Significant Findings
AIRS data contributed to these significant findings in atmospheric composition and carbon cycle science. They are organized by focus area and time period and only periodically updated.
Carbon Cycle
Aerosols and Trace Gases
Air Quality
Various Topics
Carbon Cycle
Findings 2017–2019
AIRS retrievals of mid-upper tropospheric methane show a rapid increase since 2007. AIRS methane retrievals reveal growth over the Qinghai-Xizang plateau and trend characteristics over 2003-2015 agree with station-based estimates. AIRS observations also reveal methane variability during dry years in the Amazon, related to biomass burning. AIRS CO retrievals are used to compare with TES observations. AIRS observations are used to examine the MJO impact on the CO2 concentration over the Arctic.
Feng, D., Gao, X., Yang, L., Hui, X., & Zhou, Y. (2019), Analysis of long-term (2003–2015) spatial-temporal distribution of atmospheric methane in the troposphere over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau based on AIRS data, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 137(1-2), 1247-1255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00704-018-2651-x
Zou, M. M., Xiong, X. Z., Wu, Z. H., Li, S. S., Zhang, Y., & Chen, L. F. (2019), Increase of Atmospheric Methane Observed from Space-Borne and Ground-Based Measurements, Remote Sensing, 11(8), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080964
Li, K.-F. (2018), An Intraseasonal Variability in CO2 Over the Arctic Induced by the Madden-Julian Oscillation.https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076544.
Cady-Pereira, K. E., V. H. Payne, J. L. Neu, K. W. Bowman, K. Miyazaki, E. A. Marais, S. Kulawik, Z. A. Tzompa-Sosa, and J. D. Hegarty (2017), Seasonal and spatial changes in trace gases over megacities from Aura TES observations: two case studies, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17(15), 9379-9398. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9379-2017.
Jiang, Xun, et al. "Influence of Droughts on Mid-Tropospheric CO2" Remote Sensing 9.8 (2017): 852, https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs9080852.
Ribeiro, I. O., R. V. Andreoli, M. T. Kayano, T. R. de Sousa, A. S. Medeiros, P. C. Guimaraes, C. G. G. Barbosa, R. H. M. Godoi, S. T. Martin, and R. A. F. de Souza (2018), Impact of the biomass burning on methane variability during dry years in the Amazon measured from an aircraft and the AIRS sensor, Sci.Total Environ., 624, 509-516, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.147.
Aerosols and Trace Gases
Findings 2017–2019
Single-pixel tropospheric retrievals of HDO and H2O concentrations are retrieved from AIRS radiances and evaluated by comparison with data from the Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer. This is a step towards generating a multi-decadal record of the deuterium content of water vapor, useful for evaluating the moisture sources and processes affecting water vapor.
Worden, J. R., Kulawik, S. S., Fu, D. J., Payne, V. H., Lipton, A. E., Polonsky, I., et al. (2019), Characterization and evaluation of AIRS-based estimates of the deuterium content of water vapor, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12(4), 2331-2339. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2331-2019
To extend the ozone record from the Troposperic Emission Spectromenter, an approach is developed that combines the single-footprint thermal infrared hyperspectral radiances from AIRS and the ultraviolet channels from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), resulting in an unprecedented new data set with which to quantify the evolution of tropospheric ozone. Ozonesonde data over Kunming, China are used to verify ozone and temperature profile retrievals from AIRS and MLS.
Wang, H., Chai, S., Tang, X., Zhou, B., Bian, J., Vömel, H., et al. (2019), Verification of satellite ozone/temperature profile products and ozone effective height/temperature over Kunming, China, The Science of the total environment, 661, 35-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.145
Fu, D., Kulawik, S. S., Miyazaki, K., Bowman, K. W., Worden, J. R., Eldering, A., et al. (2018), Retrievals of tropospheric ozone profiles from the synergism of AIRS and OMI: methodology and validation, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 11(10), 5587-5605. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5587-2018.
AIRS Ozone and CO products, along with other measurements and model calculations, show different influence in the western and eastern US from stratospheric ozone intrusions and transported pollution from East Asia. AIRS Ozone (as well as CO, CH4, H2O) retrievals are compared to lidar (TOLNet) and aircraft (AJAX) measurements, as part of an investigation into the transport of stratospheric ozone and entrained pollution into the lower troposphere above three US locations in 2013. AIRS CO, O3, and H2O products are used to study the intense dust storm that hit northeastern China in 2015. Also, AIRS CO gives the boundary conditions of a chemistry transport model showing the transport of the wildfire plume from high northern latitudes in Canada to the tropics, mediated by the Asian monsoon circulation.
Kloss, C., Berthet, G., Sellitto, P., Ploeger, F., Bucci, S., Khaykin, S., Jégou, F., Taha, G., Thomason, L. W., Barret, B., Le Flochmoen, E., von Hobe, M., Bossolasco, A., Bègue, N., and Legras, B. (2019), Transport of the 2017 Canadian wildfire plume to the tropics via the Asian monsoon circulation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19 (21), 13547–13567. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019
Langford, A. O., et al. (2018), Coordinated profiling of stratospheric intrusions and transported pollution by the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) and NASA Alpha Jet experiment (AJAX): Observations and comparison to HYSPLIT, RAQMS, and FLEXPART, Atmospheric Environment, 174, 1-14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.11.031.
