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Mass Spectrum

Mass Spectrum

A mass spectrum is the graphical representation of the relative abundance of the charged fragments in an analyte plotted against their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). The plot's x axis represents the ratio of the mass of the charged fragment to the elementary charge it carries. The y axis of the plot represents the relative abundance of each charged species. The relative abundance is calculated from the signal intensity of each charged species recorded at the detector. The most intense signal (the...

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Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Measuring Dissolved Methane in Aquatic Ecosystems Using An Optical Spectroscopy Gas Analyzer

Measuring Dissolved Methane in Aquatic Ecosystems Using An Optical Spectroscopy Gas Analyzer

Published on: July 26, 2024

Quantifying global terrestrial methanol emissions using observations from the TES satellite sensor.

K C Wells¹, D B Millet¹, K E Cady-Pereira²

¹Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

|March 24, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

New satellite data reveals global methanol emissions are 60% higher than previously estimated. This finding significantly impacts our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and the sources of air pollution.

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Area of Science:

Atmospheric Chemistry
Remote Sensing
Biogeochemical Cycles

Background:

Methanol is a key atmospheric trace gas influencing air quality and climate.
Previous estimates of terrestrial methanol emissions had significant uncertainties.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify global terrestrial methanol emissions using new space-based measurements.
To improve the accuracy of atmospheric chemical transport models.

Main Methods:

Employed Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) satellite data.
Utilized the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model with its adjoint.
Incorporated the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGANv2.1) for biogenic emissions.
Applied a data assimilation (inversion) technique to optimize emissions.

Main Results:

Optimized global methanol emissions are 122 Tg yr⁻¹, a 60% increase from the a priori estimate (76 Tg yr⁻¹).
Methanol emissions are comparable to anthropogenic volatile organic compounds and a significant fraction of isoprene emissions.
The optimized emissions improved model agreement with airborne observations and corroborated other top-down estimates.
Significant upward revisions in midlatitude emissions (Europe, North America) were observed, contrasting with tropical regions.

Conclusions:

Global terrestrial methanol emissions are substantially underestimated by current models.
Methanol plays a more significant role in atmospheric photochemistry, particularly in the Northern extratropics.
Satellite-based measurements combined with chemical transport models are effective for quantifying trace gas emissions.