Trends and Interannual Variability of the Hydroxyl Radical in the Remote Tropics During Boreal Autumn Inferred From Satellite Proxy Data
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Date
2024-04-20
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Citation of Original Publication
Anderson, Daniel C., Bryan N. Duncan, Junhua Liu, Julie M. Nicely, Sarah A. Strode, Melanie B. Follette-Cook, Amir H. Souri, Jerry R. Ziemke, Gonzalo González-Abad, and Zolal Ayazpour. “Trends and Interannual Variability of the Hydroxyl Radical in the Remote Tropics During Boreal Autumn Inferred From Satellite Proxy Data.” Geophysical Research Letters 51, no. 8 (2024): e2024GL108531. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108531.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract
Despite its importance for the global oxidative capacity, spatially resolved trends and variability of the hydroxyl radical (OH) are poorly constrained. We demonstrate the utility of a tropospheric column OH (TCOH) product, created from machine learning and satellite proxy data, in determining the spatial variability in trends of tropical OH over the oceans during September through November. While OH increases domain-wide by 2.1%/decade from 2005–2019, we find significant spatial heterogeneity in regional trends, with decreases in some areas of 2.5%/decade. Our analysis of the trends in the proxy data indicate anthropogenic-driven changes in emissions of OH drivers as well as increasing temperatures cause these trends. This OH product is potentially a significant advance in constraining OH spatial variability and serves as a useful complement to existing tools in understanding the atmospheric oxidative capacity. Comprehensive observations of TCOH are required to assess the fidelity of this method.