sect. 3.2.3, plotted values correspond to the difference of retrieved (or simulated) log(VMR) values and the a priori log(VMR) value.
  • Figure 7. MOPITT Version 6 TIR-NIR validation results (as presented in Fig. 5), with a priori influence removed from both the MOPITT retrieved values and simulated retrievals based on the in situ data. As discussed in Sect. 3.2.3, plotted values correspond to the difference of retrieved (or simulated) log(VMR) values and the a priori log(VMR) value.

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APA

Deeter, M. N., Martínez-Alonso, S., Gatti, L. V., Gloor, M., Miller, J. B., Domingues, L. G., & Correia, C. S. C. (2016). Validation and analysis of MOPITT CO observations of the Amazon Basin. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 9(8), 3999–4012. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3999-2016

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