Evidence of vertical transport of carbon monoxide from Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT)

Abstract

Vertical profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) mixing ratio retrieved from MOPITT measurements have been analyzed. We find that variations in the vertical structure of CO can be detected in the MOPITT data. The Asian summer monsoon plume in CO is observed for the first time as a strong enhancement of CO in the upper troposphere (UT) over India and southern China indicating the effect of deep convective transport. Similarly, zonal mean height latitude cross-sections for the months of September-December, 2002 indicate deep convective transport of CO from biomass burning in the southern tropics. These findings show that MOPITT CO can provide valuable information on vertical transport phenomena in the troposphere. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.