Dylan Millet, Daniel Jacob, and May Fu Harvard University Thomas Kurosu and Kelly Chance Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Alex Guenther NCAR Colette Heald UC Berkeley OMI HCHO measurements to test isoprene emissions and land cover GEOS-Chem Meeting April 11, 2007
HCHO Columns Map Isoprene Emissions from Space Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a major breakdown product in the oxidation of isoprene Giving us an isoprene emission proxy that can be measured from space
Relating HCHO Columns to Isoprene Emission VOCs HCHO OH, h k i, Y i OH, h k HCHO Local Ω HCHO -E i Relationship VOC source Distance downwind Ω HCHO Isoprene a-pinene propane 100 km detection limit Palmer et al., JGR (2003,2006) Millet et al., JGR (2006) HCHO vertical columns measured by OMI (Summer 2006)
Relating HCHO Columns to Isoprene Emission What drives variability in column HCHO? Measured HCHO production rate vs. column amount Isoprene dominant source when Ω HCHO is high Ω HCHO variability over N. America driven by isoprene Other VOCs give rise to a relatively stable background Ω HCHO Not to variability detectable from space INTEX-A Millet et al., JGR (2006).
Measuring HCHO from Space x 320 km footprint global coverage: 3 days GOME 2002-present 30 x 60 km footprint global coverage: 6 days SCIAMACHY 2004-present 13 x 24 km footprint global coverage: 1 day OMI SBUV instruments in low Earth orbit
OMI HCHO Columns over North America
OMI (2006) vs. GOME ( ) OMI: better counting statistics, cloud filtering less retrieval noise 10-20% lower than GOME (accounting for interannual climate differences) June-August GOMEOMI
Relating HCHO Columns to Isoprene Emissions Uniform Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship Variable Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship Ω HCHO = SE isoprene + B [10 15 molecules cm -2 ] [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ] OMI Isoprene Emission
Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature G2006 Guenther [2006] (MODIS) CLM Community Land Model (AVHRR) [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ] Environmental drivers (T, h, LAI, leaf age, …) Vegetation-specific baseline emission factors Drive MEGAN with 2 land cover databases MEGAN Isoprene Emissions w/ G2006 vegetation MEGAN Isoprene Emissions w/ CLM vegetation Guenther et al., ACP (2006) 12.2 TgC Broadleaf trees
Spatial Patterns in Isoprene Emissions OMI – MEGAN Isoprene Emissions June-August, 2006 Large sensitivity to surface database used MEGAN higher than OMI over dominant emission regions MEGAN OMI – MEGAN Isoprene Emissions June-August, 2006 MEGAN with CLM vegetationMEGAN with G2006 vegetation OMI
G2006 Broadleaf Trees MEGAN w/ CLM Land Cover MEGAN w/ G2006 Land Cover OMI – MEGAN Isoprene Emissions June-August, 2006 Bottom-Up Emissions Too High in Dominant Source Regions MEGAN emissions >70% too high over much of the Ozark Plateau, Upper South, Upper Midwest Large regional emissions driven by oak tree cover, high temperatures Broadleaf tree isoprene emissions overestimated
OMI – MEGAN Isoprene Emissions June-August, 2006 CLM-Driven Emissions Too Low in Deep South Bias in modeled emissions: >100% Underestimate of broadleaf tree or shrub coverage -or- Modeled emissions from evergreen trees or crops too low CLM Fineleaf Evergreens CLM Crops [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ]
Constraints on Emission Factors Possible explanation for OMI-MEGAN discrepancy: Fast chemical loss within forest canopies? Farmer and Cohen [2007] Regress OMI isoprene emissions against G2006 PFTs Variable EFs Broadleaf tree emissions need to be uniformly decreased by 44% Constant EFs More consistent with OMI Optimum broadleaf tree EF: 13.1 x atomsC/cm 2 /s similar to MEGAN mean rejects MEGAN’s use of 3-4x higher EFs in certain locations
The End
OMI vs. Aircraft Data & GEOS-Chem
MEGAN isoprene emissions using 2 land cover databases Guenther [2006] (MODIS) – G2006 Community Land Model (AVHRR) - CLM G2006 CLMEF [%] [10 10 atomsC/cm 2 /s] [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ] PFT Coverage and Isoprene Emission Factors (EFs) Isoprene Emission
OMI Isoprene Emission vs. MEGAN-CLM Uniform Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship Variable Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship OMI - MEGAN MEGAN w/ CLM vegetation [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ] OMI isoprene emission (uniform slope) OMI isoprene emission (variable slope)
OMI Isoprene Emission vs. MEGAN-G2006 Uniform Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship Variable Ω HCHO -E isoprene relationship OMI - MEGAN MEGAN w/ G2006 vegetation [10 13 atomsC cm -2 s -1 ] OMI isoprene emission (uniform slope) OMI isoprene emission (variable slope)