Leonid Yurganov | Independent Researcher (original) (raw)
Papers by Leonid Yurganov
Preprints.org, Dec 24, 2023
Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This... more Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from
satellites. This gas can be used as a proxy for carbon dioxide. Forest fires play an important role in
the carbon balance and in particular the CO balance. The most likely causes of mega-fires of 2003,
2012, 2021, and 2023 in the Northern hemisphere are heat waves and severe droughts associated
with changes in general circulation. Here we analyze satellite data obtained by two different
sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI. Different sensitivity to the lowest troposphere allows obtaining
information about anthropogenic or pyrogenic contamination of the boundary layer. Shapes of areas
polluted by mega-fires in 2019-2020 (Southeastern Australia) and 2021 (Central Siberia) coincide
with the areas occupied by coal deposits. The Siberian Lena and Tunguska coal basins are the two
largest coal fields in the world. In 2021, their combined area accounted for 90% of fire CO
emission from the entire Russian Federation. So strong fires have not observed in this area before.
Under- and sub-ground coal combustion may be included into the list of wildfire fuels, at least their
role for ignition should be admitted. Further research is needed to assess the importance of coal fires
to global climate.
Science of The Total Environment, 1995
Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in ... more Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in the Russian Arctic (from Sevemaya Zemlya to Wrangel Island, including the drifting station in the central part of the Arctic Basin). CO was found to decrease from early spring to summer, both in central Russia and in the Arctic; absolute mean CO abundances in both regions differed little. Vertically averaged CO mixing ratios over Zvenigorod were compared with those measured in the surface layer at Point Barrow, Alaska, between July 1988 and December 1990. Good agreement between them was observed in summer; in winter and early spring, however, the CO mixing ratios for Barrow were 40% greater than for Zvenigorod. This difference is most likely explained by CO becoming concentrated under the Arctic inversion layer in winter. The mean tropospheric mixing ratio over Zvenigorod increased at a rate of 0.7 f 0.2% year-' during the period between 1970 and 1993. This increase was not steady; during 1970-1982 it was larger, w 1.5% year-'. Long-term variations in both sources and sinks of CO could be responsible for these phenomena.
AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, May 1, 2004
Supplementary Material S1. Detailed Currents and Bathymetry Figure S1. Bathymetry and currents ar... more Supplementary Material S1. Detailed Currents and Bathymetry Figure S1. Bathymetry and currents around Svalbard. Bathymetry from Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (2016). Currents adapted from Stiansen et al. (2009). Dashed black line shows the Barents Front location, Dashed currents are submerged; blue-cold, yellow-warm. Currents and flows around Svalbard Archipelago are complex (Supp. Fig. S1), dominated by the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC), which is the northerly fork of the Norwegian Atlantic Current (NAC), and flows northwards off the west coast of Spitsbergen. The cold, Percy Current (PC) flows southwest off the eastern shores of the Svalbard Archipelago. The cold East Spitsbergen Current (ESC) flows through the Hinlopen Strait and then joins the PC to flow around the south cape of Spitsbergen as the Sørkapp Current (SC), following the coast northwards as the Spitsbergen Coastal Current (SCC) (Svendsen et al., 2002). The cold SCC flows inshore of the WSC, and flows up Svalbard's western coast, inshore and shallower than the warm, Atlantic WSC. The interface between these two currents off west Spitsbergen forms a part of the Barents Front. Thus, coastal waters offshore West Spitsbergen are of Arctic Ocean origin, whereas further offshore lies Barents Sea water (origin Atlantic Ocean). The location of the Barents Sea Polar Front (Oziel et al., 2016) is semi-permanent and controlled by seabed topography (Fig. S1), particularly the Svalbard Bank and Grand Bank and the trough to the southwest of Svalbard.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2019
spectrometer provides a resolution of nearly 0.2 cm -1 in the 2,000 cm-1 to 3,500 cm-1 spectral r... more spectrometer provides a resolution of nearly 0.2 cm -1 in the 2,000 cm-1 to 3,500 cm-1 spectral region. A thermoelectrically cooled PbSe detector and PC-based data acquisition system were used. The precision of a single measurement (i.e., the standard deviation of points for a day with steady conditions) is typically 4% to 6%. Normally 20 to 30 spectra per day were observed; therefore, a statistical 1-sigma uncertainty of the daily average was about 1%. Statistical uncertainty in the monthly mean amounted to 3% to -5%. The analysis of total-column spectroscopic CO observations revealed a positive linear trend between 1970 and 1999 of about 0.96 ppbv/yr or 0.9% per year. This rate of CO growth is almost 3 times higher than the rate between 1920 and 1950, obtained from ice core data. Sensitivities of CO mixing ratio in the troposphere to changes in total ozone and stratospheric aerosol have been assessed from the smoothed monthly measurements. Corrections due to unstable aerosol and t...
