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The analysis of observed atmospheric trace-gas mole fractions to infer surface sources and sinks of chemical species relies heavily on simulated atmospheric transport. The chemical transport models (CTMs) used in flux-inversion models are commonly configured to reproduce the atmospheric transport of a general circulation model (GCM) as closely as possible. CTMs generally have the dual advantages of computational efficiency and improved tracer conservation compared to their parent GCMs, but they usually simplify the representations of important processes. This is especially the case for high-frequency vertical motions associated with diffusion and convection. Using common-flux experiments, we quantify the importance of parameterized vertical processes for explaining systematic differences in tracer transport between two commonly used CTMs. We find that differences in modeled column-average CO2 are strongly correlated with the differences in the models' convection. The parameterization of diffusion is more important near the surface due to its role in representing planetary-boundary-layer (PBL) mixing. Accordingly, simulated near-surface in situ measurements are more strongly impacted by this process than are simulated total-column averages. Both diffusive and convective vertical mixing tend to ventilate the lower atmosphere, so near-surface measurements may only constrain the net vertical mixing and not the balance between these two processes. Remote-sensing-based retrievals of total-column CO2 , with their increased sensitivity to convection, may provide important new constraints on parameterized vertical motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of observed atmospheric trace gas mole fractions to infer surface sources and sinks of chemical species relies heavily on simulated atmospheric transport. The chemical transport models (CTMs) used in flux inversion models are commonly configured to reproduce the atmospheric transport of a general circulation model (GCM) as closely as possible. CTMs generally have the dual advantages of computational efficiency and improved tracer conservation compared to their parent GCMs, but they usually simplify the representations of important processes. This is especially the case for high-frequency vertical motions associated with diffusion and convection. Using common-flux experiments, we quantify the importance of parameterized vertical processes for explaining systematic differences in tracer transport between two commonly-used CTMs. We find that differences in convection are strongly correlated with the differences in modeled column CO2. The parameterization of diffusion is more important near the surface due to its role in representing PBL mixing. Accordingly, near-surface in situ measurements are more strongly impacted by this process than are total-column retrievals. Both diffusive and convective vertical mixing tend to ventilate the lower atmosphere, so near-surface measurements may only constrain the net vertical mixing and not the balance between these two processes. Remote sensing-based retrievals of total column CO2, with their increased sensitivity to convection, may provide important new constraints on parameterized vertical motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite has been providing information to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes at global and regional scales since 2014 through the combination of CO2 retrievals with top–down atmospheric inversion methods. Column average CO2 dry-air mole fraction retrievals have been constantly improved. A bias correction has been applied in the OCO-2 version 9 retrievals compared to the previous OCO-2 version 7r improving data accuracy and coverage. We study an ensemble of 10 atmospheric inversions all characterized by different transport models, data assimilation algorithms, and prior fluxes using first OCO-2 v7 in 2015–2016 and then OCO-2 version 9 land observations for the longer period 2015–2018. Inversions assimilating in situ (IS) measurements have also been used to provide a baseline against which the satellite-driven results are compared. The time series at different scales (going from global to regional scales) of the models emissions are analyzed and compared to each experiment using either OCO-2 or IS data. We then evaluate the inversion ensemble based on the dataset from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), aircraft, and in situ observations, all independent from assimilated data. While we find a similar constraint of global total carbon emissions between the ensemble spread using IS and both OCO-2 retrievals, differences between the two retrieval versions appear over regional scales and particularly in tropical Africa. A difference in the carbon budget between v7 and v9 is found over this region, which seems to show the impact of corrections applied in retrievals. However, the lack of data in the tropics limits our conclusions, and the estimation of carbon emissions over tropical Africa require further analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite has been provided information to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes at global and regional scales since 2014 through the combination of CO2 retrievals with top-down atmospheric inversion methods. Column average CO2 dry air mole fraction retrievals has been constantly improved. A bias correction has been applied in the OCO-2 version 9 retrievals compared to the previous OCO-2 version 7r improving data accuracy and coverage. We study an ensemble of ten atmospheric inversions all characterized by different transport models, data assimilation algorithm and prior fluxes using first OCO-2 v7 in 2015-2016 and then OCO-2 version 9 land observations for the longer period 2015- 2018. Inversions assimilating in situ (IS) measurements have been also used to provide a baseline against which to compare the satellite-driven results. The times series at different scales (going from global to regional scales) of the models emissions are analyzed and compared to each experiments using either OCO-2 or IS data. We then evaluate the inversion ensemble based on dataset from TCCON, aircraft, and in-situ observations, all independent from assimilated data. While we find a similar constraint of global total carbon emissions between the ensemble spread using IS and both OCO-2 retrievals, differences between the two retrieval versions appear over regional scales and particularly in tropical Africa. A difference in the carbon budget between v7 and v9 is found over this region which seems to show the impact of corrections applied in retrievals. However, the lack of data in the tropics limits our conclusions and the estimation of carbon emissions over tropical Africa require further analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 has been on orbit since 2014, and its global coverage holds the potential to reveal new information about the carbon cycle through the use of top-down atmospheric inversion methods combined with column average CO2 retrievals. We employ a large ensemble of atmospheric inversions utilizing different transport models, data