The impact of North American anthropogenic emissions and lightning on long-range transport of trace gases and their export from the continent during summers 2002 and 2004

Martini, Matus N.; Allen, D. J.; Pickering, Kenneth; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.; Richter, Andreas; Hyer, E. J.; Loughner, Christopher P.

doi:10.1029/2010jd014305

Cited by 21 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 91 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The profile shapes suggest that NO 2 sources, presumably lightning, are located primarily in the upper troposphere in these regions. This is consistent with aircraft measurements (e.g., Huntrieser et al, 2009) and modeling studies (e.g., Allen et al, 2010Allen et al, , 2012Martini et al, 2011) of lightning-generated NO x . In contrast, NO 2 VMR profiles are more uniform in winter, possibly owing to less frequent lightning activity associated with convection in the shifting intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).…”

Section: Profile Analysissupporting

confidence: 77%

“…C1 in Appendix C) in these regions are indicative of frequent convection. In particular, extensive enhancements in summertime NO 2 VMRs over NH tropical and subtropical oceans, are similar to modeled lightning NO x enhancements in previous studies (e.g., Choi et al, 2008;Allen et al, 2012;Martini et al, 2011;Walker et al, 2010). This suggests that lightning is a major source of freetropospheric NO 2 in tropical and subtropical regions in summer.…”

Section: Lightning Contributionssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Model studies show that lightning NO x production contributes to free-tropospheric NO 2 abundances, but magnitudes and distributions are still largely unknown; in particular, vertical distributions of lightning NO x are dependent upon the characteristics of the convection parameterizations in the models (Choi et al, 2005(Choi et al, , 2008Allen et al, 2012;Martini et al, 2011). The NO 2 lifetime in the free troposphere (up to a week or more) allows for intercontinental transport of uplifted anthropogenic and lightning-generated NO 2 (e.g., Li et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2006;Zhang et al, 2008;Walker et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. We derive free-tropospheric NO 2 volume mixing ratios (VMRs) by applying a cloud-slicing technique to data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. In the cloud-slicing approach, the slope of the above-cloud NO 2 column versus the cloud scene pressure is proportional to the NO 2 VMR. In this work, we use a sample of nearby OMI pixel data from a single orbit for the linear fit. The OMI data include cloud scene pressures from the rotational-Raman algorithm and above-cloud NO 2 vertical column density (VCD) (defined as the NO 2 column from the cloud scene pressure to the top of the atmosphere) from a differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) algorithm. We compare OMI-derived NO 2 VMRs with in situ aircraft profiles measured during the NASA Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Phase B (INTEX-B) campaign in 2006. The agreement is generally within the estimated uncertainties when appropriate data screening is applied. We then derive a global seasonal climatology of free-tropospheric NO 2 VMR in cloudy conditions. Enhanced NO 2 in the free troposphere commonly appears near polluted urban locations where NO 2 produced in the boundary layer may be transported vertically out of the boundary layer and then horizontally away from the source. Signatures of lightning NO 2 are also shown throughout low and middle latitude regions in summer months. A profile analysis of our cloudslicing data indicates signatures of lightning-generated NO 2 in the upper troposphere. Comparison of the climatology with simulations from the global modeling initiative (GMI) for cloudy conditions (cloud optical depth > 10) shows similarities in the spatial patterns of continental pollution outflow. However, there are also some differences in the seasonal variation of free-tropospheric NO 2 VMRs near highly populated regions and in areas affected by lightning-generated NO x .

show abstract

Section: Profile Analysissupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Lightning Contributionssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conversely, NO x also influences OH formation, subsequently reducing CH 4 and leading to short-term radiative cooling [Kunhikrishnan and Lawrence, 2004;Martini et al, 2011]; however, due to the short length of our simulations relative to the lifetime of CH 4 (approximately 9 years), we neglect this cooling effect in our study.…”

Section: Significance Of Lno X To Natural Radiative Forcingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of tropical tropospheric composition to lightning NO_x production as determined by replay simulations with GEOS‐5

