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Observing downwind structures of urban HCHO plumes from space: Implications to non-methane volatile organic compound emissions
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  • Xiaoxing Zuo,
  • Wenfu Sun,
  • Isabelle De Smedt,
  • Xicheng Li,
  • Song Liu,
  • Dongchuan Pu,
  • Shuai Sun,
  • Juan Li,
  • Yuyang Chen,
  • Weitao Fu,
  • Peng Zhang,
  • Yali Li,
  • Xin Yang,
  • Tzung-May Fu,
  • Huizhong Shen,
  • Jianhuai Ye,
  • Chen Wang,
  • Lei Zhu
Xiaoxing Zuo
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Wenfu Sun
Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
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Isabelle De Smedt
Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB)
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Xicheng Li
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Song Liu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Dongchuan Pu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Shuai Sun
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Juan Li
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Yuyang Chen
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Weitao Fu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Peng Zhang
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Yali Li
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Xin Yang
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Tzung-May Fu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
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Huizhong Shen
Southern University of Science and Technology
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Jianhuai Ye
Southern University of Science and Technology
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Chen Wang
Southern University of Science and Technology
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Lei Zhu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology

Corresponding Author:zhul3@sustech.edu.cn

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Abstract

Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) have a significant impact on air quality in urban areas. Detecting NMVOCs emission with its proxy HCHO on urban scales from space, however, has been limited by the lack of discernible enhancement. Here we show clear urban HCHO plumes from 11 cities over the globe by rotating TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) HCHO pixels according to wind directions. We fit the downwind structure of the plumes with the exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG) approach to quantify urban HCHO effective production rates between 22.7 mol s-1 and 115.8 mol s-1. Our results are in line with estimations using the EDGAR inventory (r = 0.81). Our work offers a new way of constraining NMVOC emissions from urban areas and highlights the potential of satellite HCHO data to provide new information for monitoring urban air quality.
25 Aug 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Sep 2023Published in ESS Open Archive