Insights into the long-term (2005–2021) spatiotemporal evolution of summer ozone production sensitivity in the Northern Hemisphere derived with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

Abstract

Abstract. Tropospheric ozone (O3) formation depends on the relative abundance of precursor species, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Advancements in satellite retrievals of formaldehyde (HCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical column densities (VCDs), and the corresponding HCHO/NO2 ratios (FNRs), provide the opportunity to diagnose the spatiotemporal evolution of O3 production sensitivity regimes. This study investigates trends of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)-derived summertime VCD HCHO, NO2, and FNRs in the Northern Hemisphere from 2005 to 2021. FNR trends were analyzed for polluted regions, specifically for 46 highly populated cities, over the entire 17-year period and in 2020 when global anthropogenic emissions were reduced due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. It was determined that OMI-derived FNRs have increased on average by ∼ 65 % across cities in the Northern Hemisphere. Increasing OMI-derived FNRs indicates a general transition from radical-limited to NOx-limited regimes. The increasing trend is driven by reduced NO2 concentrations because of emission-control strategies of NOx. OMI FNR trends were compared to ground-based in situ measurements in US cities, and it was determined that they can capture the trends in increasing FNRs (R=0.91) and decreasing NO2 (R=0.98) occurring at the surface. OMI FNRs in urban areas were higher (∼ 20 %) in 2020 for most cities studied here compared to 2019 and 2021. In addition to studying the longest period of OMI FNRs across the Northern Hemisphere to date, the capabilities and challenges of using satellite VCD FNRs to study surface-level O3 production sensitivity regimes are discussed.