Contributions of Various Sources to the Higher-Concentration Center of CO within the ASM Anticyclone Based on GEOS-Chem Simulations

Abstract

Satellite observations show that carbon monoxide (CO) concentration centers exist in the tropopause region of the Tibetan Plateau, while their sources and formation mechanism still remain uncertain. In this paper, the 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem is used to conduct sensitivity analysis in 2016. Combined with the analysis data and satellite data, the contribution of three important emission sources (South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia) and two important chemical reaction species (CH4 and nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)) to CO in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are studied. The results show that in the Asian monsoon region CO emissions originating from the surface are transported to the upper troposphere via a deep convection process and then enter the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) anticyclone. The strong ASM anticyclone isolates the mixing process of air inside and outside the anticyclone, upon entry of carbon monoxide-rich air. In the lower stratosphere, the intensity of the ASM anticyclone declines and the air within the anticyclone flows southwestward with monsoon circulation. We found that in the summer Asian monsoon region, South Asia exhibited the highest carbon monoxide concentration transported to the UTLS. CH4 imposed the greatest influence on the CO concentration in the UTLS region. According to the model simulation results, the CO concentrations in the Asian monsoon region at 100 hPa altitudes were higher than those in other regions at the same latitudes. Regarding effects, 43.18% originated from CH4 chemical reactions, 20.81% originated from NMVOC chemical reactions, and 63.33% originated from surface CO emissions, while sinks yielded a negative contribution of −27.32%. Regarding surface CO emissions, East Asia contributed 13.56%, South Asia contributed 39.27%, and Southeast Asia contributed 7.15%.

Keywords

• upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
• carbon monoxide
• South Asia high pressure
• atmospheric chemical transport model