Megacity Carbon: Initial network design for Los Angeles

Independent quantification of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends is a necessary foundation for any GHG mitigation agreement. Atmospheric observations have the potential to provide objective information for monitoring, verifying, and validating anthropogenic GHG emissions. Over large spatial scales the biosphere's influence masks anthropogenic signals, obfuscating attribution. In comparison, megacities, with their large, localized GHG emissions forming characteristic urban domes, provide relatively easily detected anthropogenic atmospheric signals. Here we present the initial network design of a pilot program in Los Angeles (LA) as part of the Megacity Carbon project. The network is designed to sample carbon dioxide and methane distributions throughout the urban dome with a combination of in-situ point, slant column, and total column observations, providing a rich dataset for understanding urban emissions and distributions while simultaneously providing a baseline...