preprint, 2023
Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This ... more Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This gas can be used as a proxy for carbon dioxide. Forest fires play an important role in the carbon balance and in particular the CO balance. The most likely causes of mega-fires of 2003, 2012, 2021, and 2023 in the Northern hemisphere are heat waves and severe droughts associated with changes in general circulation. Here we analyze satellite data obtained by two different sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI. Different sensitivity to the lowest troposphere allows obtaining information about anthropogenic or pyrogenic contamination of the boundary layer. Shapes of areas polluted by mega-fires in 2019-2020 (Southeastern Australia) and 2021 (Central Siberia) coincide with the areas occupied by coal deposits. The Siberian Lena and Tunguska coal basins are the two largest coal fields in the world. In 2021, their combined area accounted for 90% of fire CO emission from the entire Russian Federation. So strong fires have not observed in this area before. Underand sub-ground coal combustion may be included into the list of wildfire fuels, at least their role for ignition should be admitted. Further research is needed to assess the importance of coal fires to global climate.
AGUFM, Dec 1, 2012
Sonar image of methane plumes rising from the Arctic Ocean floor (Image: National Oceanography Ce... more Sonar image of methane plumes rising from the Arctic Ocean floor (Image: National Oceanography Centre, Southampton) “Burning ice” Methane is 20-25 times stronger (per molecule) absorber of IR radiation than CO2: bands of CH4 are less saturated than those of CO2. Arctic atmosphere and ocean are warming now. Methane emission from natural sources (wetlands, permafrost, methane hydrates) is expected to increase with temperature, that makes the positive feed-back (self-supporting growth) possible. The amount of methane in the Arctic hydrates alone is estimated as 400 times more than the global atmospheric CH4 burden! The question is timescale of the methane liberation: gradual, abrupt, or something in between. Satellite monitoring of methane over the Arctic Ocean is necessary. Motivation, Background, Goal.
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2020
Atmospheric Research, May 1, 1997
Biomass burning is an important and changing component of the global and hemispheric carbon cycle... more Biomass burning is an important and changing component of the global and hemispheric carbon cycles. In particular, boreal forest fires in Russia and Canada are important sources of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The influence of carbon monoxide (CO) on the climate is insignificant: its main absorption bands of 4.6 and 2.3 μm are far away from the climatically important regions of the spectrum. Meanwhile, CO concentrations in fire plumes are closely related to CO2 and CH4 emissions from fires. On the other hand, satellite measurements of CO are much simpler than those for the aforementioned gases. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) provides a long satellite-based CO data set. This article presents estimates of CO emissions from biomass burning north of 30° N using a simple two-box model. These results correlate closely with independently estimated CO emissions from the GFED4 bottom-up data base. Both ones reported record high emissions in 2021 throughout two decades, double the annual emissions comparing to the previous a few years. There have been several years with extreme emissions, but for the rest of data upward trend with a rate of 3.7 ± 2.3 Tg CO yr-2 (4.4 ± 2.8% per year), was found.
