Abstract
Abstract. Alberta is Canada's largest oil producer, and its oil sands deposits comprise 30% of the world's oil reserves. The process of bitumen extraction and upgrading releases trace gases and aerosols to the atmosphere. In this study we present satellite-based analysis to explore, for the first time, various contributing factors that affect tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) levels over Alberta. The multispectral product that uses both near-infrared (NIR) and the thermal-infrared (TIR) radiances for CO retrieval from the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) is examined for the 12-year period from 2002 to 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal anomaly product from 2001 to 2013 is employed to investigate the seasonal and temporal variations in forest fires. Additionally, in situ CO measurements at industrial and urban sites are compared to satellite data. Furthermore, the available MOZAIC/IAGOS (Measurement of Ozone, Water Vapor, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide by Airbus In-Service Aircraft/In service Aircraft for Global Observing System) aircraft CO profiles (April 2009–December 2011) are used to validate MOPITT CO data. The climatological time curtain plot and spatial maps for CO over northern Alberta indicate the signatures of transported CO for two distinct biomass burning seasons: summer and spring. Distinct seasonal patterns of CO at the urban sites (Edmonton and Calgary) point to the strong influence of traffic. Meteorological parameters play an important role in the CO spatial distribution at various pressure levels. Northern Alberta shows a stronger upward lifting motion which leads to larger CO total column values, while the poor dispersion in central and southern Alberta exacerbates the surface CO pollution. Interannual variations in satellite data depict a slightly decreasing trend for both regions, while the decline trend is more evident from ground observations, especially at the urban sites. MOPITT CO vertical averages and MOZAIC/IAGOS aircraft profiles were in good agreement within the standard deviations at all pressure levels. There is consistency between the time evolution of high-CO episodes monitored by satellite and ground measurements and the fire frequency peak time, which implies that biomass burning has affected the tropospheric CO distribution in northern Alberta. These findings have further demonstrated the potential use of the MOPITT V5 multispectral (NIR + TIR) product for assessing a complicated surface process.
Highlights
Canada’s crude oil reserves represent the world’s third largest after Saudi Arabia, and Canada is currently the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil (CAPP, 2012)
Data were obtained from the Land Atmosphere Near-real time Capability for Earth Observing System (EOS) (LANCE) system operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/GSFC/Earth Science Data
This indicates that northern Alberta is affected more by carbon monoxide (CO) plumes transported vertically above the planetary boundary layer (PBL), whereas cities such as Edmonton and Calgary are more influenced by local emissions confined in the PBL, which is more pronounced over the Edmonton area
Summary
Canada’s crude oil reserves represent the world’s third largest after Saudi Arabia, and Canada is currently the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil (CAPP, 2012). A complementary approach to surface and aircraft measurements is satellitebased monitoring, which can provide large spatial coverage and allow for making measurements over extended periods of time, allowing the study of the impact of intense emission sources on regional- and global-scale air quality. Despite the emerging importance of using satellite in air quality applications, there had been no studies published using them over Alberta until 2012, when McLinden et al (2012) employed the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instrument for NO2 and SO2 assessment over the AOSR They presented high-resolution maps that revealed distinct increases above background levels for both species over the area of intensive surface mining. The contribution of forest fires to CO levels in the AOSR is analyzed using MODIS fire counts
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