Satellite and ground-based measurements of XCO2 in a remote semiarid region of Australia

In this study, we present ground-based measurements of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions (DMFs) of CO2 (or XCO2) taken in a semiarid region of Australia with an EM27/SUN portable spectrometer equipped with an automated clamshell cover. We compared these measurements to space-based XCO2 retrievals from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). Side-by-side measurements of EM27/SUN with the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) instrument at the University of Wollongong were conducted in 2015-2016 to derive an XCO2 scaling factor of 0.9954 relative to TCCON. Although we found a slight drift of 0.13 % over 3 months in the calibration curve of the EM27/SUN vs. TCCON XCO2, the alignment of the EM27/SUN proved stable enough for a 2-week campaign, keeping the retrieved Xair values, another measure of stability, to within 0.5 % and the modulation efficiency to within 2 %. From the measurements in Alice Springs, we confirm a small bias of around 2 ppm in the GOSAT M-gain to H-gain XCO2 retrievals, as reported by the NIES GOSAT validation team. Based on the reported random errors from GOSAT, we estimate the required duration of a future campaign in order to better understand the estimated bias between the EM27/SUN and GOSAT. The dataset from the Alice Springs measurements is accessible at https://doi.org/10.4225/48/5b21f16ce69bc (Velazco et al., 2018)

Atmospheric observations suggest methane emissions in north-eastern China growing with natural gas use

The dramatic increase of natural gas use in China, as a substitute for coal, helps to reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution, but the climate mitigation benefit can be offset by methane leakage into the atmosphere. We estimate methane emissions from 2010 to 2018 in four regions of China using the GOSAT satellite data and in-situ observations with a high-resolution (0.1 degrees x 0.1 degrees) inverse model and analyze interannual changes of emissions by source sectors. We find that estimated methane emission over the north-eastern China region contributes the largest part (0.77 Tg CH4 yr(-1)) of the methane emission growth rate of China (0.87 Tg CH4 yr(-1)) and is largely attributable to the growth in natural gas use. The results provide evidence of a detectable impact on atmospheric methane observations by the increasing natural gas use in China and call for methane emission reductions throughout the gas supply chain and promotion of low emission end-use facilities.Peer reviewe

Interannual variability on methane emissions in monsoon Asia derived from GOSAT and surface observations

In Asia, much effort is put into reducing methane (CH4) emissions due to the region's contribution to the recent rapid global atmospheric CH4 concentration growth. Accurate quantification of Asia's CH4 budgets is critical for conducting global stocktake and achieving the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. In this study, we present top-down estimates of CH4 emissions from 2009 to 2018 deduced from atmospheric observations from surface network and GOSAT satellite with the high-resolution global inverse model NIES-TM-FLEXPART-VAR. The optimized average CH4 budgets are 63.40 +/- 10.52 Tg y(-1) from East Asia (EA), 45.20 +/- 6.22 Tg y(-1) from Southeast Asia (SEA), and 64.35 +/- 9.28 Tg y(-1) from South Asia (SA) within the 10 years. We analyzed two 5 years CH4 emission budgets for three subregions and 13 top-emitting countries with an emission budget larger than 1 Tg y(-1), and interannual variabilities for these subregions. Statistically significant increasing trends in emissions are found in EA with a lower emission growth rate during 2014-2018 compared to that during 2009-2013, while trends in SEA are not significant. In contrast to the prior emission, the posterior emission shows a significant decreasing trend in SA. The flux decrease is associated with the transition from strong La Ninna (2010-2011) to strong El Ninno (2015-2016) events, which modulate the surface air temperature and rainfall patterns. The interannual variability in CH4 flux anomalies was larger in SA compared to EA and SEA. The Southern Oscillation Index correlates strongly with interannual CH4 flux anomalies for SA. Our findings suggest that the interannual variability in the total CH4 flux is dominated by climate variability in SA. The contribution of climate variability driving interannual variability in natural and anthropogenic CH4 emissions should be further quantified, especially for tropical countries. Accounting for climate variability may be necessary to improve anthropogenic emission inventories.Peer reviewe

Methane Emission Estimates by the Global High-Resolution Inverse Model Using National Inventories

