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Assessing sources of uncertainty in formaldehyde air mass factors over tropical South America: Implications for top-down isoprene emission estimates

dc.contributor.authorBarkley, M.P.
dc.contributor.authorKurosu, T.P.
dc.contributor.authorChance, K.
dc.contributor.authorDe Smedt, I.
dc.contributor.authorVan Roozendael, M.
dc.contributor.authorArneth, A.
dc.contributor.authorHagberg, D.
dc.contributor.authorGuenther, A.
dc.date2012
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-29T10:07:35Z
dc.date.available2016-03-29T10:07:35Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/2968
dc.descriptionWe use a nested-grid version of the GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model, constrained by isoprene emissions from the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN), and the Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator (LPJ-GUESS) bottom-up inventories, to evaluate the impact that surface isoprene emissions have on formaldehyde (HCHO) air-mass factors (AMFs) and vertical column densities (VCDs) over tropical South America during 2006, as observed by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Although the large-scale seasonal variability of monthly mean HCHO VCDs is typically unaffected by the choice of bottom-up inventory, large relative differences of up to ±45% in the HCHO VCD can occur for individual regions and months, but typically most VCD differences are of order ±20%. These relative changes are comparable to those produced by other sources of uncertainty in the AMF including aerosols and surface albedo, but less than those from clouds. In a sensitivity test, we find that top-down annual isoprene emissions inferred from SCIAMACHY and OMI HCHO vertical columns can vary by as much as ±30–50% for each instrument respectively, depending on the region studied and the a priori isoprene emissions used. Our analysis suggests that the influence of the a priori isoprene emissions on HCHO AMFs and VCDs is therefore non-negligible and must be carefully considered when inferring top-down isoprene emissions estimates over this, or potentially any other, region.
dc.languageeng
dc.titleAssessing sources of uncertainty in formaldehyde air mass factors over tropical South America: Implications for top-down isoprene emission estimates
dc.typeArticle
dc.subject.frascatiEarth and related Environmental sciences
dc.audienceScientific
dc.subject.freeAtmospheric chemistry
dc.subject.freeFormaldehyde
dc.subject.freeSpectrometers
dc.subject.freeAir mass factor
dc.subject.freeChemistry transport model
dc.subject.freeIsoprene emission
dc.subject.freeOzone monitoring instruments
dc.subject.freeScanning imaging absorption spectrometer for atmospheric chartography
dc.subject.freeSeasonal variability
dc.subject.freeSensitivity tests
dc.subject.freeSources of uncertainty
dc.subject.freeSouth America
dc.subject.freeSurface albedo
dc.subject.freeTopdown
dc.subject.freeVertical column densities
dc.subject.freeVertical columns
dc.subject.freeAtmospheric aerosols
dc.subject.freeaerosol composition
dc.subject.freeair mass
dc.subject.freealbedo
dc.subject.freeatmospheric pollution
dc.subject.freeemission inventory
dc.subject.freeEOS
dc.subject.freeformaldehyde
dc.subject.freeisoprene
dc.subject.freeSCIAMACHY
dc.subject.freeseasonal variation
dc.subject.freeuncertainty analysis
dc.subject.freeSouth America
dc.source.titleJournal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
dc.source.volume117
dc.source.issue13
dc.source.pageD13304
Orfeo.peerreviewedYes
dc.identifier.doi10.1029/2011JD016827
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-84864056400


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