Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Kimberly, Idaho » Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #400761

Research Project: Developing Resilient Irrigated Cropping Systems in Concentrated Dairy Production Areas of the Semi-arid West

Location: Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research

Title: Validation of MUSES NH3 observations from AIRS and CrIS against aircraft measurements from DISCOVER-AQ and a surface network in the Magic Valley

Author
item CADY-PEREIRA, KAREN - Atmospheric And Environmental Research
item GUO, XUEHUI - Princeton University
item WANG, RUI - Princeton University
item Leytem, April
item CALKINS, CHASE - Atmospheric And Environmental Research
item BERRY, ELIZABETH - Atmospheric And Environmental Research
item SUN, KANG - University Of Buffalo
item MULLER, MARKUS - University Of Innsbruck
item WISTHALER, ARMIN - University Of Innsbruck
item PAYNE, VIVIENNE - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item SHEPHARD, MARK - Environment And Climate Change Canada
item ZONDLO, MARK - Princeton University
item KANTCHEV, VALENTIN - Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Submitted to: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/2/2023
Publication Date: 1/5/2024
Citation: Cady-Pereira, K., Guo, X., Wang, R., Leytem, A.B., Calkins, C., Berry, E., Sun, K., Muller, M., Wisthaler, A., Payne, V., Shephard, M., Zondlo, M., Kantchev, V. 2024. Validation of MUSES NH3 observations from AIRS and CrIS against aircraft measurements from DISCOVER-AQ and a surface network in the Magic Valley. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 17(1):15-36. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-15-2024

Interpretive Summary: Ammonia is one of the most common forms of reactive nitrogen and the primary alkaline gas in the atmosphere. Intended and unintended releases of ammonia into the environment over the last century have significantly altered the natural nitrogen cycle, so that the current emission levels of ammonia are about four times higher than in previous centuries. Ammonia is the dominant base in the atmosphere, and it plays a significant role in the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which can penetrate deep into the lungs and severely impact the respiratory and circulatory systems. In situ measurement of ammonia remains a challenge as ammonia is easy to detect, but it is hard to measure accurately. The high spatial and temporal variability of ammonia exacerbates the lack of continuous, spatially well sampled data over extensive regions. Satellite data, even though they come with their own uncertainties, provide by virtue of their spatial and temporal density, another option for quantifying ammonia emissions. Our objective was to add to the satellite validation record at the single pixel scale, using aircraft and ground ammonia measurements with satellite retrievals from both the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instruments. The AIRS and CrIS profiles individually have large uncertainties, which are driven by local conditions, most significantly temperature profiles and sub-pixel heterogeneity. However, average biases between satellite and aircraft data, after smoothing errors are accounted for, are below or close to 1 ppbv. Use of ground base measurements for validation clearly demonstrate the importance of having more than a few dozen data points to obtain useful information from space-based retrievals of ammonia. With 464 observations over three years, over a small region, it was possible to obtain a clear picture of the source distribution in the region through the application of a physics based oversampling algorithm.

Technical Abstract: Ammonia is one of the most common forms of reactive nitrogen and the primary alkaline gas in the atmosphere. Intended and unintended releases of ammonia into the environment over the last century have significantly altered the natural nitrogen cycle, so that the current emission levels of ammonia are about four times higher than in previous centuries. Ammonia is the dominant base in the atmosphere, and it plays a significant role in the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which can penetrate deep into the lungs and severely impact the respiratory and circulatory systems. In situ measurement of ammonia remains a challenge as ammonia is easy to detect, but it is hard to measure accurately. The high spatial and temporal variability of ammonia exacerbates the lack of continuous, spatially well sampled data over extensive regions. Satellite data, even though they come with their own uncertainties, provide by virtue of their spatial and temporal density, another option for quantifying ammonia emissions. Our objective was to add to the satellite validation record at the single pixel scale, using aircraft and ground ammonia measurements with satellite retrievals from both the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instruments. The AIRS and CrIS profiles individually have large uncertainties, which are driven by local conditions, most significantly temperature profiles and sub-pixel heterogeneity. However, average biases between satellite and aircraft data, after smoothing errors are accounted for, are below or close to 1 ppbv. Use of ground base measurements for validation clearly demonstrate the importance of having more than a few dozen data points to obtain useful information from space-based retrievals of ammonia. With 464 observations over three years, over a small region, it was possible to obtain a clear picture of the source distribution in the region through the application of a physics based oversampling algorithm.