Column and in situ CO2, 13CO2, CO and NO2 increases by power plants: New constraints on emissions
Abstract
There is a pressing need to verify air pollutant and greenhouse gases emissions from fossil energy sources. To achieve this we analyze multi-scale observations of trace gases in Farmington, NM region that is strongly polluted by the Four Corners (high ΔNOx/ΔCO2) and the San Juan (low ΔNOx/ΔCO2) power plants. We retrieve columnar concentrations of CO2, 13CO2, CO and NO2 from solar spectra recorded by two high-resolution near-IR Fourier transform and grating UV-Vis spectrometers. All of these trace gases are also measured in situ at the surface. We report the first column regional scale enhancements in CO2 (~ 10 ppm) and NO2 (~ 3 DU) and depleted δ13CO2 (-12 parts per mill) that are attributed to the power plants. These column increases are highly correlated with in situ measurements and the differences can be explained by changes in meteorology. We demonstrate remote observations of columnar NO2/CO2 and δ13CO2 can be used to isolate power-plant emissions and are valuable for verification.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.A33P..04L
- Keywords:
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- 0345 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Pollution: urban and regional;
- 0365 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- 0394 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Instruments and techniques