Comparison Of Satellite Observations Research Articles

Equinoctial Asymmetry in the Upper Ionosphere: Comparison of Satellite Observations and Models

AbstractThe terrestrial ionosphere displays significant equinoctial asymmetry despite the upper atmosphere receiving similar levels of solar ionization energy at a given location and local time in March and September during similar solar activity conditions. This intriguing feature is not well understood or modeled, particularly in the upper ionosphere, and causes of the asymmetry are not fully established and quantified. Yet, their study is important to provide better insights into the atmosphere‐ionosphere coupling processes. Analysis of Langmuir probe data from ESA's Swarm B satellite at ∼525 km altitude reveals that the daytime electron density is larger for all latitudes during the March equinox than during the September equinox, while the electron temperature shows an inverted asymmetry except at low latitudes. Simultaneously obtained neutral density data from Swarm GPS accelerations indicate that the thermosphere is denser during the March equinox. The asymmetry seen by Swarm electron density observations is also present in electron densities obtained using GPS radio occultation measurements from the COSMIC satellites. Simulations were performed using physics‐based ionosphere models (SAMI3, WACCM‐X, and TIE‐GCM) to determine their ability to produce the observed asymmetry, understand the generation mechanism(s), and establish the relative role of physical drivers. Results produced by TIE‐GCM are closest to the observations when seasonally varying eddy diffusivity is considered in the model. The asymmetry produced by other models is noticeably weaker. Modeling of the asymmetry by SAMI3 driven with the TIE‐GCM neutral atmosphere shows that both neutral density and winds play a critical role, but the density has a greater effect.

On the performance of satellite-based observations of <i>X</i>CO<sub>2</sub> in capturing the NOAA Carbon Tracker model and ground-based flask observations over Africa's land mass

Abstract. Africa is one of the most data-scarce regions as satellite observation at the Equator is limited by cloud cover and there is a very limited number of ground-based measurements. As a result, the use of simulations from models is mandatory to fill this data gap. A comparison of satellite observation with model and available in situ observations will be useful to estimate the performance of satellites in the region. In this study, GOSAT column-averaged carbon dioxide dry-air mole fraction (XCO2) is compared with the NOAA CT2016 and six flask observations over Africa using 5 years of data covering the period from May 2009 to April 2014. Ditto for OCO-2 XCO2 against NOAA CT16NRT17 and eight flask observations over Africa using 2 years of data covering the period from January 2015 to December 2016. The analysis shows that the XCO2 from GOSAT is higher than XCO2 simulated by CT2016 by 0.28±1.05 ppm, whereas OCO-2 XCO2 is lower than CT16NRT17 by 0.34±0.9 ppm on the African land mass on average. The mean correlations of 0.83±1.12 and 0.60±1.41 and average root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 2.30±1.45 and 2.57±0.89 ppm are found between the model and the respective datasets from GOSAT and OCO-2, implying the existence of a reasonably good agreement between CT and the two satellites over Africa's land region. However, significant variations were observed in some regions. For example, OCO-2 XCO2 are lower than that of CT16NRT17 by up to 3 ppm over some regions in North Africa (e.g. Egypt, Libya, and Mali), whereas it exceeds CT16NRT17 XCO2 by 2 ppm over Equatorial Africa (10∘ S–10∘ N). This regional difference is also noted in the comparison of model simulations and satellite observations with flask observations over the continent. For example, CT shows a better sensitivity in capturing flask observations over sites located in North Africa. In contrast, satellite observations have better sensitivity in capturing flask observations in lower-altitude island sites. CT2016 shows a high spatial mean of seasonal mean RMSD of 1.91 ppm during DJF with respect to GOSAT, while CT16NRT17 shows 1.75 ppm during MAM with respect to OCO-2. On the other hand, low RMSDs of 1.00 and 1.07 ppm during SON in the model XCO2 with respect to GOSAT and OCO-2 are respectively determined, indicating better agreement during autumn. The model simulation and satellite observations exhibit similar seasonal cycles of XCO2 with a small discrepancy over Southern Africa (35–10∘ S) and during wet seasons over all regions.

Analysis of the Transport of Aerosols over the North Tropical Atlantic Ocean Using Time Series of POLDER/PARASOL Satellite Data

The time series of total, fine and coarse POLAC/PARASOL aerosol optical depth (AOD) satellite products (2005–2013) processed by the POLAC algorithm are examined to investigate the transport of aerosols over the North Tropical Atlantic Ocean, a region that is characterized by significant dust aerosols events. First, the comparison of satellite observations with ground-based measurements acquired by AERONET ground-based measurements shows a satisfactory consistency for both total AOD and coarse mode AOD (i.e., correlation coefficients of 0.75 and bias ranging from −0.03 to 0.03), thus confirming the robustness and performance of POLAC/PARASOL data to investigate the spatio-temporal variability of the aerosols over the study area. Regarding fine mode aerosol, POLAC/PARASOL data present a lower performance with correlation coefficient ranging from 0.37 to 0.73. Second, the analysis of POLAC/PARASOL aerosol climatology reveals a high contribution of the coarse mode of aerosols ( AOD c between 0.1 and 0.4) at long distance from the African sources, confirming previous studies related to dust transport. The POLAC/PARASOL data were also compared with aerosol data obtained over the North Tropical Atlantic Ocean from MACC and MERRA-2 reanalyses. It is observed that the total AOD is underestimated in both reanalysis with a negative bias reaching −0.2. In summary, our results thus suggest that satellite POLAC/PARASOL observations of fine and coarse modes of aerosols could provide additional constraints useful to improve the quantification of the dust direct radiative forcing on a regional scale but also the biogeochemical processes such as nutrient supply to the surface waters.

