EGU21-6767
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6767
EGU General Assembly 2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Validation of the greenhouse gases observing satellite GOSAT using an ensemble of COCCON spectrometers

Matthias M. Frey1, Darko Dubravica2, Isamu Morino1, Hirofumi Ohyama1, Akihiro Hori1, Thomas Blumenstock2, Frank Hase2, Jochen Gross2, Qiansi Tu2, Nicole Jacobs3, William R. Simpson3, Dimitrios Balis4, Marios Mermigkas4, Jonathan E. Franklin5, and Elaine Gottlieb5
Matthias M. Frey et al.
  • 1National Institute for Environmental Studies, Center for Global Environmental Research, Japan
  • 2Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe, Germany
  • 3Department of Chemistry and the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
  • 4School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
  • 5School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) play a crucial role with respect to global warming. Therefore, precise and accurate observations of anthropogenic GHGs, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), are of utmost importance for the estimation of their emission strengths, flux changes and long-term monitoring. Satellite observations are well suited for this task as they provide global coverage. However, like all measurements these need to be validated. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) performs ground-based observations of GHGs with reference precision using high-resolution Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. TCCON data are of high accuracy as TCCON uses species dependent scaling factors derived from in-situ reference measurements to be calibrated to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reference scale. For several satellites measuring GHGs TCCON data are the main validation source.

To further improve the global coverage of FTIR spectrometers and complement TCCON especially in remote areas, the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON) was established. Until now the focus of COCCON was on the quality control of EM27/SUN spectrometers and dedicated campaigns to estimate emission strengths of CO2 and CH4 from local and regional sources, e.g. from cities, fracking areas or mining sites.

Here we present a global validation of the Greenhouse Gases Observation Satellite GOSAT using multiple spectrometers from the COCCON network. The COCCON instruments are stationed in Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Namibia, Sweden and the USA. The sites span a range of different atmospheric and observing conditions, from subtropical to subpolar regions, including boreal forests and deserts, low and high albedo surfaces, polluted and clean areas. Overall, we find a good agreement between GOSAT and COCCON measurements.

How to cite: Frey, M. M., Dubravica, D., Morino, I., Ohyama, H., Hori, A., Blumenstock, T., Hase, F., Gross, J., Tu, Q., Jacobs, N., Simpson, W. R., Balis, D., Mermigkas, M., Franklin, J. E., and Gottlieb, E.: Validation of the greenhouse gases observing satellite GOSAT using an ensemble of COCCON spectrometers, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-6767, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6767, 2021.