Zheng, S. and Singh, R.P., 2018: Aerosol and Meteorological Parameters Associated with the Intense Dust Event of 15 April 2015 over Beijing, China. Remote Sensing, 10(6), p.957. http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/10/6/957/htm
Huang, M., et al. (2017), Impact of intercontinental pollution transport on North American ozone air pollution: an HTAP phase 2 multi-model study, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17(9), 5721-5750.http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5721-2017.
Global composites of AIRS SO2 retrievals for each year from 2002 until 2015 have been compiled to determine the spatial distribution of Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) SO2 and assess the inter-annual variability associated with volcanic eruptions. AIRS SO2 retrievals, as well as SO2 and ash indices based on AIRS brightness temperature differences, are used to analyze the 2011 Grímsvötn volcanic eruption in Iceland, with a focus on the separation of ash and SO2. AIRS SO2 measurements, along with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, cast light on the transport of volcanic plumes from the 2010 Merapi tropical eruption to the Antarctic stratosphere.
Prata, F., and Lynch, M. (2019), Passive Earth Observations of Volcanic Clouds in the Atmosphere, Atmosphere, 10(4), 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10040199
Wu, X., Griessbach, S., & Hoffmann, L. (2018), Long-range transport of volcanic aerosol from the 2010 Merapi tropical eruption to Antarctica, Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics, 18(21), 15859-15877. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15859-2018
Prata, F., Woodhouse, M., Huppert, H. E., Prata, A., Thordarson, T., and Carn, S.: Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10709-10732. https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/10709/2017/
AIRS observations provide evidence of substantial increases in atmospheric ammonia concentrations from 2002 to 2016 over several of the world’s major agricultural regions.
Warner, J. X., R. R. Dickerson, Z. Wei, L. L. Strow, Y. Wang, and Q. Liang (2017), Increased atmospheric ammonia over the world's major agricultural areas detected from space, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, doi:10.1002/2016GL072305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072305
Air Quality
AIRS carbon monoxide retrievals validate the plume rise mechanism in simulations of the transport of carbon monoxide in the mid-troposphere.
Freitas S. R., K. M. Longo, M. O. Andreae (2006), Impact of including the plume rise of vegetation fires in numerical simulations of associated atmospheric pollutants, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L17808, doi:10.1029/2006GL026608.
Various Topics
Findings 2005–2008
AIRS retrieved CO2 shows the distribution of middle tropospheric carbon dioxide is strongly influenced by surface source and large-scale circulations such as the mid-latitude jet streams and by synoptic weather systems, most notably in the summer hemisphere.
Chahine, M.T. et al., (2008), Satellite Remote Sounding of Mid-Tropospheric CO2, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, SEPTEMBER, doi:10.1029/2008GL035022
Significant differences between simulated and observed carbon dioxide abundance outside of the tropics, which raises questions about the lower-to-upper troposphere transport pathways in current models.
Tiwari Y. K., M. Gloor, R. J. Engelen, F. Chevallier, C. Rdenbeck, S. Krner, P. Peylin, B. H. Braswell, M. Heimann (2006), Comparing CO 2 retrieved from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder with model predictions: Implications for constraining surface fluxes and lower-to-upper troposphere transport, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D17106, doi:10.1029/2005JD006681.
Detailed, daily global observation of transport of mid-tropospheric carbon monoxide from biomass burning emissions.
McMillan W. W., C. Barnet, L. Strow, M. T. Chahine, M. L. McCourt, J. X. Warner, P. C. Novelli, S. Korontzi, E. S. Maddy, S. Datta (2005), "Daily global maps of carbon monoxide from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder", Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L11801, doi:10.1029/2004GL021821.
First remote retrieval of mid-tropospheric carbon dioxide under cloudy conditions directly from cloud-cleared radiance spectra with an accuracy of 0.43 1.20 ppmv.
Chahine M., C. Barnet, E. T. Olsen, L. Chen, E. Maddy (2005), On the determination of atmospheric minor gases by the method of vanishing partial derivatives with application to CO 2, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L22803, doi:10.1029/2005GL024165.
First assimilation of AIRS carbon dioxide as a tracer in a full 4D-Var ECMWF transport model.
Engelen R. J., A. P. McNally (2005), Estimating atmospheric CO 2 from advanced infrared satellite radiances within an operational four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation system: Results and validation, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D18305, doi:10.1029/2005JD005982.
AIRS shortwave mid-tropospheric temperature sounding channels can be used to deduce a 2.2 0.4 ppmv/year increase in the carbon dioxide abundance under clear tropical ocean conditions.
Aumann H. H., D. Gregorich, S. Gaiser (2005), AIRS hyper-spectral measurements for climate research: Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide effects, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L05806, doi:10.1029/2004GL021784.
Inclusion of AIRS SO2 information can improve measurements of volcanic SO2 and ash loading in the troposphere, and to refine our understanding of volcanic cloud composition, structure and evolution.
Wright,R., Carn,S. A., Flynn,L. P. (2005), A satellite chronology of the May-June 2003 eruption of Anatahan volcano, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 146, 102-116. doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2004.10.021.