Science of The Total Environment, 1995
Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in ... more Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in the Russian Arctic (from Sevemaya Zemlya to Wrangel Island, including the drifting station in the central part of the Arctic Basin). CO was found to decrease from early spring to summer, both in central Russia and in the Arctic; absolute mean CO abundances in both regions differed little. Vertically averaged CO mixing ratios over Zvenigorod were compared with those measured in the surface layer at Point Barrow, Alaska, between July 1988 and December 1990. Good agreement between them was observed in summer; in winter and early spring, however, the CO mixing ratios for Barrow were 40% greater than for Zvenigorod. This difference is most likely explained by CO becoming concentrated under the Arctic inversion layer in winter. The mean tropospheric mixing ratio over Zvenigorod increased at a rate of 0.7 f 0.2% year-' during the period between 1970 and 1993. This increase was not steady; during 1970-1982 it was larger, w 1.5% year-'. Long-term variations in both sources and sinks of CO could be responsible for these phenomena.
During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS)/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Clima... more During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS)/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS), AIRS and TES Science Team members provided flight planning support for NASA and NOAA aircraft, large scale context for NOAA, EPA, and State of Texas surface measurements, and contributions to post-mission modeling analyses and the Rapid Science Synthesis (RSS) Report. We present results from our ongoing integrated analysis using a number of A-Train observations to investigate tropospheric chemistry and dynamics over the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS study area (Texas, surrounding states, the Gulf of Mexico, and bordering countries). Focusing on one pollution event over Houston, Texas on August 30-Sept 1, AIRS and TES retrievals of tropospheric CO indicate distant biomass burning contributed to poor air quality in Houston. Closer examination of AIRS and TES tropospheric ozone retrievals reveals additional features due to surface pollution, lightning, and stratospheric intrusions...
Preprints.org, Dec 24, 2023
Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This... more Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from
satellites. This gas can be used as a proxy for carbon dioxide. Forest fires play an important role in
the carbon balance and in particular the CO balance. The most likely causes of mega-fires of 2003,
2012, 2021, and 2023 in the Northern hemisphere are heat waves and severe droughts associated
with changes in general circulation. Here we analyze satellite data obtained by two different
sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI. Different sensitivity to the lowest troposphere allows obtaining
information about anthropogenic or pyrogenic contamination of the boundary layer. Shapes of areas
polluted by mega-fires in 2019-2020 (Southeastern Australia) and 2021 (Central Siberia) coincide
with the areas occupied by coal deposits. The Siberian Lena and Tunguska coal basins are the two
largest coal fields in the world. In 2021, their combined area accounted for 90% of fire CO
emission from the entire Russian Federation. So strong fires have not observed in this area before.
Under- and sub-ground coal combustion may be included into the list of wildfire fuels, at least their
role for ignition should be admitted. Further research is needed to assess the importance of coal fires
to global climate.
Science of The Total Environment, 1995
Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in ... more Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in the Russian Arctic (from Sevemaya Zemlya to Wrangel Island, including the drifting station in the central part of the Arctic Basin). CO was found to decrease from early spring to summer, both in central Russia and in the Arctic; absolute mean CO abundances in both regions differed little. Vertically averaged CO mixing ratios over Zvenigorod were compared with those measured in the surface layer at Point Barrow, Alaska, between July 1988 and December 1990. Good agreement between them was observed in summer; in winter and early spring, however, the CO mixing ratios for Barrow were 40% greater than for Zvenigorod. This difference is most likely explained by CO becoming concentrated under the Arctic inversion layer in winter. The mean tropospheric mixing ratio over Zvenigorod increased at a rate of 0.7 f 0.2% year-' during the period between 1970 and 1993. This increase was not steady; during 1970-1982 it was larger, w 1.5% year-'. Long-term variations in both sources and sinks of CO could be responsible for these phenomena.
AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, May 1, 2004
Supplementary Material S1. Detailed Currents and Bathymetry Figure S1. Bathymetry and currents ar... more Supplementary Material S1. Detailed Currents and Bathymetry Figure S1. Bathymetry and currents around Svalbard. Bathymetry from Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (2016). Currents adapted from Stiansen et al. (2009). Dashed black line shows the Barents Front location, Dashed currents are submerged; blue-cold, yellow-warm. Currents and flows around Svalbard Archipelago are complex (Supp. Fig. S1), dominated by the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC), which is the northerly fork of the Norwegian Atlantic Current (NAC), and flows northwards off the west coast of Spitsbergen. The cold, Percy Current (PC) flows southwest off the eastern shores of the Svalbard Archipelago. The cold East Spitsbergen Current (ESC) flows through the Hinlopen Strait and then joins the PC to flow around the south cape of Spitsbergen as the Sørkapp Current (SC), following the coast northwards as the Spitsbergen Coastal Current (SCC) (Svendsen et al., 2002). The cold SCC flows inshore of the WSC, and flows up Svalbard's western coast, inshore and shallower than the warm, Atlantic WSC. The interface between these two currents off west Spitsbergen forms a part of the Barents Front. Thus, coastal waters offshore West Spitsbergen are of Arctic Ocean origin, whereas further offshore lies Barents Sea water (origin Atlantic Ocean). The location of the Barents Sea Polar Front (Oziel et al., 2016) is semi-permanent and controlled by seabed topography (Fig. S1), particularly the Svalbard Bank and Grand Bank and the trough to the southwest of Svalbard.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2019
spectrometer provides a resolution of nearly 0.2 cm -1 in the 2,000 cm-1 to 3,500 cm-1 spectral r... more spectrometer provides a resolution of nearly 0.2 cm -1 in the 2,000 cm-1 to 3,500 cm-1 spectral region. A thermoelectrically cooled PbSe detector and PC-based data acquisition system were used. The precision of a single measurement (i.e., the standard deviation of points for a day with steady conditions) is typically 4% to 6%. Normally 20 to 30 spectra per day were observed; therefore, a statistical 1-sigma uncertainty of the daily average was about 1%. Statistical uncertainty in the monthly mean amounted to 3% to -5%. The analysis of total-column spectroscopic CO observations revealed a positive linear trend between 1970 and 1999 of about 0.96 ppbv/yr or 0.9% per year. This rate of CO growth is almost 3 times higher than the rate between 1920 and 1950, obtained from ice core data. Sensitivities of CO mixing ratio in the troposphere to changes in total ozone and stratospheric aerosol have been assessed from the smoothed monthly measurements. Corrections due to unstable aerosol and t...
preprint, 2023
Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This ... more Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in wildfire plumes are easily measured from satellites. This gas can be used as a proxy for carbon dioxide. Forest fires play an important role in the carbon balance and in particular the CO balance. The most likely causes of mega-fires of 2003, 2012, 2021, and 2023 in the Northern hemisphere are heat waves and severe droughts associated with changes in general circulation. Here we analyze satellite data obtained by two different sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI. Different sensitivity to the lowest troposphere allows obtaining information about anthropogenic or pyrogenic contamination of the boundary layer. Shapes of areas polluted by mega-fires in 2019-2020 (Southeastern Australia) and 2021 (Central Siberia) coincide with the areas occupied by coal deposits. The Siberian Lena and Tunguska coal basins are the two largest coal fields in the world. In 2021, their combined area accounted for 90% of fire CO emission from the entire Russian Federation. So strong fires have not observed in this area before. Underand sub-ground coal combustion may be included into the list of wildfire fuels, at least their role for ignition should be admitted. Further research is needed to assess the importance of coal fires to global climate.
