Enhanced NOx by lightning in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere inferred from the UARS Global NO2 measurements

Zhang, Renyi; Sanger, Neil Thomas; Orville, Richard E.; Tie, Xuexi; Randel, William J.; Williams, Earle

doi:10.1029/1999gl010903

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Since the conversion of HNO 3 to NO 2 is slow, the supposed overestimation of HNO 3 in the upper troposphere will not produce a large increase in the NO x concentrations. The less efficient conversion of NO x to HNO 3 in the upper troposphere allows the increase of NO x due to lightning as has been shown by the satellite data (Zhang et al, 2000). Thus NO x levels in the upper troposphere will be more strongly impacted by the convective activity than by recycling from HNO 3 .…”

Section: Aircraft Observations and Model Analysismentioning

confidence: 82%

“…This uncertainty can have great implications in terms of NO x budget, especially in the southern hemisphere where the LiNOx source dominates in the upper troposphere (Lamarque et al, Published by Copernicus GmbH on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 5560 C. Mari et al: Regional lightning NO x sources during the TROCCINOX experiment 1997; Zhang et al, 2000;Martin et al, 2000;Hauglustaine et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional lightning NOx sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

et al. 2006

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Abstract.A lightning NO x (LiNOx) source has been implemented in the deep convection scheme of the Meso-NH mesoscale model following a mass-flux formalism coherent with the transport and scavenging of gases inside the convective scheme. In this approach the vertical transport of NO inside clouds is calculated by the parameterization of deep convective transport, thus eliminating the need for apriori LiNOx profiles. Once produced inside the convective column, NO molecules are redistributed by updrafts and downdrafts and detrained in the environment when the conditions are favorable. The model was applied to three particular flights during the Tropical Convection, Cirrus and Nitrogen Oxides (TROCCINOX) campaign over the tropical area around Bauru on 3-4 March 2004. The convective activity during the three flights was investigated using brightness temperature at 10.7 µm observed from GOES-12 satellite. The use of a model-to-satellite approach reveals that the simulation appears rather realistic compared to the observations. The diurnal cycle of the simulated brightness temperature, CAPE, number of IC flashes, NO entrainment flux are in phase, with a succession of three marked peaks at 18:00 UTC (15:00 LT). These simulated peaks precede the observed afternoon one by about three hours. Comparison of the simulated NO x with observations along the flight tracks show that the model reproduces well the observed NO x levels when the LiNOx source is applied. The budget of entrainment, detrainment and LiNOx convective fluxes shows that the majority of the NO detrained back to the environment comes from lightning source inside the convective columns. Entrainment of NO from the environment and vertical transport from the boundary layer were not significant during the episode. The troposphere is impacted by detrainment fluxes of LiNOx from 4 km altitude to 16 km with maximum values around 14 km altitude. Detrainment fluxes varyCorrespondence to: C. Mari (celine.mari@aero.obs-mip.fr) between 75 kg(N)/s during nighttime to 400 kg(N)/s at the times of maximun convective activity. Extrapolation of the regional LiNOx source would yield a global LiNOx production around 5.7 Tg(N)/year which is within the current estimates but should not hide the overestimation of the number of flash rates by the model.

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Section: Aircraft Observations and Model Analysismentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional lightning NOx sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

et al. 2006

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“…Lightning can lead to significant increases in NO x in the middle and upper troposphere and contribute significantly to columnar abundance of NO 2 (Choi et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2000Zhang et al, , 2003Tie et al, 2002;Bond et al, 2001;Pickering et al, 1998;Delmas et al, 1997;Ridley et al, 1996;Beirle et al, 2006;Martin et al, 2006). This source is particularly important in the Southeastern US during the summertime (Biazar and McNider, 1995;Bond et al, 2001;Hudman et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of lightning NOx production on surface ozone in the continental United States

