Non-methane volatile organic compounds in Africa: a vew from space

Abstract

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.