Atmospheric CO along the Trans-Siberian Railroad and River Ob: source identification using isotope analysis

The concentration, radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and stable isotope (¹³C and ¹⁸O) content of CO have been determined in air samples collected across Russia (about 8,500 km) and along the Ob river during the summer of 1999 to study the CO sources and sinks. An instrumented carriage on the Trans-Siberian railway and a boat on the river Ob were used as atmospheric measurement platforms. In general, CO mixing ratios, CO stable isotope ratios, as well as the abundances of ¹⁴CO over West Siberia were similar to those found at remote northern hemispheric baseline monitoring stations. Identified sources of CO along the Ob appear to be connected to methane oxidation based on an inferred δ¹³C_source = −36.8 ± 0.6‰, while the value for δ¹⁸O_source = 9.0 ± 1.6‰ identifies it as burning. Thus flaring in the oil and gas production can be supposed to be a source. The extreme ¹³C depletion and concomitant ¹⁸O enrichment for two of the boat samples unambiguously indicates contamination by CO from combustion of natural gas (inferred values δ¹³C_source = −40.3‰ and δ¹⁸O_source = 17.5‰). For these two samples, that have strongly elevated ¹⁴CO concentrations, the industrial area near Tomsk is identified as a source area using meteorological calculations. Along the Trans-Siberian Railroad background CO was to various degrees contaminated with CO from methane combustion (δ¹³C_source = −35.7 ± 6.2‰ and δ¹⁸O_source = 10.3 ± 1.8‰). The impact of industrial burning was discernable in the vicinity of Perm-Kungur.     

Russian studies of atmospheric ozone in 2011–2014

This review contains the most important results obtained in Russian studies on atmospheric ozone in 2011–2014. It is part of the Russian National Report on Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences that was prepared for the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS). This report was considered and approved at the XXVI General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).¹ The list of Russian publications on atmospheric ozone and its precursors for 2011–2014 is appended to this review.     

Aromatic volatile organic compounds and their role in ground-level ozone formation in Russia

This paper reports proton mass spectrometry data on aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (benzene, toluene, phenol, styrene, xylene, and propylbenzene) obtained in different Russian regions along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok, based on expedition data retrieved using the TRO-ICA-12 mobile laboratory in the summer of 2008. The contribution of aromatic VOCs to ozone formation in the cities and regions along the measurement route has been estimated quantitatively. The greatest contribution of aromatic VOCs to ozone formation is characteristic of large cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway (up to 7.5 ppbv O₃) specified by the highest concentrations of aromatic VOCs (1–1.7 ppbv) and nitrogen oxides (>20 ppbv). The results obtained are indicative of a considerable contribution (30–50%) of anthropogenic emissions of VOCs to photochemical ozone generation in the large cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway in hot and dry weather against the background of a powerful natural factor such as isoprene emissions controlling the regional balance of ground-level ozone in warm seasons.

     

<Superscript>222</Superscript>Rn concentrations in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia from observations in TROICA experiments

Both space and time variations in the ²²²Rn concentration in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia were analyzed on the basis of data obtained in the Transcontinental Observations into the Chemistry of the Atmosphere (TROICA) experiments. The measurements were taken from a mobile laboratory which was part of a passenger train moving along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. The factors that affect the spatial distribution of both daily and seasonal variations in the concentrations of ²²²Rn in the surface air were determined: atmospheric vertical stability, geological features of the area under study, and atmospheric precipitation. The influence of temperature inversions on the accumulation of ²²²Rn in the atmospheric surface layer was analyzed. The fluxes of ²²²Rn from the soil into the atmosphere were estimated for different regions of Russia.     

Russian studies of atmospheric ozone in 2007–2011

This review contains the most important results obtained in studies of atmospheric ozone in 2007–2010. It is part of the Russian national report on meteorology and atmospheric sciences that was prepared for the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS). This report was considered and approved at the XXV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). The list of publications by Russian scientists for 2007–2010 is appended to this review. Not all of these publications are cited here, but all of them are devoted to this topic and contain results that may be of interest to specialists in the fields of meteorology and atmospheric sciences.     

A Double Portrait: The Contributions G.S. Golitsyn and P.J. Crutzen Made to Studying the Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - This is the introductory article for the special issue of Izvestia, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics dedicated to the 2019 Lomonosov Gold Medal of the...     

Methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide concentrations measured in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia in the TROICA experiments

The principal statistical regularities typical of the behaviors of the CH₄, CO, and CO₂ concentrations in the atmospheric surface layer over the continental Russian territory are revealed from the measurements performed in 1997–2004 along the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Khabarovsk with a mobile laboratory. The data obtained under the conditions of the atmosphere free of anthropogenic pollutants are analyzed. For near-background conditions, the typical continental methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide concentrations and characteristic features of their large-scale spatial distributions and daily variations, including those caused by surface inversions, are determined. Variations in the concentrations of these trace gases over industrial regions are analyzed. Our results are compared to the data obtained at background stations of the world network of atmospheric monitoring and to the data of a numerical simulation.     

Variability of trace gases in the atmospheric surface layer from observations in the city of Moscow

The results of continuous minute measurements of the surface concentrations of ozone, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide during the 2002–2004 period at the environmental station of the Oboukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP), and the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University (MSU), are discussed. It is shown that the conditions of Moscow’s southwestern region remote from large local pollution sources reflect the general regularities of the variability of trace gases in an urban atmosphere. This is manifested in the mean annual value of the ratio NO/NO₂ (a little less than 1), decreased daylight values of O₃, increased values of the rest of the trace gases as compared to the background region, and the presence of a secondary nocturnal maximum in the diurnal cycle of O₃. The features of the annual and diurnal cycles of the concentrations of the substances under analysis are discussed. In the diurnal cycle of the primary products of combustion (NO and CO), an excess of the morning maximum (over the evening one) is observed during both warm and transition periods and higher values of the night maximum (as compared to the daylight one) are noted for summer. The temperature stratification properties determined from the MSU long-term acoustic sounding data serve as a possible cause for both of the effects revealed. The annual cycle of the concentration of surface ozone is characterized by the highest values for spring and summer. The annual cycles of NO, NO₂, CO, and SO₂ do not demonstrate any obvious seasonal regularities. A significant seasonal variation of the ratio NO/NO₂, which is associated with the oxidizing properties of the urban atmosphere, is revealed. The record high concentrations of trace gases in the atmosphere over Moscow are given, and the meteorological conditions for their accumulation are discussed.     

Temporal variations in carbon dioxide and methane concentrations under urban conditions

Temporal variations in the surface concentrations of two greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere over a large city are studied on the basis of the data obtained during the 2003–2005 observations at a Moscow station for environmental monitoring. This station is based on the TROICA mobile observatory and located at the meteorological station of the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University, on Vorob’evy gory. The methods of isolating the background concentrations of greenhouse gases under urban conditions are proposed, and the excess concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ over their background values are estimated for different seasons and times of day. The CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations are shown to have more pronounced diurnal cycles in summer than in winter. The main causes of temporal variations in the surface concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ under urban conditions and the differences between the mean concentrations of these greenhouse gases in Moscow and other areas of Russia are analyzed. It is shown that variations in the surface concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane on different time scales are caused by different atmospheric processes (global circulation, mesoscale gravity waves, surface temperature inversions, etc.)