We have developed an automated observatory for measuring atmospheric column abundances of CO2 and O2 using near‐infrared spectra of the Sun obtained with a high spectral resolution Fourier Transform ...Spectrometer (FTS). This is the first dedicated laboratory in a new network of ground‐based observatories named the Total Carbon Column Observing Network. This network will be used for carbon cycle studies and validation of spaceborne column measurements of greenhouse gases. The observatory was assembled in Pasadena, California, and then permanently deployed to northern Wisconsin during May 2004. It is located in the heavily forested Chequamegon National Forest at the WLEF Tall Tower site, 12 km east of Park Falls, Wisconsin. Under clear sky conditions, ∼0.1% measurement precision is demonstrated for the retrieved column CO2 abundances. During the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment–North America and CO2 Boundary Layer Regional Airborne Experiment campaigns in summer 2004, the DC‐8 and King Air aircraft recorded eight in situ CO2 profiles over the WLEF site. Comparison of the integrated aircraft profiles and CO2 column abundances shows a small bias (∼2%) but an excellent correlation.
We retrieved column‐averaged dry air mole fractions of atmospheric carbon dioxide () from backscattered short‐wave infrared (SWIR) sunlight measured by the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing ...SATellite (GOSAT). Over two years of retrieved from GOSAT is compared with inferred from collocated SWIR measurements by seven ground‐based Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) stations. The average difference between GOSAT and TCCON for individual TCCON sites ranges from −0.87 ppm to 0.77 ppm with a mean value of 0.1 ppm and standard deviation of 0.56 ppm. We find an average bias between all GOSAT and TCCON retrievals of −0.20 ppm with a standard deviation of 2.26 ppm and a correlation coefficient of 0.75. One year of was retrieved from GOSAT globally, which was compared to global 3‐D GEOS‐Chem chemistry transport model calculations. We find that the latitudinal gradient, seasonal cycles, and spatial variability of GOSAT and GEOS‐Chem agree well in general with a correlation coefficient of 0.61. Regional differences between GEOS‐Chem model calculations and GOSAT observations are typically less than 1 ppm except for the Sahara and central Asia where a mean difference between 2 to 3 ppm is observed, indicating regional biases in the GOSAT retrievals unobserved by the current TCCON network. Using a bias correction scheme based on linear regression these regional biases are significantly reduced, approaching the required accuracy for surface flux inversions.
Key Points
Bias and precision should be sufficient to allow improved surface flux estimates
Globally, regional differences are found to be small, except over desert regions
Retrievals should be useful for the inversion of CO2 surface fluxes
Abstract
The ‘yellow vest movement’ that emerged in France in Autumn 2018 raises a serious question for political economy, because many of those who participated did not come from the most fragile ...sectors of the population. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, but also quantitative data, this article takes an in-depth look at the household budget of one ‘yellow vest’ family. It reveals the increasing tensions lower middle-class peri-urban families are confronted with, and the different ways they address them. In order to understand how they make ends meet, various spheres like the labour and housing market, the transport system, and social mobility must absolutely be interconnected. Contemporary economic reforms impact heavily on these households, lending support to the argument of an ‘attack on household budgets’, particularly as far as road transport is concerned. This approach also allows us to observe the gap between the socio-economic reality of these people and the overly unidimensional statistical indicators available. This budgetary data paves the way for a fair comparison with other contemporary political changes—Brexit for example—to see if similar mechanisms are at work in those cases.
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