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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer
Published on: May 29, 2019
Interannual changes in atmospheric oxidation over forests determined from space
Joshua D Shutter1, Dylan B Millet1, Kelley C Wells1
1Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
Abstract:
The hydroxyl radical (OH) is the central oxidant in Earth's troposphere, but its temporal variability is poorly understood. We combine 2012-2020 satellite-based isoprene and formaldehyde measurements to identify coherent OH changes over temperate and tropical forests with attribution to emission trends, biotic stressors, and climate. We identify a multiyear OH decrease over the Southeast United States and show that with increasingly hot/dry summers the regional chemistry could become even less oxidizing depending on competing temperature/drought impacts on isoprene. Furthermore, while global mean OH decreases during El Niño, we show that near-field effects over tropical rainforests can alternate between high/low OH anomalies due to opposing fire and biogenic emission impacts. Results provide insights into how atmospheric oxidation will evolve with changing emissions and climate.
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