We present a global 0.1° × 0.1° high-resolution inverse model, NIES-TM-FLEXPART-VAR (NTFVAR), and a methane emission evaluation using the Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT) satellite and ground-based observations from 2010–2012. Prior fluxes contained two variants of anthropogenic emissions, Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) v4.3.2 and adjusted EDGAR v4.3.2 which were scaled to match the country totals by national reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), augmented by biomass burning emissions from Global Fire Assimilation System (GFASv1.2) and wetlands Vegetation Integrative Simulator for Trace Gases (VISIT). The ratio of the UNFCCC-adjusted global anthropogenic emissions to EDGAR is 98%. This varies by region: 200% in Russia, 84% in China, and 62% in India. By changing prior emissions from EDGAR to UNFCCC-adjusted values, the optimized total emissions increased from 36.2 to 46 Tg CH4 yr−1 for Russia, 12.8 to 14.3 Tg CH4 yr−1 for temperate South America, and 43.2 to 44.9 Tg CH4 yr−1 for contiguous USA, and the values decrease from 54 to 51.3 Tg CH4 yr−1 for China, 26.2 to 25.5 Tg CH4 yr−1 for Europe, and by 12.4 Tg CH4 yr−1 for India. The use of the national report to scale EDGAR emissions allows more detailed statistical data and country-specific emission factors to be gathered in place compared to those available for EDGAR inventory. This serves policy needs by evaluating the national or regional emission totals reported to the UNFCCC

Methane Emission Estimates by the Global High-Resolution Inverse Model Using National Inventories

We present a global 0.1° × 0.1° high-resolution inverse model, NIES-TM-FLEXPART-VAR (NTFVAR), and a methane emission evaluation using the Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT) satellite and ground-based observations from 2010–2012. Prior fluxes contained two variants of anthropogenic emissions, Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) v4.3.2 and adjusted EDGAR v4.3.2 which were scaled to match the country totals by national reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), augmented by biomass burning emissions from Global Fire Assimilation System (GFASv1.2) and wetlands Vegetation Integrative Simulator for Trace Gases (VISIT). The ratio of the UNFCCC-adjusted global anthropogenic emissions to EDGAR is 98%. This varies by region: 200% in Russia, 84% in China, and 62% in India. By changing prior emissions from EDGAR to UNFCCC-adjusted values, the optimized total emissions increased from 36.2 to 46 Tg CH4 yr−1 for Russia, 12.8 to 14.3 Tg CH4 yr−1 for temperate South America, and 43.2 to 44.9 Tg CH4 yr−1 for contiguous USA, and the values decrease from 54 to 51.3 Tg CH4 yr−1 for China, 26.2 to 25.5 Tg CH4 yr−1 for Europe, and by 12.4 Tg CH4 yr−1 for India. The use of the national report to scale EDGAR emissions allows more detailed statistical data and country-specific emission factors to be gathered in place compared to those available for EDGAR inventory. This serves policy needs by evaluating the national or regional emission totals reported to the UNFCCC

Simultaneous retrieval of atmospheric CO_2 and light path modification from space-based spectroscopic observations of greenhouse gases: methodology and application to GOSAT measurements over TCCON sites

This paper presents an improved photon path length probability density function method that permits simultaneous retrievals of column-average greenhouse gas mole fractions and light path modifications through the atmosphere when processing high-resolution radiance spectra acquired from space. We primarily describe the methodology and retrieval setup and then apply them to the processing of spectra measured by the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). We have demonstrated substantial improvements of the data processing with simultaneous carbon dioxide and light path retrievals and reasonable agreement of the satellite-based retrievals against ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer measurements provided by the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON)

Educate to prevent: science-based materials on food hygiene and safety

Uma importante estratégia para a redução do impacto das doenças de origem alimentar é a prevenção e a promoção da saúde. A população escolar foi escolhida como público-alvo para aumentar a literacia para a saúde e promover práticas saudáveis e seguras relacionadas com os alimentos, através do projeto “Educar para Prevenir”. Foram produzidos e publicados materiais educativos para o público escolar e professores. Estes materiais, que compreendem três diferentes tipos de ferramentas, foram publicados como um kit. O desenvolvimento destes materiais baseou-se na recolha de dados de surtos de doenças de origem alimentar, de 2009 a 2013, do Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA). O risco de ocorrência e os fatores contributivos, bem como as boas práticas, foram identificados e usados como base para a elaboração dos materiais educativos. Adicionalmente, foram usados materiais da Organização Mundial da Saúde como o programa “Cinco Chaves para uma Alimentação Mais Segura”. Nas próximas etapas deste projeto serão produzidos novos materiais para estudantes contendo informação sobre a composição nutricional dos alimentos e a compreensão da rotulagem alimentar.An important strategy to reduce food borne diseases burden is prevention and health promotion. The student’s population was chosen as the target audience for improving health literacy and promoting healthy and safe practices relating to food trough the Project “Educar para Prevenir” (Education for Prevention). School educational materials on food safety, on teacher level, were developed and published, aiming the different school levels. These materials comprised 3 different kinds of tools were published as a kit. The development of these materials was based on data collected foodborne outbreaks from 2009 to 2013, at the National Institute of Health (INSA). The occurrence risk and contributing factors were identified as well as the good practices and were the basis for the elaboration of the educational materials. In addition, some World Health Organization materials, such as “Five Keys to Safer Food” programme, were used. On the next steps of the project include new materials for students will be produced, including information about nutritional composition of the food and understanding of the food labelling.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio