An empirical analysis of the spatial variability of atmospheric CO2: Implications for inverse analyses and space-borne sensors

Details An empirical analysis of the spatial variability of atmospheric CO2: Implications for inverse analyses and space-borne sensors An empirical analysis of the spatial variability of atmospheric CO2: Implications for inverse analyses and space-borne sensors

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004georl..3123104l&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 31, Issue 23, CiteID L23104

Physics

16

Atmospheric Composition And Structure: Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions, Atmospheric Composition And Structure: Constituent Sources And Sinks, Atmospheric Composition And Structure: Troposphere-Composition And Chemistry, Global Change: Atmosphere (0315, 0325), Global Change: Remote Sensing

Scientific paper

We provide quantitative estimates for the spatial variability of CO2, crucial for assessing representativeness of observations. Spatial variability determines the mismatch between point observations and spatial averages simulated by models or observed from space-borne sensors. Such ``representation errors'' must be properly specified in determining the leverage of observations to retrieve surface fluxes or to validate space-borne sensors. We empirically derive the spatial variability and representation errors for tropospheric CO2 over the North American continent and the Pacific Ocean, using in-situ observations from extensive aircraft missions. The spatial variability and representation error of CO2 is smaller over the Pacific than the continent, particularly in the lowest altitudes, and decreases with altitude. Representation errors resulting from spatial variability in the summer continental PBL are as large as 1~2 ppmv for typical grid resolutions used in current models for inverse analyses.

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