ACD Research Highlight

Aura/OMI measurements show distinct enhancements in NO2 and SO2 amounts over the Canadian oil sands

Upper left: NASA LandSat image showing land changes (white color indicates deforestation) in the region of mining operations.

Upper middle: OMI annual mean tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (VCD) in units of 1015 molec/cm2, averaged over 2005-2010, shown on a 1x1 km2 grid and calculated using an averaging radius of 8 km. Large NO2 emission sources are Syncrude (left black dot) and Suncor (right black dot).

Upper left: OMI summertime mean tropospheric SO2 VCD in units of 1015 molec/cm2, averaged over 2005-2010 shown on a 2x2 km2 grid and calculated using an averaging radius of 24 km. Large SO2 emission sources are Syncrude (left black dot) and Suncor (right black dot).

Lower right: Time series of seasonal OMI NO2 total mass of the NO2 enhancement in tonnes, Also shown is the fit to the time series using a trend model with constant, linear, and annual harmonic terms and the calculated linear trend and trend uncertainties. The rate of emission throughout the year is roughly constant, The seasonality of the NO2 is due to its changing chemical lifetime.

Data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) show distinct enhancements in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) over a region of surface mining in the Canadian oil sands.

The oil sands are located in the north-east corner of the province of Alberta, Canada and contain the second largest reserve (after Saudi Arabia) of oil globally. Shown along the top are maps over a portion of the oil sands where extensive surface mining occurs:  a NASA LandSat image from 2009 indicating vegetation removal in the region of surface mining (left), OMI mean NO2 (middle), and OMI mean SO2 (right).  OMI data were averaged over the period 2005-2010.  White values indicate background levels, increasing through yellow-orange, with brown-black the largest.  Maximum values clearly correspond to the location of the industrial activity.  The time graph shows that NO2 has been increasing at a rate of 10%/year over this period.  SO2 trends have not yet been assessed.  Maximum NO2 and SO2 values are comparable to those seen over large North American power plants.  It is expected that oil production will double and annual capital investments will reach $20B by 2020 further highlighting the need for monitoring pollution in this area.  These results make use of improved mapping techniques able to resolve detail down to 10 km.  These are the first satellite-based results of pollution over the oil sands.
 

Atmospheric Chemistry & Dynamics: Mission

The principal mission of Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics is to understand the behavior of stratospheric ozone and trace gases that influence ozone. Ozone and trace gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, and the chlorofluorocarbons profoundly influence the habitability of the Earth even though together they comprise less than one percent of the Earth's atmosphere. Ozone itself absorbs nearly all the biologically damaging solar ultraviolet radiation before it reaches the Earth's surface. The Clean Air Act of 1977 assigns the responsibility for studying the ozone layer to NASA. Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics is the center for ozone and related atmospheric research at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

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