GlobEmission

Emission estimates based on satellite observations.


At the origin of all air quality issues are the emissions of pollutants. Emission inventories provide essential information on magnitude, type of activity, time evolution and the spatial coverage of the emissions. These inventories are developed for use by the policy makers in order to evaluate progress towards emission abatement measures, and decide on future strategies, and for use in scientific applications as input in urban, regional, continental or global scale models. Unfortunately, traditional emission inventories are often inaccurate or outdated. Within the GlobEmission project (part of Data User Element programme of ESA) we develop new emission estimates from satellite observations of air constituents. The main advantage of these emission estimates are the spatial consistency, high temporal resolution and the rapid availability of these estimates to the user.

Based on the requirements of our dedicated users the following services have been developed in GlobEmission so far: -Global biogenic emissions of isoprene -Global emissions related to forest-fires -Regional anthropogenic VOC emissions (China) -Regional emissions of NOx and SO2 (China, South Africa, India, Middle East) -European emission estimates of NOx and SO2 -Regional aerosol-related emissions The space-based emission inventories from GlobEmission offer:

  • Spatial consistency and high temporal resolution
  • Comparison between regions using the same method and satellite instrument -Identification of weaknesses in existing inventories
  • Monitoring of emission changes, trends and new emission spots
  • Fast updates and rapid availability to users
  • Easy access via the web-portal.