AGUFM, Dec 1, 2012
Sonar image of methane plumes rising from the Arctic Ocean floor (Image: National Oceanography Ce... more Sonar image of methane plumes rising from the Arctic Ocean floor (Image: National Oceanography Centre, Southampton) “Burning ice” Methane is 20-25 times stronger (per molecule) absorber of IR radiation than CO2: bands of CH4 are less saturated than those of CO2. Arctic atmosphere and ocean are warming now. Methane emission from natural sources (wetlands, permafrost, methane hydrates) is expected to increase with temperature, that makes the positive feed-back (self-supporting growth) possible. The amount of methane in the Arctic hydrates alone is estimated as 400 times more than the global atmospheric CH4 burden! The question is timescale of the methane liberation: gradual, abrupt, or something in between. Satellite monitoring of methane over the Arctic Ocean is necessary. Motivation, Background, Goal.
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2020
Atmospheric Research, May 1, 1997
Biomass burning is an important and changing component of the global and hemispheric carbon cycle... more Biomass burning is an important and changing component of the global and hemispheric carbon cycles. In particular, boreal forest fires in Russia and Canada are important sources of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The influence of carbon monoxide (CO) on the climate is insignificant: its main absorption bands of 4.6 and 2.3 μm are far away from the climatically important regions of the spectrum. Meanwhile, CO concentrations in fire plumes are closely related to CO2 and CH4 emissions from fires. On the other hand, satellite measurements of CO are much simpler than those for the aforementioned gases. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) provides a long satellite-based CO data set. This article presents estimates of CO emissions from biomass burning north of 30° N using a simple two-box model. These results correlate closely with independently estimated CO emissions from the GFED4 bottom-up data base. Both ones reported record high emissions in 2021 throughout two decades, double the annual emissions comparing to the previous a few years. There have been several years with extreme emissions, but for the rest of data upward trend with a rate of 3.7 ± 2.3 Tg CO yr-2 (4.4 ± 2.8% per year), was found.
Science of The Total Environment, 1995
Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in ... more Total column abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in Zvenigorod, near Moscow, and in the Russian Arctic (from Sevemaya Zemlya to Wrangel Island, including the drifting station in the central part of the Arctic Basin). CO was found to decrease from early spring to summer, both in central Russia and in the Arctic; absolute mean CO abundances in both regions differed little. Vertically averaged CO mixing ratios over Zvenigorod were compared with those measured in the surface layer at Point Barrow, Alaska, between July 1988 and December 1990. Good agreement between them was observed in summer; in winter and early spring, however, the CO mixing ratios for Barrow were 40% greater than for Zvenigorod. This difference is most likely explained by CO becoming concentrated under the Arctic inversion layer in winter. The mean tropospheric mixing ratio over Zvenigorod increased at a rate of 0.7 f 0.2% year-' during the period between 1970 and 1993. This increase was not steady; during 1970-1982 it was larger, w 1.5% year-'. Long-term variations in both sources and sinks of CO could be responsible for these phenomena.
During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS)/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Clima... more During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS)/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS), AIRS and TES Science Team members provided flight planning support for NASA and NOAA aircraft, large scale context for NOAA, EPA, and State of Texas surface measurements, and contributions to post-mission modeling analyses and the Rapid Science Synthesis (RSS) Report. We present results from our ongoing integrated analysis using a number of A-Train observations to investigate tropospheric chemistry and dynamics over the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS study area (Texas, surrounding states, the Gulf of Mexico, and bordering countries). Focusing on one pollution event over Houston, Texas on August 30-Sept 1, AIRS and TES retrievals of tropospheric CO indicate distant biomass burning contributed to poor air quality in Houston. Closer examination of AIRS and TES tropospheric ozone retrievals reveals additional features due to surface pollution, lightning, and stratospheric intrusions...
О масштабах сибирского пожара 2021 года говорит тот факт, что уровень выбросов парниковых газов С... more О масштабах сибирского пожара 2021 года говорит тот факт, что уровень выбросов
парниковых газов СО2 и метана в течение двух летних месяцев достиг антропогенного
выброса во всей Российской Федерации за целый год. Более того, роль сибирских лесов, как
поглотителя выбросов СО2 от сжигания различных видов топлива, ставится под сомнение
(Lapenis and Yurganov, submitted to Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2023).
В связи с этим, возможность значительного вклада сгорания каменного и бурого угля требует
внимательного рассмотрения.
