Abstract:

The past two decades represent a “Golden Age” for satellite measurements of atmospheric composition.  The long-term nature of these records, along with recent developments in modeling and data assimilation, has opened the way for new analyses of the response of the atmosphere to changes in emissions and new understanding of natural variability in composition.  In this talk, I will discuss an array of recent results focused on these two topics, from COVID-19-related anomalies in surface air quality to decadal-scale variability in stratospheric trace gases driven by the QBO. I will also describe a new atmospheric composition satellite mission concept called STRatosphere-TO-Surface (STRATOS) that seeks to address the coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere and between air quality and climate.