DECEMBER 2005: Formaldehyde distribution over North America: Implications for satellite retrievals of formaldehyde columns and isoprene emission
Formaldehyde (HCHO) columns measured from space provide constraints on
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Quantitative interpretation
requires characterization of errors in HCHO column retrievals and relating
these columns to VOC emissions. Here we use extensive aircraft vertical
profiling over North America during the INTEX-A mission in summer 2004 to
quantify the errors in retrieving and interpreting HCHO column data from
space, and draw conclusions regarding space-based mapping of VOC emissions.
A full description is given in Millet et al., 2005.
Figure: Stack plot showing the relationship between measured HCHO column (WHCHO) and HCHO production rate (PHCHO) from different precursors. Isoprene is the dominant source of WHCHO variability over North America. HCHO column data from space can thus be used effectively as a proxy for isoprene emission.
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