Research Highlights
Study by Vaishali Naik and co-authors on the Observational constraints on the global atmospheric budget of ethanol
Vaishali Naik,
Arlene Fiore, Larry Horowitz from GFDL along with co-authors from
NASA-AMES, NCAR, NOAA ESRL, University of Minnesota and University of
California at Berkeley applied the global chemical-transport model
MOZART-4 in conjunction with available observations from several
regions around the globe to place constraints on the global budget of
atmospheric ethanol. Their analysis indicates that over continental
regions, ethanol concentrations predominantly reflect direct
anthropogenic and biogenic emission sources. Furthermore, the authors
find that current levels of ethanol measured in remote regions are an
order of magnitude larger than those in the model, suggesting a major
gap in the understanding of the sources and sinks of ethanol.
Stronger constraints on the present-day budget and distribution of
ethanol and other volatile organic compounds are needed to assess the
impacts of increasing the use of ethanol as a fuel.
Figure Caption: Annual mean
concentration of ethanol near the surface and at 500 mb simulated by
the global chemical-transport model MOZART-4.