Retrieval of vertical profiles and tropospheric CO2 columns based on high-resolution FTIR over Hefei, China

High-resolution solar absorption spectra, observed by ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), are used to retrieve vertical profiles and partial or total column concentrations of many trace gases. In this study, we present the tropospheric CO2 columns retrieved by mid-infrared solar spectra over Hefei, China. To reduce the influence of stratospheric CO2 cross-dependencies on tropospheric CO2, an a posteriori optimization method based on a simple matrix multiplication is used to correct the tropospheric CO2 profiles and columns. The corrected tropospheric CO2 time series show an obvious annual increase and seasonal variation. The tropospheric CO2 annual increase rate is 2.71 +/- 0.36 ppm yr(-1), with the annual peak value in January, and CO2 decreases to a minimum in August. Further, the corrected tropospheric CO2 from GEOS-Chem simulations are in good agreement with the coincident FTIR data, with a correlation coefficient between GEOS-chem model and FTS of 0.89. The annual increase rate of XCO2 observed from near-infrared solar absorption spectra is in good agreement with the tropospheric CO2 but the annual seasonal amplitude of XCO2 is only about 1/3 of dry-air averaged mole fractions (DMF) of tropospheric CO2. This is mostly attributed to the seasonal variation of CO2 being mainly dominated by sources near the surface. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

High-resolution solar absorption spectra obtained by ground-based FTIR are used to retrieve vertical profiles and columns of trace gases. In this study, tropospheric CO2 columns over Hefei, China were analyzed, showing an annual increase and seasonal variation. An optimization method based on matrix multiplication was used to correct the tropospheric CO2 profiles and columns, with good agreement between simulations and observational data.