Study of satellite retrieved CO2 and CH4 concentration over India

This paper reports a study of spatial and temporal variations of columnar averaged concentration of CO2 and CH4 over India using SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) and Greenhouse gas Observing SATellite (GOSAT) data. Comparison of these data with the global view National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) land data and also location specific flask data is made. The temporal variation in column averaged global CO2 is similar to that over India and it is also similar to the NOAA surface flask data and global view. The variation in NOAA surface CH4 is location dependent and its global view appears to vary seasonally in opposite phase with the column averaged CH4 values from satellites, reflecting the limited comparability of surface and column averaged data. Over India the CO2 maximum is in May and minimum in August/September while for CH4 the maximum is in September and minimum in February/March. The seasonal variation of CH4 over India is correlated with the eastern coastal rice cultivation.