Ground-based CO2 monitoring network design over India to constrain the regional terrestrial fluxes

The present study aims to design an optimal CO₂ monitoring network over India to better constrain the Indian terrestrial surface fluxes using Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model FLEXPART and Bayesian inversion methods. Prior and posterior cost functions are calculated using potential emission sensitivity from FLEXPART, prior flux uncertainties from CASA-GFED biosphere fluxes and CDIAC fossil fuel fluxes, and assumed uniform observational uncertainty of 2 ppm. A total of 73 regular grid cells are identified over the Indian land mass in 2°x2° latitude by longitude resolution assuming each cell can hold a potential site. Further, using incremental optimization methodology, the effectiveness of CO₂ observations from these locations to reduce the Indian terrestrial flux uncertainty is quantified. The study is carried out in three parts. Firstly, we evaluated the existing stations over India in terms of reduction in uncertainty brought out by them in the surface flux estimation over the Indian landmass. This provides a unique opportunity for the representative stations to restart the observational programs based on their role in the flux estimation. In second part, we devised a methodology to design an extended network by adding a few more potential stations to the existing stations. Thirdly, we identified a completely new set of optimal stations for measuring atmospheric CO₂ over India, which do not have any liabilities of pre-existing stations. The study depicts that the existing stations could bring down the uncertainty in the range of 18% to 36%. Among the existing stations, Kharagpur, Sagar, Shadnagar, Kodaikanal and Pondicherry are the best stations, which are indeed adding value to the CO₂ flux inversions by reducing the uncertainty in the range of 4% to 13%. Addition of five new stations to the base network formed an extended network, which could reduce the uncertainty by an additional 15% for all the seasons reaching up to 45%. The new stations are mainly located over the east and north-east India with few exceptions during post-monsoon where stations are identified over the west and south India as well. The study identified 12 stations for each season and formed a ‘new network’ that could achieve the equivalent uncertainty reduction as compared with the 14 stations in the ‘extended network’. From this, an ‘optimal network’ and the best network consisting of 17 stations were identified that could best represent flux scenario and transport over India in all the four seasons. In northeast India, flux uncertainty is quite large, also the prevailing westerly wind in most parts of the year contributes to the surface CO₂ signature of India to that location, demanding requirement of CO₂ observations throughout the year. The study highlights a major zone of CO₂ ‘observational void’ that exists in potential locations near east and northeast parts of India. Immediate requirement of CO₂ monitoring initiative in these areas is highly recommended.