Kaynak

Martin

et al. 2008

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract.Lightning NO x emissions calculated using the US National Lightning Detection Network data were found to account for 30% of the total NO x emissions for July-August 2004, a period chosen both for having higher lightning NO x production and high ozone levels, thus maximizing the likelihood that such emissions could impact peak ozone levels. Including such emissions led to modest, but sometimes significant increases in simulated surface ozone when using the Community Multi-scale Air Quality Model (CMAQ). Three model simulations were performed, two with the addition of lightning NO x emissions, and one without. Domain-wide daily maximum 8-h ozone changes due to lightning NO x were less than 2 ppbv in 71% of the cases with a maximum of 10 ppbv; whereas the difference in 1-h ozone was less than 2 ppbv in 77% of the cases with a maximum of 6 ppbv. Daily maximum 1-h and 8-h ozone for grids containing O 3 monitoring stations changed slightly, with more than 43% of the cases differing less than 2 ppbv. The greatest differences were 42 ppbv for both 1-h and 8-h O 3 , though these tended to be on days of lower ozone. Lightning impacts on the seasonwide maximum 1-h and 8-h averaged ozone decreased starting from the 1st to 4th highest values (an average of 4th highest, 8-h values is used for attainment demonstration in the US). Background ozone values from the y-intercept of O 3 versus NO z curve were 42.2 and 43.9 ppbv for simulations without and with lightning emissions, respectively. Results from both simulations with lightning NO x suggest that while North American lightning production of NO x can lead to significant local impacts on a few occasions, they will have a

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“…Despite these difficulties, some studies report a correlation of lightning activity and increased NO 2 column densities. Zhang et al (2000) used NO 2 data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) to substantiate a (rather qualitative) link between lightning activity and high levels of NO 2 in the upper troposphere. Richter and Burrows (2002) report enhanced NO 2 column densities above clouds due to lightning for Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the NOx produced by lightning from GOME and NLDN data: a case study in the Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2006

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Abstract. Nitrogen oxides (NO x =NO+NO 2 ) play an important role in tropospheric chemistry, in particular in catalytic ozone production. Lightning provides a natural source of nitrogen oxides, dominating the production in the tropical upper troposphere, with strong impact on tropospheric ozone and the atmosphere's oxidizing capacity. Recent estimates of lightning produced NO x (LNO x ) are of the order of 5 Tg [N] per year with still high uncertainties in the range of one order of magnitude.The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) on board the ESA-satellite ERS-2 allows the retrieval of tropospheric column densities of NO 2 on a global scale. Here we present the GOME NO 2 measurement directly over a large convective system over the Gulf of Mexico. Simultaneously, cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes are counted by the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN™), and extrapolated to include intra-cloud (IC)+CG flashes based on a climatological IC:CG ratio derived from NASA's space-based lightning sensors. A series of 14 GOME pixels shows largely enhanced column densities over thick and high clouds, coinciding with strong lightning activity. The enhancements can not be explained by transport of anthropogenic NO x and must be due to fresh production of LNO x . A quantitative analysis, accounting in particular for the visibility of LNO x from satellite, yields a LNO x production of 90 (32-240) moles of NO x , or 1.3 (0.4-3.4) kg [N], per flash. If simply extrapolated, this corresponds to a global LNO x production of 1.7 (0.6-4.7) Tg [N]/yr.

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Enhanced NO_x by lightning in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere inferred from the UARS Global NO₂ measurements

Cited by 34 publications

References 16 publications

Regional lightning NO<sub>x</sub> sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

Regional lightning NO<sub>x</sub> sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

The effect of lightning NO<sub>x</sub> production on surface ozone in the continental United States

Estimating the NO<sub>x</sub> produced by lightning from GOME and NLDN data: a case study in the Gulf of Mexico

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Enhanced NOx by lightning in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere inferred from the UARS Global NO2 measurements

Cited by 34 publications

References 16 publications

Regional lightning NO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

Regional lightning NO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

The effect of lightning NO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; production on surface ozone in the continental United States

Estimating the NO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; produced by lightning from GOME and NLDN data: a case study in the Gulf of Mexico

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Enhanced NO_x by lightning in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere inferred from the UARS Global NO₂ measurements

Regional lightning NO<sub>x</sub> sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

Regional lightning NO<sub>x</sub> sources during the TROCCINOX experiment

The effect of lightning NO<sub>x</sub> production on surface ozone in the continental United States

Estimating the NO<sub>x</sub> produced by lightning from GOME and NLDN data: a case study in the Gulf of Mexico