Applications of NASA NO 2 and SO 2 Products NASA Remote Sensing Training LADCO, March 12-15, 2012 ARSET Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training A project of NASA Applied Sciences

Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Retrieval Products Column Amounts -Ozone (O 3 ) -Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) -Sulfur Dioxide: (SO 2 ) -Others Aerosols One of four sensors on the EOS-Aura platform (OMI, MLS, TES, HIRDLS) An international project: Holland, USA, Finland Launched on Courtesy of OMAR Torres

3 Trace Gases and Applications Monitoring point source pollution trends Estimating trace Gas Emissions Inventories Satellite derived surface NO 2 mixing ratios Estimating the ozone production rate (not covered in this course, but included in presentation)

Continuous Emission Monitoring System -- Absolute Changes OMI Trop. NO2 -- % change July 2008 vs. July 2005 NASA Funded Project (PI: Ken Pickering, co-I Ana Prados) PA: +11% KY: + 7% Based on EPA NOx Budget Trading Program Progress Reports Large decreases in Central U.S due to point source emission controls

July 2005 NO2 Height of marker proportional to NEI-2002 NOx emissions Source: OMI NO2 from NASA AVDC; EGU locations from USA EPA

NO2 Trends: Regions of Interest over China Zhang et. al., GRL, 2009

Satellite NO 2 trends over China OMI Instrument detects emerginghot spots due to new coal plant construction Increase in satellite NO 2 in these source regions from 2005 to 2007 Zhang et. al., GRL, Ratio:2007/2005 East Central West

Using SO 2 to monitor point source pollution trends

OMI data indicate a 40% decline in SO 2 pollution from the largest US coal power plants V. Fioletov, C. McLinden, N. Krotkov, M. Moran, K. Yang, Estimation of SO 2 emissions using OMI retrievals, 2011, GRL, under review )OMI can see individual SO 2 emission sources in the US 2)There is a high correlation (~0.9) between SO 2 emissions and OMI data 3)OMI confirms a decline in SO 2 emissions as a result of pollution control measures

US Source #1.Bowen Coal Power Plant, Georgia (3500 MW), SO 2 emissions: 170 kT in 2006 In 2008, the mammoth construction program yielded the first scrubbers, sophisticated equipment that will reduce our overall systems emissions by as much as 90 percent Georgia Power website V. Fioletov, et al., 2011

Observed increases in due to additional coal plants Decreases in 2008 due to implementation of FGD (flue gas desulphurization) controls Can et. al., GRL, SO 2 Power Plant Emissions in China

12 Trace Gases and Applications Satellite derived surface NO 2 mixing ratios Estimating trace Gas Emissions Inventories Monitoring point source pollution trends

Estimating Satellite Based Surface NO 2 NO2 Column S Surface Concentration Ω Tropospheric column In Situ GEOS-Chem Model Profile Method: Solar backscatter Scattering by Earth surface and atmosphere Courtesy of Randall Martin

Ground-Level Afternoon NO 2 Inferred From OMI for 2005 Lok Lamsal Also available atat: Note: this is a research product and not an official NASA product

15 Trace Gases and Applications Satellite derived surface NO 2 mixing ratios Estimating trace Gas Emissions Inventories Monitoring point source pollution trends

NO 2 Emission Inventories are Notoriously Difficult to Determine

Satellite Observations of NO 2 for Emission Inventory Development Satellite Tropospheric NO 2 (10 15 molec cm -2 ) NO x emissions (10 11 atoms N cm -2 s -1 ) Martin et al., 2006 Inverse Modeling

Application of Satellite Observations to NO x Emission Inventory updates Use Chemical Transport Model (CTM) to Calculate Local Sensitivity of Changes in Trace Gas Column to Changes in Emissions Local sensitivity of column changes to emissions changes Fractional Change in Emissions Fractional Change in Trace Gas Column Lamsal et al., GRL, 2011 Forecast Inventory for 2009 Based on Bottom-up for 2006 and Monthly OMI NO 2 for Temporary Dataset Until Bottom-Up Inventory Available ΔE = B ΔΩ

OMI Derived Fractional NO 2 Emissions Changes in North America (2010 NO 2 – 2005 NO 2 ) Lamsal et al., GRL, 2011 Also available at: Note: this is a research product and not an official NASA product

20 Trace Gases and Applications Satellite derived surface NO 2 mixing ratios Estimating trace Gas Emissions Inventories Monitoring point source pollution trends Estimating the ozone production rate

Using satellite based formaldehyde and NO 2 for estimating ozone production potential

Isoprene and HCHO are VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and precursors to tropospheric ozone formation HCHO is a product of isoprene oxidation Variation in the concentration of HCHO can serve as a proxy for variation of isoprene HCHO (Formaldehyde) VOC/NO x ~ HCHO/NO 2

NO x + VOCs Ozone OMI NO 2 OMI HCHO h NOTE 1: HCHO/NO 2 gives info on the sensitivity of PO 3, not the ozone concentration! NOTE 2: HCHO/NO 2 = FNR = Formaldehyde to NO 2 Ratio *Based on Sillman [1995] Martin et al. [2004] OMI HCHO/NO 2 as an Indicator of the Instantaneous Ozone Production Rate (PO 3 ) If HCHO/NO 2 is low, reduce anthropogenic VOCs. If HCHO/NO 2 is high, reduce NO x. VOC/NO x ~ HCHO/NO 2 Courtesy of Bryan Duncan

VOC controls O 3 prod.NO x controls O 3 production Lots of Isoprene = NO x controls Low VOCs = VOC controls transition OMI HCHO/NO2 Ratio August 2006 Courtesy of Bryan Duncan

Southwest USNortheast US LA San Francisco Las Vegas Central Valley Toronto DC Philly NYC Richmond Boston Phoenix TROPOMI will have even finer horizontal resolution. VOC controls O 3 prod.NO x controls O 3 production transition OMI captures gradient from downtown to suburbs to rural areas! Image courtesy of Bryan Duncan OMI HCHO/NO2 Ratio August 2006

Summary: Formaldehyde Air Quality Applications The OMI FNR (Formaldehyde to NO 2 Ratio) appears to be a credible air quality indicator for ozone production and is consistent with in situ observations. The fine horizontal resolution of OMI allows us to see the gradient in the FNR from urban to suburban to rural areas. Assuming that CMAQ results for southern California apply to the entire U.S., the OMI FNR indicates: Ozone production became more NO x -limited over the U.S. from because of substantial NO x emission reductions. Ozone production should be more NO x -limited during heat waves in regions with high biogenic emissions. Courtesy of Bryan Duncan