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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L03817, doi:10.1029/2007GL032300, 2008

Carbon monoxide pollution from cities and urban areas observed by the Terra/MOPITT mission

Cathy Clerbaux

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


David P. Edwards

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Merritt Deeter

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Louisa Emmons

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Jean-François Lamarque

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Xue Xi Tie

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Steve T. Massie

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


John Gille

Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA


Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a key species for tracking pollution plumes. The Measurement Of Pollution in The Troposphere (MOPITT) mission onboard the Terra satellite has already provided 7.5 years of CO atmospheric concentration measurements around the globe. Limited sensitivity to the boundary layer is well known to be a weakness of nadir looking thermal infrared sounders. This paper investigates the possibility of using the MOPITT surface measurements to detect CO emitted by cities and urban centers. By selecting the data and averaging them over long time periods, we demonstrate that the CO pollution arising from the large cities and urban areas can be distinguished from the background transported pollution. The more favorable observations are obtained during daytime and at locations where the thermal contrast (temperature gradient) between the surface and lower atmosphere is significant.

Received 21 October 2007; accepted 31 December 2007; published 15 February 2008.

Keywords: carbon monoxide; MOPITT; pollution.

Index Terms: 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 0325 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Evolution of the atmosphere (1610, 8125); 0340 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry; 0341 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Middle atmosphere: constituent transport and chemistry (3334); 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional (0305, 0478, 4251).

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Citation: Clerbaux, C., D. P. Edwards, M. Deeter, L. Emmons, J.-F. Lamarque, X. X. Tie, S. T. Massie, and J. Gille (2008), Carbon monoxide pollution from cities and urban areas observed by the Terra/MOPITT mission, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L03817, doi:10.1029/2007GL032300.