assimilation techniques, and prior flux distributions in order to quantify the satellite-informed fluxes from OCO-2 Version 7r land observations and their uncertainties at continental scales. Additionally, we use in situ measurements to provide a baseline against which to compare the satellite-constrained results. We find that within the ensemble spread, in situ observations, and satellite retrievals constrain a similar global total carbon sink of 3.7±0.5 PgC yr -1 , and 1.5±0.6 PgC yr -1 for global land, for the 2015–2016 annual mean. This agreement breaks down in smaller regions, and we discuss the differences between the experiments. Of particular interest is the difference between the different assimilation constraints in the tropics, with the largest differences occurring in tropical Africa, which could be an indication of the global perturbation from the 2015–2016 El Niño. Evaluation of posterior concentrations using TCCON and aircraft observations gives some limited insight into the quality of the different assimilation constraints, but the lack of such data in the tropics inhibits our ability to make strong conclusions there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 has been on orbit since 2014, and its global coverage holds the potential to reveal new information about the carbon cycle through the use of top-down atmospheric inversion methods combined with column average CO2 retrievals. We employ a large ensemble of atmospheric inversions utilizing different transport models, data assimilation techniques and prior flux distributions in order to quantify the satellite-informed fluxes from OCO-2 Version 7r land observations and their uncertainties at continental scales. Additionally, we use in situ measurements to provide a baseline against which to compare the satellite-constrained results. We find that within ensemble spread, in situ observations and satellite retrievals constrain a similar global total carbon sink of 3.7 ± 0.5 PgC, and 1.5 ± 0.6 PgC per year for global land, for the 2015–2016 annual mean. This agreement breaks down on smaller regions, and we discuss the differences between the experiments. Of particular interest is the difference between the different assimilation constraints in the tropics, with the largest differences occurring in tropical Africa, which could be an indication of the global perturbation from the 2015–2016 El Niño. Evaluation of posterior concentrations using TCCON and aircraft observations gives some limited insight into the quality of the different assimilation constraints, but the lack of such data in the tropics inhibits our ability to make strong conclusions there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of additional CO2 observations in the Siberia region on the Asian and global surface CO2 flux analyses, two experiments using different observation data sets were performed for 2000-2009. One experiment was conducted using a data set that includes additional observations of Siberian tower measurements (Japan-Russia Siberian Tall Tower Inland Observation Network: JRSTATION), and the other experiment was conducted using a data set without the above additional observations. The results show that the global balance of the sources and sinks of surface CO2 fluxes was maintained for both experiments with and without the additional observations. While the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake and flux uncertainty in Siberia decreased from -1.17 ± 0.93 to -0.77 ± 0.70 PgC yr-1, the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake in the other regions (e.g., Europe) of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) land increased for the experiment with the additional observations, which affect the longitudinal distribution of the total NH sinks. This change was mostly caused by changes in the magnitudes of surface CO2 flux in June and July. The observation impact measured by uncertainty reduction and self-sensitivity tests shows that additional observations provide useful information on the estimated surface CO2 flux. The average uncertainty reduction of the conifer forest of Eurasian boreal (EB) is 29.1% and the average self-sensitivities at the JR-STATION sites are approximately 60% larger than those at the towers in North America. It is expected that the Siberian observations play an important role in estimating surface CO2 flux in the NH land (e.g., Siberia and Europe) in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of additional CO2 observations in the Siberia region on the Asian and global surface CO2 flux analyses, two experiments using different observation dataset were performed. One experiment was conducted using a data set that includes additional observations of Siberian tower measurements (Japan-Russia Siberian Tall Tower Inland Observation Network: JR-STATION), and the other experiment was conducted using a data set without the above additional observations. The results show that the global balance of the sources and sinks of surface CO2 fluxes was maintained for both experiments with and without the additional observations. While the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake in Siberia decreased, the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake in the other regions (e.g., Europe) of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) increased for the experiment with the additional observations. This change was mostly caused by changes in the magnitudes of surface CO2 flux in June and July. The observation impact measured by uncertainty reduction and self-sensitivity tests shows that additional observations provide useful information on the estimated surface CO2 flux. It is expected that the Siberian observations play an important role in estimating surface CO2 flux in the NH in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of additional CO2 observations in the Siberia region on the Asian and global surface CO2 flux analyses, two experiments using different observation dataset were performed. One experiment was conducted using a data set that includes additional observations of Siberian tower measurements (Japan-Russia Siberian Tall Tower Inland Observation Network: JR-STATION), and the other experiment was conducted using a data set without the above additional observations. The results show that the global balance of the sources and sinks of surface CO2 fluxes was maintained for both experiments with and without the additional observations. While the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake in Siberia decreased, the magnitude of the optimized surface CO2 flux uptake in the other regions (e.g., Europe) of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) increased for the experiment with the additional observations. This change was mostly caused by changes in the magnitudes of surface CO2 flux in June and July. The observation impact measured by uncertainty reduction and self-sensitivity tests shows that additional observations provide useful information on the estimated surface CO2 flux. It is expected that the Siberian observations play an important role in estimating surface CO2 flux in the NH in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]