Global and regional model simulations of atmospheric ammonia

Ammonia (NH3) is a basic gas of significant atmospheric interest because of its role in the possible formation of fine particulates and because it is a source of fixed nitrogen in soils and plants. NH3 processing in the atmosphere has been simulated using two 3-D models: the global chemistry transport model, STOCHEM-CRI and the regional coupled meteorological-chemical model, WRF-Chem-CRI. From analysis of STOCHEM-CRI simulations, NH3 removal fluxes of dry deposition (24.6 Tg(N)/yr), wet deposition (20.8 Tg(N)/yr), NH4+ formation (25.6 Tg(N)/yr) and reaction with OH (1.7 Tg(N)/yr) have been calculated, making a global annual average burden of 0.22 Tg(N) and life-time of 1.1 days. The gas-phase loss by OH, NO3 and stabilized Criegee intermediates contribute 2.3%, <1% and < 1%, respectively to the total global loss of tropospheric NH3. The highest concentrations of NH3 are found to be in the region of South and East Asia, which are associated mostly with agricultural NH3 emissions. Loss of surface NH3 by reaction with OH increases by up to 25% along the equator because of the abundances of ozone. Comparison of satellite observations and model results give a better understanding of the temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric NH3 on a global and regional scales. Using the anthropogenic seasonal NH3 emission class in the model gives a poor representation of seasonal NH3. The positive bias in Africa and South America for all seasons is likely due to undetermined sources in the model such as underestimated biomass burning emissions of NH3 adopted in the model. The regional model results over North-West Europe during summer months are biased low compared with the measurements- suggesting either missing sources, or too efficient loss processes in the region.

Spectrally Consistent Scattering, Absorption, and Polarization Properties of Atmospheric Ice Crystals at Wavelengths from 0.2 to 100 μm

Abstract A data library is developed containing the scattering, absorption, and polarization properties of ice particles in the spectral range from 0.2 to 100 μm. The properties are computed based on a combination of the Amsterdam discrete dipole approximation (ADDA), the T-matrix method, and the improved geometric optics method (IGOM). The electromagnetic edge effect is incorporated into the extinction and absorption efficiencies computed from the IGOM. A full set of single-scattering properties is provided by considering three-dimensional random orientations for 11 ice crystal habits: droxtals, prolate spheroids, oblate spheroids, solid and hollow columns, compact aggregates composed of eight solid columns, hexagonal plates, small spatial aggregates composed of 5 plates, large spatial aggregates composed of 10 plates, and solid and hollow bullet rosettes. The maximum dimension of each habit ranges from 2 to 10 000 μm in 189 discrete sizes. For each ice crystal habit, three surface roughness conditions (i.e., smooth, moderately roughened, and severely roughened) are considered to account for the surface texture of large particles in the IGOM applicable domain. The data library contains the extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, six independent nonzero elements of the phase matrix (P11, P12, P22, P33, P43, and P44), particle projected area, and particle volume to provide the basic single-scattering properties for remote sensing applications and radiative transfer simulations involving ice clouds. Furthermore, a comparison of satellite observations and theoretical simulations for the polarization characteristics of ice clouds demonstrates that ice cloud optical models assuming severely roughened ice crystals significantly outperform their counterparts assuming smooth ice crystals.

Quasi-periodic ELF/VLF wave emissions in the Earth's magnetosphere: comparison of satellite observations and modeling

Abstract. We present the results of a case study of quasi-periodic (QP) ELF/VLF hiss emissions detected on board the Freja and Magion 5 satellites. Detailed analysis of available QP events revealed certain specific features of their dynamic spectra, which have not been reported earlier. In particular, we found an event with an increase in the frequency drift rate during the generation of a single element of QP emission, and an event with alteration of QP elements having different frequency drift rates. Another event demonstrates the possible relationship between QP hiss emissions and discrete VLF emissions. Properties of QP events are compared with parameters of energetic electrons and cold plasma, and other available data. Possible scenarios for the formation of these emissions are discussed on the basis of self-consistent simulations of the cyclotron instability, employing the information obtained experimentally. It is shown that the generation regime of self-sustained pulsations can explain consistently our data set. We show that our numerical model is capable of explaining the mentioned specific features of the dynamic spectrum of QP emissions. Comparison of the modeling results with experimental data yields an estimate for the parameters not measured directly. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (plasma waves and instabilities; energetic particles, precipitating; energetic particles, trapped)

A Comparison of Satellite Observations and Model Simulations of Column-Integrated Moisture and Upper-Tropospheric Humidity

Abstract Water vapor distributions obtained from the fourth generation ECHAM general circulation model are compared with satellite observations of total precipitable water (TPW) from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/1) and upper-tropospheric relative humidity (UTH) from TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS). In general, the model simulators agree well with satellite observations of the climatological mean, seasonal variation, and interannual variation of moisture. There are, however, biases in the details. Underestimates in TPW and UTH are found off the west coast of continents, especially in the boreal summer over the eastern subtropical Pacific. These biases are related to both enhanced dry advection due to an excessively strong subtropical high and greater large-scale subsidence. A more intense tropical circulation in ECHAM4 is evidenced by the broadening of the high TPW and UTH zone that coincides with the equatorial convective regions. Additionally, interannual anomalies in equatorial U...