Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy

Retrieval of ultraviolet aerosol absorption from radiation measurements in young wildfire plumes

Abstract. Aerosols play an important role for atmospheric radiative transfer in biomass burning (BB) plumes, where they control photochemistry, direct radiative forcing, and radiation-induced atmospheric dynamics. The optical properties of BB aerosol, however, remain poorly const...

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report II: Past and present tropospheric ozone using satellite observations

Satellite observations enable global assessments of ozone in the free troposphere, yet uncertainties in earlier records limited the first Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report's (TOAR-I) confidence in regional distributions and, especially, decadal trends. Here, we leverage longer...

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report II: Overview

Abstract The International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report Phase II (TOAR-II) provides an updated, comprehensive assessment of the global distribution, burden and trends of tropospheric ozone, building on the foundation established by TOAR...

Spectral analysis of lunar regions observed by MAJIS during the JUICE Moon-Earth flyby

Abstract. The Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) instrument onboard the ESA Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) mission acquired the first hyperspectral data of the lunar surface since Chandrayaan-1/Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Cassini/VIMS, and the more recent Chandray...

The enhanced capabilities of mid-infrared limb emission sounding to observe stratospheric aerosol injection geoengineering

Abstract. Using a model-based pseudo-reality (PR) future scenario and realistic pseudo-observations (POs) representative for a proposed satellite mission concept (CAIRT – the Changing-Atmosphere Infra-Red Tomography explorer), we analyse the capabilities of a high-spectral-resolu...

Capturing the Capture: Branching Ratios of O2 Addition in Isoprene Peroxy Radicals via Quasiclassical Trajectories

Abstract A central unresolved question in isoprene chemistry concerns the branching ratio between the α- and γ-addition channels of O2 capture by the Z,Z’-OH-allyl hydroperoxy radical forming second-generation peroxy radicals, which ultimately determines the respective importance...

A simplified isoprene oxidation mechanism for fast formaldehyde-based emission inversion of isoprene

We introduce the Simplified Isoprene Chemistry for MAGRITTE (SICMA), a compact chemical mechanism designed for computationally efficient global chemistry transport modeling of formaldehyde (HCHO) and adjoint-based emission inversions. The scheme reduces the isoprene oxidation net...

Projected westward advance of tropospheric formaldehyde over China

Economic development and population aggregation are driving the east-to-west spread of tropospheric formaldehyde (HCHO) in China; yet the historical trajectory and future threat of this westward migration remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze OMI satellite observations utili...