The diverse range of mechanisms driving the Arctic amplification and global climate are not compl... more The diverse range of mechanisms driving the Arctic amplification and global climate are not completely understood and, in particular, the role of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) in the Arctic warming remains unclear. Strong sources of methane at the ocean seabed in the Barents Sea and other polar regions are well documented. Nevertheless, some of those data suggest that negligible amounts of methane fluxed from the seabed enter the atmosphere, with roughly 90% of the methane consumed by bacteria. Most in situ observations are taken during summer, which is favorable for collecting data but also characterized by a stratified water column. We present perennial observations of three Thermal IR space-borne spectrometers in the Arctic between 2002 and 2020. According to estimates derived from the data synthesis ECCO, in the ice-free Barents Sea the stratification in winter weakens after the summer strong stability. The convection, storms, and turbulent diffusion mix the full-depth water column. CH4 excess over a control area in North Atlantic, measured by three sounders, and the oceanic Mixed Layer Depth both maximize in winter. A significant seasonal increase of sea-air exchange in ice-free seas is assumed. The amplitude of the seasonal methane cycle for the Kara Sea significantly increased since the beginning of the century. This may be explained by a decline of ice concentration there. The annual CH4 emission from the Arctic seas is estimated as 2/3 of land emission. The Barents/Kara seas contribute between 1/3 and 1/2 into the Arctic seas emission.
Reply to reviewer (draft), 2019
A paper under discussion (https://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/tc-2018-237/) analyses AIRS v.6 ... more A paper under discussion (https://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/tc-2018-237/) analyses AIRS v.6 Arctic Barents and Kara seas (BKS) data. Dr Antonia Gambacorta posted a negative public review. It gives us a first chance of a public discussion after a 4-years-long blocking our papers and proposals by anonymous reviewers. Below we prove a validity of the data for both AIRS and IASI in respect to the focus area, BKS. Most of the data of this sort have been already presented in several published and unpublished (rejected) papers, also at numerous oral and poster reports.
European orbital IASI/MetOP-A interferometer TIR radiation data were processed by NOAA for methan... more European orbital IASI/MetOP-A interferometer TIR radiation data were processed by NOAA for methane profiles and
uploaded in a publicly accessible archive. Satellite measurements for the middle and high latitudes of the Northern
Hemisphere reveal a concentration growth rate of 4–9 ppbv/year in 2010–2013 and up to 12–17 ppbv/year in the
2015–2016. Global estimates based on surface measurements of NOAA at coastal stations for the same periods show
an increase from 5-6 ppbv/year after 2007 to 9–12 ppbv/year last two years. Satellite data allow analyzing the methane
concentration both over land and over the Arctic seas in the absence of near-surface temperature inversions. The
results of remote measurements are compared with direct aircraft measurements in summer-autumn Alaska during
the CARVE experiment. The maximum anomalies of methane (in comparison with a relatively clean area between
Scandinavia and Iceland) were observed in November-December over the sea surface along the coasts of Norway,
Novaya Zemlya, Svalbard and other regions of the Arctic. Anomalies were insignificant in summer. Over the years,
the winter anomalies (contrasts) grew: the maximum rate was recorded for the area to the west of Novaya Zemlya
(9.4±3.7) ppbv/year. Above Alaska, the anomaly of methane concentration in summer, when the microbilogical sources
are active, increased at a rate (2.6±1.0) ppbv/year. The locations of the maxima of the anomaly around Svalbard
correspond to the observed methane seeps from the seabed and the predicted regions of dissociation of methane
hydrates. The observed methane acceleration during the last two years does not necessarily indicate a long-term
tendency: 2015–2016 was a strong El-Niño period.
