Variabilidade espacial e temporal do metano sobre a américa do sul observada pelo satélite aqua

Abstract

This study analyzes the variability temporal-spatial of methane(CH4) greenhouse gas in the atmosphere over South America, with an emphasis on the Amazonian and Pantanal, in addition to evaluating the performance of the AQUA sounding system for retrieving vertical profiles of methane on the Alta Floresta region (Midwest region of Brazil).The study uses data from the AQUA satellite, for the period 2003-2012, and campaign data with the Bandeirante aircraft, of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), held in the month of October 2007.The results show through of the temporal analysis a seasonal behavior ofCH4 well-defined, with a progressive increase in concentrations in the dry season and decrease in the rainy season. In terms of variability, there was an increase in the growth rate of CH4 in the Amazon region associated with La Nina events. Spatially, it was observe a larger variability of this gas over the plains of the Amazon Basin region of wetlands. On the other hand, the indirect effect in increasing methane concentrations because of the burning of biomass was also evaluated. In this case, it was noted that during the dry season, on the central region of Brazil, the CO emission originated from biomass burning influences the increase of CH4 in the region. Finally, comparisons between AQUA surveys and aircraft measurements show a good agreement for CH4 profiles in the lower troposphere (600-900 mb), averaging less than 5% error.