Seasonal Variations of CO2, CH4, N2O and CO in the Mid-Troposphere over the Western North Pacific Observed Using a C-130H Cargo Aircraft

Yosuke NIWA; Kazuhiro TSUBOI; Hidekazu MATSUEDA; Yousuke SAWA; Toshinobu MACHIDA; Masamichi NAKAMURA; Taro KAWASATO; Kazuyuki SAITO; Shinya TAKATSUJI; Kentaro TSUJI; Hidehiro NISHI; Koshiro DEHARA; Yusuke BABA; Daisuke KUBOIKE; Shohei IWATSUBO; Hidehiro OHMORI; Yoshikazu HANAMIYA

doi:10.2151/jmsj.2014-104

Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser. II

Online ISSN : 2186-9057
Print ISSN : 0026-1165
ISSN-L : 0026-1165

Articles

Seasonal Variations of CO₂, CH₄, N₂O and CO in the Mid-Troposphere over the Western North Pacific Observed Using a C-130H Cargo Aircraft

Yosuke NIWA, Kazuhiro TSUBOI, Hidekazu MATSUEDA, Yousuke SAWA, Toshinobu MACHIDA, Masamichi NAKAMURA, Taro KAWASATO, Kazuyuki SAITO, Shinya TAKATSUJI, Kentaro TSUJI, Hidehiro NISHI, Koshiro DEHARA, Yusuke BABA, Daisuke KUBOIKE, Shohei IWATSUBO, Hidehiro OHMORI, Yoshikazu HANAMIYA

Author information

Yosuke NIWA
Oceanography and Geochemistry Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Kazuhiro TSUBOI
Oceanography and Geochemistry Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Hidekazu MATSUEDA
Oceanography and Geochemistry Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Yousuke SAWA
Oceanography and Geochemistry Research Department, Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
Toshinobu MACHIDA
Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
Masamichi NAKAMURA
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Taro KAWASATO
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Kazuyuki SAITO
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Shinya TAKATSUJI
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Kentaro TSUJI
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Hidehiro NISHI
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Koshiro DEHARA
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Yusuke BABA
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Daisuke KUBOIKE
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Shohei IWATSUBO
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Hidehiro OHMORI
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Yoshikazu HANAMIYA
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan

Corresponding author

ORCID

Keywords: greenhouse gases, aircraft observation, mid-troposphere

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Supplementary material

2014 Volume 92 Issue 1 Pages 55-70

DOI https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2014-104

Details

Published: 2014 Received: March 28, 2013 Released on J-STAGE: March 14, 2014 Accepted: October 04, 2013 Advance online publication: - Revised: -

Abstract

Seasonal variations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrous oxide (N₂O), in the mid-troposphere over the western North Pacific, are investigated using air samples collected onboard a C-130H aircraft. These samples were obtained between Atsugi Base (35.45°N, 139.45°E) and Minamitorishima (MNM; 24.28°N, 153.98°E), once a month, from September 2010 to September 2012. Increasing trends of CO₂ and N₂O and large variability of CH₄ and CO (at approximately 6 km) have been found. During summer, concentrations of CH₄ and CO were found to increase with height over MNM. High concentrations of CH₄ were persistently observed in the mid-troposphere throughout the observation period. The average enhancement ratios of CH₄ to CO above background levels (ΔCH₄/ΔCO) were 0.47 and 1.2 ppb/ppb for winter-spring and summer-fall, respectively. The results suggested that the high CH₄ concentrations originated primarily from fossil fuel combustions in winter-spring, while there could be an additional contribution from increased biogenic sources during summer-fall. Because a surface station in MNM rarely observed the summer-fall high CH₄ concentration values in the mid-troposphere, the aircraft measurements could provide a powerful constraint on the CH₄ emission estimates for Asia, in addition to that provided by the surface measurements. This aircraft measurement program is regularly conducted for the long-term monitoring of the greenhouse gases in the mid-troposphere, and it has a significant role for filling the data gap of the existing measurement network.

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