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Emissions Estimation from Satellite Retrievals: a Review of Current CapabilitySince the mid-1990s a new generation of Earth-observing satellites has been able to detect tropospheric air pollution at increasingly high spatial and temporal resolution. Most primary emitted species can be measured by one or more of the instruments. This review article addresses the question of how well we can relate the satellite measurements to quantification of primary emissions and what advances are needed to improve the usability of the measurements by U.S. air quality managers. Built on a comprehensive literature review and comprising input by both satellite experts and emission inventory specialists, the review identifies several targets that seem promising: large point sources of NOx and SO2, species that are difficult to measure by other means (NH3 and CH4, for example), area sources that cannot easily be quantified by traditional bottom-up methods (such as unconventional oil and gas extraction, shipping, biomass burning, and biogenic sources), and the temporal variation of emissions (seasonal, diurnal, episodic). Techniques that enhance the usefulness of current retrievals (data assimilation, oversampling, multi-species retrievals, improved vertical profiles, etc.) are discussed. Finally, we point out the value of having new geostationary satellites like GEO-CAPE and TEMPO over North America that could provide measurements at high spatial (few km) and temporal (hourly) resolution.
Document ID
20140011851
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Streets, David
(Argonne National Lab. IL, United States)
Canty, Timothy
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Carmichael, Gregory R.
(Iowa Univ. Iowa City, IA, United States)
deFoy, Benjamin
(Saint Louis Univ. MO, United States)
Dickerson, Russell R.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Duncan, Bryan N.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Edwards, David P.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Haynes, John A.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Henze, Daven K.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Houyoux, Marc R.
(Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC, United States)
Jacob, Daniel J.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Krotkov, Nickolay A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lamsal, Lok N.
(Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Liu, Yang
(Emory Univ. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Lu, Zifeng
(Argonne National Lab. IL, United States)
Martin, Randall V.
(Dalhousie Univ. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
Pfister, Gabriele G.
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Pinder, Robert W.
(Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC, United States)
Salawitch, Ross J.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Wecht, Kevin J.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 17, 2014
Publication Date
October 1, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Atmospheric Environment
Publisher: Elsevier
Volume: 77
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN6541
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: DOE DE-AC02-06CH11357
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
air quality
anthropogenic emissions
satellite data
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