Satellite CO data obtained by two different sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI, over fires are analyzed. ... more Satellite CO data obtained by two different sounders, AIRS and TROPOMI, over fires are analyzed. Different sensitivities of these two instruments to the lowest troposphere allows obtaining information about anthropogenic and/or pyrogenic contamination of the boundary layer.
movie, 2024
Leading atmospheric experts have gathered in Crete to discuss atmospheric chemistry in the Earth ... more Leading atmospheric experts have gathered in Crete to discuss atmospheric chemistry in the Earth system, from regional pollution to global change.
In the movie, (go to link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kBcFHB4P-0bgoZq3JCiWg4AV4_GRLP9I?usp=drive_link ) filmed at the official reception after the meeting, you will see: Maria Kanakidou (host), Hajime Akimoto, Paul Crutzen, Joyce Penner, Hanwant Singh, Anne Thompson, Yugo Kanaya, Eugeny Rozanov, Andrey Kiselev, Ivar Isaksen, Ilse Aben, Valery Isidorov, Sander Houweling, Oliver Wild, Makoto Koike, Yutaka Kondo, Hiroshi Tanimoto, David Edvards, Carl Brenninkmeijer, Michael Prather, Jack Fishman and many others.
Wildfires of 2021 in Siberia measured from satellites: fossil coal fire hypothesis, 2023
1. Спутниковый прибор TROPOMI чувствует приземный СО лучше, чем AIRS. ΔXco (TROPOMI минус AIRS) в... more 1. Спутниковый прибор TROPOMI чувствует приземный СО лучше, чем AIRS. ΔXco
(TROPOMI минус AIRS) выглядит очень многообещающе для исследования
пирогенного и антропогенного CO в нижних слоях атмосферы.
2. AIRS и база выбросов GFED4 свидетельствуют о тенденции роста на 5% в год в
«нормальные» годы за последние два десятилетия. Если эта оценка тренда верна
для России и он сохранится на ближайшие 40 лет, то рост выбросов от пожаров
превысит любое практически возможное уменьшение антропогенных выбросов в
России.
3. Мегапожары 2021 и 2023 годов сопоставимы по интенсивности.
4. Природные пожары 2021 и 2023 годов впервые наблюдались в основном в
районах вечной мерзлоты обоих континентов. Причины неизвестны.
5. Подземные пожары угля в центральной Сибири могут играть существенную роль
в динамике природных пожаров.
NASA Joint AIRS/Sounder Science Team Meeting, October 6, 2023 Wildfire season of 2021 in the Nor... more NASA Joint AIRS/Sounder Science Team Meeting,
October 6, 2023
Wildfire season of 2021 in the Northern hemisphere was extremely severe. AIRS
data in accordance with the wildfire data base GFED4 evidence record-breaking CO
emissions in the Northern hemisphere and, in particular, in Siberia. These wildfires
occurred in permafrost and tundra areas of the Central Siberian plateau. Mechanisms of
carbonaceous gas emissions in this biome still are not understood well; a possibility of a
significant contribution from burning of underground coal is discussed here. In this report
TROPOMI total column CO measurements for this area are compared with AIRS data.
The latter sounder reported Xco over the fire areas in the range 200--250 ppb; a typical
Xco delivered by TROPOMI for the same time and locations were ~500 ppb with many
pixels between 650 and 750 ppb. Validation versus TCCON confirmed much higher
accuracy of TROPOMI than AIRS: better than ±8% in the range of available TCCON Xco
between 80 ppb and 300 ppb.
presentation, 2023
Wildfire season of 2021 in the Northern hemisphere was extremely severe. AIRS/Aqua data in accord... more Wildfire season of 2021 in the Northern hemisphere was extremely severe. AIRS/Aqua data
in accordance with the wildfire data base GFED4 evidences record-breaking CO emissions in the
Northern hemisphere and, in particular, in Siberia [1], Fig. 1. These wildfires occurred in
permafrost and tundra areas of the Central Siberian plateau. Mechanisms of carbonaceous gas
emissions still are unknown. Here we analyze TROPOMI total column CO measurements for this
area and compare them with AIRS data.
