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Titel |
Estimating the NOx produced by lightning from GOME and NLDN data: a case study in the Gulf of Mexico |
VerfasserIn |
S. Beirle, N. Spichtinger, A. Stohl, K. L. Cummins, T. Turner, D. Boccippio, O. R. Cooper, M. Wenig, M. Grzegorski, U. Platt, T. Wagner |
Medientyp |
Artikel
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Sprache |
Englisch
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ISSN |
1680-7316
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Digitales Dokument |
URL |
Erschienen |
In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ; 6, no. 4 ; Nr. 6, no. 4 (2006-04-03), S.1075-1089 |
Datensatznummer |
250003631
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Publikation (Nr.) |
copernicus.org/acp-6-1075-2006.pdf |
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Zusammenfassung |
Nitrogen oxides (NOxNO+NO2) play an important role in
tropospheric chemistry, in particular in catalytic ozone production.
Lightning provides a natural source of nitrogen oxides, dominating the
production in the tropical upper troposphere, with strong impact on
tropospheric ozone and the atmosphere's oxidizing capacity. Recent estimates
of lightning produced NOx (LNOx) are of the order of 5 Tg [N] per
year with still high uncertainties in the range of one order of magnitude.
The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) on board the ESA-satellite
ERS-2 allows the retrieval of tropospheric column densities of NO2 on a
global scale. Here we present the GOME NO2 measurement directly over a
large convective system over the Gulf of Mexico. Simultaneously,
cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes are counted by the U.S. National Lightning
Detection Network (NLDNTM), and extrapolated to include
intra-cloud (IC)+CG flashes based on a climatological IC:CG ratio derived
from NASA's space-based lightning sensors. A series of 14 GOME pixels shows
largely enhanced column densities over thick and high clouds, coinciding
with strong lightning activity. The enhancements can not be explained by
transport of anthropogenic NOx and must be due to fresh production of LNOx. A quantitative analysis, accounting in particular for the
visibility of LNOx from satellite, yields a LNOx production of 90
(32-240) moles of NOx, or 1.3 (0.4-3.4) kg [N], per flash. If simply
extrapolated, this corresponds to a global LNOx production of 1.7
(0.6-4.7)Tg [N]/yr. |
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