Contribution of Asian emissions to upper tropospheric CO over the remote Pacific

Abstract

Upon analysing the global distribution of the highest 2%of daily CO mixing ratios at 400 hPa derived from the MOPITT satellite instrument for 20 years (2000–2019), we very regularly detect regions with very high CO values (i.e. mixing ratios belonging to the globally highest 2 %) over the remote Northern Hemispheric (NH) Pacific. Such events of elevated CO over the upper tropospheric NH Pacific occur throughout the year with surprisingly high regularity and frequency (70% of all days during winter, 80% of all days during spring). During winter, most of these pollution events are detected over the north-eastern and central NH Pacific, during spring over the central NH Pacific, and during summer over the western NH Pacific. We detect most pollution events during spring. To link each individual pollution event detected by the 2% filtering method with a specific CO source region, we perform trajectory calculations using MPTRAC, a Lagrangian transport model. To analyse transport pathways and uplift mechanisms, we combine MOPITT data, the trajectory calculations, and ERA-Interim reanalysis data. It becomes apparent that air masses from China that are lifted along a frontal system into the free troposphere are the major CO source throughout the year. The contributions of other source regions and uplift mechanisms show a strong seasonal cycle: NE Asia in combination with upward transport of air masses in the warm conveyor belt of a midlatitude cyclone is a significant CO source region during winter, spring, and summer, while India is an important source region mainly during spring and summer and SE Asia mainly during spring.