2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The sensitivity of tropical tropospheric composition to the source strength of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) produced by lightning (LNO x ) is analyzed for September through November 2007 using the NASA GEOS-5 model constrained by MERRA fields, with full GMI stratospheric-tropospheric chemistry and an LNO x algorithm that is appropriate for use in a climate modeling setting; satellite retrievals from OMI, TES, and OMI/MLS; and in situ measurements from SHADOZ ozonesondes. Global mean LNO x production rates of 0 to 492 mol NO flash À1 and the subsequent responses of NO x , ozone (O 3 ), hydroxyl radical (OH), nitric acid (HNO 3 ), peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), and NO y (NO x + HNO 3 + PAN) are investigated. The radiative implications associated with LNO x -induced changes in tropospheric O 3 are assessed. Increasing the LNO x production rate by a factor of 4 (from 123 to 492 mol flash À1) leads to tropical upper tropospheric enhancements of greater than 100% in NO x , OH, HNO 3 , and PAN. This increase in LNO x production also leads to O 3 enhancements of up to 60%, which subsequently yields a factor-of-three increase in the mean net radiative flux at the tropopause. An LNO x source of 246 mol flash À1 agrees reasonably well with measurements, with an approximate factor-of-two uncertainty due to the short length of the study, inconsistencies in the observational data sets, and systematic biases in modeled LNO x production. Further research into the regional dependencies of lightning flash rates and LNO x production per flash, along with improvements in satellite retrievals, should help resolve the discrepancies that currently exist between the model and observations.

show abstract

“…deep convection), threshold is the value of precon below which the flash rate is assumed to equal zero, D is a scaling factor chosen so that the domainaveraged model flash rate equals a specified value, α is a local adjustment factor calculated after D and chosen so that the monthly average model-calculated flash rate for each grid box equals a specified value (e.g. Allen et al, 2010;Martini et al, 2011). The threshold is set to 0 for these simulations because for a pressure threshold of 450 hPa, the mean spatial coverage of deep convection in the meteorological model is less than the mean spatial coverage of lightning flashes.…”

Section: Specification Of Lightning-no Source In Cmaqmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of lightning-NO on eastern United States photochemistry during the summer of 2006 as determined using the CMAQ model

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.A lightning-nitrogen oxide (NO) algorithm is implemented in the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) and used to evaluate the impact of lightning-NO emissions (LNO x ) on tropospheric photochemistry over the United States during the summer of 2006.For a 500 mole per flash lightning-NO source, the mean summertime tropospheric NO 2 column agrees with satelliteretrieved columns to within −5 to +13 %. Temporal fluctuations in the column are moderately well simulated; however, the addition of LNO x does not lead to a better simulation of day-to-day variability. The contribution of lightning-NO to the model column ranges from ∼10 % in the northern US to >45 % in the south-central and southeastern US. Lightning-NO adds up to 20 ppbv to upper tropospheric model ozone and 1.5-4.5 ppbv to 8-h maximum surface layer ozone, although, on average, the contribution of LNO x to model surface ozone is 1-2 ppbv less on poor air quality days. LNO x increases wet deposition of oxidized nitrogen by 43 % and total deposition of nitrogen by 10 %. This additional deposition reduces the mean magnitude of the CMAQ low-bias in nitrate wet deposition with respect to National Atmospheric Deposition monitors to near zero.Differences in urban/rural biases between model and satellite-retrieved NO 2 columns were examined to identify possible problems in model chemistry and/or transport. CMAQ columns were too large over urban areas. Biases at other locations were minor after accounting for the impacts of lightning-NO emissions and the averaging kernel on model columns.In order to obtain an upper bound on the contribution of uncertainties in NO y chemistry to upper tropospheric NO x low biases, sensitivity calculations with updated chemistry were run for the time period of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-A) field campaign (summer 2004). After adjusting for possible interferences in NO 2 measurements and averaging over the entire campaign, these updates reduced 7-9 km biases from 32 to 17 % and 9-12 km biases from 57 to 46 %. While these changes lead to better agreement, a considerable unexplained NO 2 low-bias remains in the uppermost troposphere.

show abstract

The impact of North American anthropogenic emissions and lightning on long-range transport of trace gases and their export from the continent during summers 2002 and 2004

Cited by 21 publications

References 91 publications

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

Sensitivity of tropical tropospheric composition to lightning NO_x production as determined by replay simulations with GEOS‐5

Impact of lightning-NO on eastern United States photochemistry during the summer of 2006 as determined using the CMAQ model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The impact of North American anthropogenic emissions and lightning on long-range transport of trace gases and their export from the continent during summers 2002 and 2004

Cited by 21 publications

References 91 publications

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

Sensitivity of tropical tropospheric composition to lightning NOx production as determined by replay simulations with GEOS‐5

Impact of lightning-NO on eastern United States photochemistry during the summer of 2006 as determined using the CMAQ model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

First estimates of global free-tropospheric NO<sub>2</sub> abundances derived using a cloud-slicing technique applied to satellite observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

Sensitivity of tropical tropospheric composition to lightning NO_x production as determined by replay simulations with GEOS‐5