Building a bridge: characterizing major anthropogenic point sources in the South African Highveld region using OCO-3 carbon dioxide snapshot area maps and Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI nitrogen dioxide columns

Abstract

In this paper, we characterize major anthropogenic point sources in the South African Highveld region using Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) Snapshot Area Map (SAM) carbon dioxide (CO2) and Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) observations. Altogether we analyze six OCO-3 SAMs. We estimate the emissions of six power stations (Kendal, Kriel, Matla, Majuba, Tutuka and Grootvlei) and the largest single emitter of greenhouse gas in the world, Secunda CTL synthetic fuel plant. We apply the cross-sectional flux method for the emission estimation and we extend the method to fit several plumes at the same time. Overall, the satellite-based emission estimates are in good agreement (within the uncertainties) as compared to emission inventories, even for the cases where several plumes are mixed. We also discuss the advantages and challenges of the current measurement systems for greenhouse gas emission monitoring and reporting, and the applicability of different emission estimation approaches to future satellite missions such as the Copernicus CO2 Monitoring Mission (CO2M) and the Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (GOSAT-GW), including the joint analysis of CO2 and NO2 observations.

Satellites capture socioeconomic disruptions during the 2022 full-scale war in Ukraine

“…Similarly, over the past decade, satellite observations of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), such as CO 2 and CH 4 , have become available and started playing a crucial role in climate mitigation monitoring ( 26 and reference therein). Recent studies have demonstrated that the combined use of satellite air quality and GHG data improves the ability of estimating surface emissions and characterizing the sources 27 – 29 . Combining a wide variety of satellite observations, including atmospheric concentrations and imagery data can further enhance the ability to monitor changes and attribute them to specific human and/or natural processes.…”

Quantifying NOxpoint sources with Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellite observations of NO2plumes

“…Dedicated satellite instruments measuring backscattered sunlight in the ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) spectral range have provided global mapping of atmospheric NO 2 concentrations since the 1990s to quantify NO x emissions and trends, with pixel resolution down to 3.5 × 5.5 km 2 for the highest-resolution TROPOMI instrument launched in 2017 ( 1 ). This is generally too coarse to resolve individual NO x point sources except for large, isolated facilities and/or using extensive temporal averaging ( 2 – 7 ). Improved pixel resolution could enable fine-scale monitoring and attribution of air pollution in dense urban environments and in developing countries where pollution controls and monitoring systems are lacking.…”