Atmospheric isoprene measurements reveal larger-than-expected Southern Ocean emissions

Isoprene is a key trace component of the atmosphere emitted by vegetation and other organisms. It is highly reactive and can impact atmospheric composition and climate by affecting the greenhouse gases ozone and methane and secondary organic aerosol formation. Marine fluxes are poorly constrained due to the paucity of long-term measurements; this in turn limits our understanding of isoprene cycling in the ocean. Here we present the analysis of isoprene concentrations in the atmosphere measured across the Southern Ocean over 4 months in the summertime. Some of the highest concentrations ( >500 ppt) originated from the marginal ice zone in the Ross and Amundsen seas, indicating the marginal ice zone is a significant source of isoprene at high latitudes. Using the United Kingdom Earth System Model we show that current estimates of sea-to-air isoprene fluxes underestimate observed isoprene by a factor >20. A daytime source of isoprene is required to reconcile models with observations. The model presented here suggests such an increase in isoprene emissions would lead to >8% decrease in the hydroxyl radical in regions of the Southern Ocean, with implications for our understanding of atmospheric oxidation and composition in remote environments, often used as proxies for the pre-industrial atmosphere

An introduction to the SCOUT-AMMA stratospheric aircraft, balloons and sondes campaign in West Africa, August 2006: rationale and roadmap

A multi-platform field measurement campaign involving aircraft and balloons took place over West Africa between 26 July and 25 August 2006, in the frame of the concomitant AMMA Special Observing Period and SCOUT-O3 African tropical activities. Specifically aiming at sampling the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, the high-altitude research aircraft M55 Geophysica was deployed in Ouagadougou (12.3° N, 1.7° W), Burkina Faso, in conjunction with the German D-20 Falcon, while a series of stratospheric balloon and sonde flights were conducted from Niamey (13.5° N, 2.0° E), Niger. The stratospheric aircraft and balloon flights intended to gather experimental evidence for a better understanding of large scale transport, assessing the effect of lightning on NOx production, and studying the impact of intense mesoscale convective systems on water, aerosol, dust and chemical species in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The M55 Geophysica carried out five local and four transfer flights between southern Europe and the Sahel and back, while eight stratospheric balloons and twenty-nine sondes were flown from Niamey. These experiments allowed a characterization of the tropopause and lower stratosphere of the region. We provide here an overview of the campaign activities together with a description of the general meteorological situation during the flights and a summary of the observations accomplished

SCOUT-O3/ACITVE High-altitude Aircraft Measurements around Deep Tropical Convection

During November and December 2005, two consortia of mainly European groups conducted an aircraft campaign in Darwin, Australia, to measure the composition of the tropical upper-troposphere and tropopause regions, between 12 and 20 km, in order to investigate the transport and transformation in deep convection of water vapor, aerosols, and trace chemicals. The campaign used two high-altitude aircraft—the Russian M55 Geophysica and the Australian Grob 520 Egrett, which can reach 20 and 15 km, respectively—complemented by upward-pointing lidar measurements from the DLR Falcon and low-level aerosol and chemical measurements from the U.K. Dornier-228. The meteorology during the campaign was characterized mainly by premonsoon conditions—isolated afternoon thunderstorms with more organized convective systems in the evening and overnight. At the beginning of November pronounced pollution resulting from widespread biomass burning was measured by the Dornier, giving way gradually to cleaner conditions by December, thus affording the opportunity to study the influence of aerosols on convection. The Egrett was used mainly to sample in and around the outflow from isolated thunderstorms, with a couple of survey missions near the end. The Geophysica–Falcon pair spent about 40% of their flight hours on survey legs, prioritizing remote sensing of water vapor, cirrus, and trace gases, and the remainder on close encounters with storm systems, prioritizing in situ measurements. Two joint missions with all four aircraft were conducted: on 16 November, during the polluted period, sampling a detached anvil from a single-cell storm, and on 30 November, around a much larger multicellular storm

Advances and challenges of life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas removal technologies to fight climate changes

Several greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRTs), also called negative emissions technologies (NET) have been proposed to help meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets. However, there are many uncertainties in the estimation of their effective greenhouse gas (GHG) removal potentials, caused by their different levels of technological development. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been proposed as one effective methodology to holistically assess the potential of different GGRT removal approaches but no common framework is currently available for benchmarking and policy development. In this article, challenges for LCA are reviewed and discussed together with some alternative approaches for assessment of GGRTs. In particular, GGRTs pose challenges with regards to the functional unit, the system boundary of the LCA assessment, and the timing of emissions. The need to account within LCA of GGRTs for broader implications which involve environmental impacts, economic, social and political drivers is highlighted. A set of recommendations for LCA of GGRTs are proposed for a better assessment of the GGRTs and better accounting of their carbon removal potentials to meet the targets established within the Paris Agreement.</p