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Simultaneous global observations of glyoxal and formaldehyde from space

TLDR
Wittrock et al. as mentioned in this paper presented the first global simultaneous observations of glyoxal (CHOCHO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) columns retrieved from measurements by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) satellite instrument.
Abstract
[1] The first global simultaneous observations of glyoxal (CHOCHO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) columns retrieved from measurements by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) satellite instrument are presented and compared to model calculations. The global pattern of the distribution of CHOCHO is similar to that of HCHO. High values are observed over areas with large biogenic isoprene emissions (Central Africa, parts of South America, and Indonesia). Also regions with biomass burning and anthropogenic pollution exhibit elevated levels of CHOCHO. The ratio of the columns of CHOCHO to HCHO is generally of the order of 0.05 in regions having biogenic emissions, which is in reasonable agreement with the current understanding of the oxidation of hydrocarbons emitted by the biosphere. However and in contrast to our model, high values of both HCHO and CHOCHO are also observed over areas of the tropical oceans. This is tentatively attributed to outflow from the continents and local oceanic biogenic sources of the precursors of HCHO and CHOCHO. Citation: Wittrock, F., A. Richter, H. Oetjen, J. P. Burrows, M. Kanakidou, S. Myriokefalitakis, R. Volkamer, S. Beirle, U. Platt, and T. Wagner (2006), Simultaneous global observations of glyoxal and formaldehyde from space, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L16804, doi:10.1029/2006GL026310.

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Atmospheric composition change – global and regional air quality

Paul S. Monks, +68 more
TL;DR: A review of the state of scientific understanding in relation to global and regional air quality is outlined in this article, in terms of emissions, processing and transport of trace gases and aerosols.
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Global budgets of atmospheric glyoxal and methylglyoxal, and implications for formation of secondary organic aerosols

TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed simulation of glyoxal and methylglyoxal in the GEOS-Chem global 3-D chemical transport model including the best knowledge of source and sink processes was conducted.
Journal ArticleDOI

Remote sensing of particulate pollution from space: have we reached the promised land?

TL;DR: It is suggested that ground-based measurements, models, and satellite measurements should be viewed as a system, each component of which is necessary to better understand air quality.
Journal ArticleDOI

A missing sink for gas-phase glyoxal in Mexico City: Formation of secondary organic aerosol

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared direct measurements of gas-phase glyoxal in Mexico City with experimentally constrained model predictions and found that the observed glyoxion concentrations were significantly below those predicted; an additional glyoxification sink must be operative.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

SCIAMACHY: Mission Objectives and Measurement Modes

TL;DR: SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) is a spectrometer designed to measure sunlight transmitted, reflected, and scattered by the earth's atmosphere or surface in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelength region (240-2380 nm) at moderate spectral resolution (0.2-1.5 nm, λ/Δλ ≈ 1000-10
Journal ArticleDOI

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME): Mission Concept and First Scientific Results

TL;DR: The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) is a new instrument aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2), which was launched in April 1995 as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI

Tropospheric no2 from gome measurements

TL;DR: In this article, a case study of tropospheric NO, above Africa in fall 1997 is presented, showing the influence of both biomass burning and lightning, showing that substantial amounts of NO, am present in the free troposphere over the African continent and in the outflow regions over the Southern Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
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Global modelling of secondary organic aerosol in the troposphere: a sensitivity analysis

TL;DR: In this article, a global 3-dimensional chemistry/transport model able to describe O3, NOx, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), sulphur and NH3 chemistry has been extended to simulate the temporal and spatial distribution of primary and secondary carbonaceous aerosols in the troposphere focusing on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation.
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Impact of Non-Methane Hydrocarbons on Tropospheric Chemistry and the Oxidizing Power of the Global Troposphere: 3-Dimensional Modelling Results

TL;DR: In this article, the impact of natural and anthropogenic nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) on troposphericchemistry is investigated with the global, three-dimensional chemistry-transport model MOGUNTIA.
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