Non-methane volatile organic compounds in Africa
Subtitle: a vew from space
Contributors: Jacob, Daniel J.; Anderson, James; Chance, Kelly; McElroy, Michael
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Description: Isoprene emissions affect human health, air quality, and the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Globally anthropogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) emissions are lower than that of isoprene, but local hotspots are hazardous to human health and air quality. In Africa the tropics are a large source of isoprene, while Nigeria appears as a large contributor to regional anthropogenic NMVOC emissions. I make extensive use of space-based formaldehyde (HCHO) observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and the chemical transport model (CTM) GEOS-Chem to estimate and examine seasonality of isoprene emissions across Africa, and identify sources and air quality consequences of anthropogenic NMVOC emissions in Nigeria.
Notes: Keywords: Africa, formaldehyde, GEOS-Chem, isoprene, Nigeria, OMI.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2014