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Quantifying the Seasonal and Interannual Variability of North American Isoprene Emissions Using Satellite Observations of the Formaldehyde ColumnQuantifying isoprene emissions using satellite observations of the formaldehyde (HCHO) columns is subject to errors involving the column retrieval and the assumed relationship between HCHO columns and isoprene emissions, taken here from the GEOS-CHEM chemical transport model. Here we use a 6-year (1996-2001) HCHO column data set from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument to (1) quantify these errors, (2) evaluate GOME-derived isoprene emissions with in situ flux measurements and a process-based emission inventory (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature, MEGAN), and (3) investigate the factors driving the seasonal and interannual variability of North American isoprene emissions. The error in the GOME HCHO column retrieval is estimated to be 40%. We use the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) to quantify the time-dependent HCHO production from isoprene, alpha- and beta-pinenes, and methylbutenol and show that only emissions of isoprene are detectable by GOME. The time-dependent HCHO yield from isoprene oxidation calculated by MCM is 20-30% larger than in GEOS-CHEM. GOME-derived isoprene fluxes track the observed seasonal variation of in situ measurements at a Michigan forest site with a -30% bias. The seasonal variation of North American isoprene emissions during 2001 inferred from GOME is similar to MEGAN, with GOME emissions typically 25% higher (lower) at the beginning (end) of the growing season. GOME and MEGAN both show a maximum over the southeastern United States, but they differ in the precise location. The observed interannual variability of this maximum is 20-30%, depending on month. The MEGAN isoprene emission dependence on surface air temperature explains 75% of the month-to-month variability in GOME-derived isoprene emissions over the southeastern United States during May-September 1996-2001.
Document ID
20090024812
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Palmer, Paul I.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Abbot, Dorian S.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Fu, Tzung-May
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Jacob, Daniel J.
(Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Chance, Kelly
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Kurosu, Thomas P.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Guenther, Alex
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Wiedinmyer, Christine
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Stanton, Jenny C.
(Leeds Univ. United Kingdom)
Pilling, Michael J.
(Leeds Univ. United Kingdom)
Pressley, Shelley N.
(Washington State Univ. Pullman, WA, United States)
Lamb, Brian
(Washington State Univ. Pullman, WA, United States)
Sumner, Anne Louise
(Battelle Columbus, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
June 27, 2006
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 111
Subject Category
Geophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG04GE15G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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