Seasonal variation of the O3–CO correlation derived from remote sensing measurements over western Japan

Abstract

We used a lower tropospheric ozone column (LTOC) and column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon monoxide (XCO) data observed in the area around Saga, which is located in western Japan and is close to the Asian continent, with an aim to investigate whether these data can characterize the seasonal variation of the photochemical ozone (O3) formation in the northeast Asian Pacific rim region. The LTOC data after April 2009 were retrieved from thermal infrared spectra measured by the Thermal and Near Infrared Sensor for Carbon Observation-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) onboard the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). The XCO data after July 2011 were obtained from ground-based high-resolution FTS measurements at Saga. The retrieved LTOCs were validated with those derived from a differential absorption lidar for O3 at Saga. The LTOCs showed a distinct seasonal variation that reached a maximum in late spring (May or June) and a local minimum in winter. In addition to the general seasonal pattern, we observed pronounced minimums in July or August. The XCO concentrations showed a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer. These seasonal patterns are consistent with those observed from mountainous sites in Japan. The origins of the air masses reaching Saga were characterized for each season according to backward trajectories, and the factors causing the temporal variations of the LTOCs and the XCO were identified based on the transport paths of the air masses. The enhancement of the LTOC relative to the XCO (ΔO3/ΔCO ratio) reveals significant positive correlations in the spring and summer seasons with slopes of 0.21 and 0.45 ppb/ppb, respectively. The effects of stratospheric air intrusion on the observed ΔO3/ΔCO ratio in spring were investigated using meteorological data (backward trajectory and potential vorticity) and column-averaged hydrogen fluoride data derived from the ground-based FTS measurements. It was found that there was little contribution of the stratospheric intrusion. This suggests that the positive correlations of the ΔO3/ΔCO ratio are likely to be a result of photochemical O3 production in the troposphere.