The TROPOMI is a Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging spectrometer on board the
European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5-P) satellite that was launched into a sun-
synchronous polar orbit in October, 2017. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
(KNMI) and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) are responsible for the data
processing [2]. An excellent spatial resolution ( 7.2 × 5.6 km² footprint) and high sensitivity to the
lowest troposphere allow to resolve small patches of the burning Earth's surface. Single pixels of
CO concentrations averaged over the total atmospheric column (XCO ) in early August, 2021 were
plotted in a map of Fig. 2. XCO=~500 ppb prevails in the fire zone. Corresponding AIRS data for the
same area (not shown here) were in the range 200--250 ppb without any signs of local irregularities.
Background XCO for both sounders were well below 100 ppb that was typical for summer time.
Relatively small patches with XCO between 650 and 700 ppb were observed. Typical sizes of the
"hot spots" varied between single pixels (~6 km) and 5 pixels (~30 km). Some plumes stretched in
the direction of the wind for 500 km or more.
The southernmost part of the fire area is characterized by sparse and undersized swampy larch
forests. The plateau Putorana with mean height 500-700 m and a maximum of 1,678 m is occupied
by mountain tundra or Arctic desert. This area is called the Siberian Traps, it was formed 252
million years ago by one of the largest-known volcanic events of the Earth's geological history.
Modern studies assume that the volcanic activity initiated catastrophic combustion of fossil coal.
Greenhouse (GH) warming effect of emitted CO2 and CH4 was overlapped by sporadic cooling by
volcanic aerosol. Irregular and strong climatic changes led to the fact that ~90% of terrestrial and
oceanic species were destroyed (the so-called "Permian extinction"). We hypothesize that coal
burning explains anomalous emission of GH gases and CO in July-August, 2021.
Chapman Conference on Understanding Carbon Climate Feedbacks., 2019
Various studies have shown Arctic methane emission from the seabed around Svalbard and elsewhere.... more Various studies have shown Arctic methane emission from the seabed around Svalbard and elsewhere. However, the flux from Arctic seas to the atmosphere is still counted as negligible in reverse modeling simulations. TIR sonders AIRS and IASI clearly indicate non-negligible marine methane emissions in late autumn and winter. Yurganov et al. (2016) preliminary estimated its annual magnitude as ~2/3 of terrestrial methane emission to the North of 60° N. Existing estimates of terrestrial emission are in a range between 20 and 30 Tg/yr. Thus the current marine contribution may be in the range 15-20 Tg/yr, i.e., 3-4% of the global emissions. The amplitude of atmospheric CH4 seasonal cycle is growing at many areas. This may be interpreted as a growing methane emission from the Arctic ocean. Much more work is necessary to investigate trends and inter-annual variability of the Arctic methane sources.
Preprint for 3rd International electronic conference on remote sensing , 2019
Seven operational Thermal Infrared (TIR) spectrometers launched at sun-synchronous polar orbits s... more Seven operational Thermal Infrared (TIR) spectrometers launched at sun-synchronous polar orbits supply huge amounts of information about Arctic methane (CH 4) year-round, day and night. The TIR data are unique for estimating CH 4 emissions in a warming Arctic, both terrestrial and marine. This report is based on publicly available CH 4 concentrations retrieved by NOAA and NASA from spectra of TIR radiation delivered by EU IASI and US AIRS sounders. Data with low thermal contrast were discarded. Validation versus aircraft measurements at three US continental sites reveal a reduced, but still significant sensitivity to CH 4 anomalies in the lower troposphere. The focus area is the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS). BKS is impacted with warm Atlantic water and mostly free of sea ice. It is a shelf area with deposits of oil and natural gas (~90% CH4), as well as submarine permafrost and methane hydrates. Although AIRS and IASI observe no significant difference in CH 4 between summer BKS and N. Atlantic, a strong, monthly positive CH 4 anomaly of up to 30 ppb occurs during late autumn-winter. We suggest that this difference is explained by stable summer thermal stratification and its fall/winter breakdown that enhances BKS emissions due to deeper winter mixing.