View source for Papers:Fu et al 2007

'''Abstract |''' We use a continuous 6-year record (1996–2001) of GOME satellite measurements of
formaldehyde (HCHO) columns over east and south Asia to improve regional emission
estimates of reactive nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), including
isoprene, alkenes, HCHO, and xylenes. Mean monthly HCHO observations are
compared to simulated HCHO columns from the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model
using state-of-science, ‘‘bottom-up’’ emission inventories from Streets et al. (2003a)
for anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions and Guenther et al. (2006) for biogenic
emissions (MEGAN). We find that wintertime GOME observations can diagnose
anthropogenic reactive NMVOC emissions from China, leading to an estimate 25% higher
than Streets et al. (2003a). We attribute the difference to vehicular emissions. The
biomass burning source for east and south Asia is almost 5 times the estimate of Streets et
al. (2003a). GOME reveals a large source from agricultural burning in the North China
Plain in June missing from current inventories. This source may reflect a recent trend
toward in-field burning of crop residues as the need for biofuels diminishes. Biogenic
isoprene emission in east and south Asia derived from GOME is 56 ± 30 Tg/yr, similar
to 52 Tg/yr from MEGAN. We find, however, that MEGAN underestimates emissions
in China and overestimates emissions in the tropics. The higher Chinese biogenic and
biomass burning emissions revealed by GOME have important implications for ozone
pollution. We find 5 to 20 ppb seasonal increases in surface ozone in GEOS-Chem for
central and northern China when using GOME-derived versus bottom-up emissions.
Our methodology can be adapted for other regions of the world to provide top-down
constraints on NMVOC emissions where multiple emission source types overlap in space
and time.

'''Publication |''' '''Fu, T.-M.*''', D. J. Jacob, P. I. Palmer, K. Chance, Y. X. Wang, B. Barletta, D. R. Blake, J. C. Stanton, M. J. Pilling (2007), Space-based formaldehyde measurements as constraints on volatile organic compound emissions in East and South Asia, ''J. Geophys. Res.'', 112, D06312, doi:10.1029/2006JD007853. [http://atmoschem.org.cn/papers/Fu_et_al_2007_Journal_of_Geophysical_Research.pdf PDF]