Interesting data are emerging from Japan’s GOSAT observations.

This satellite is specifically designed for gathering data on methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) sources and sinks.  Preliminary data for April 2009 are pictured here .  It is interesting to correlate this with historical pollution tracking (page 10) and jetstream patterns which imply a transfer between Hong Kong (lat. 22N) and Hawaii (lat. 21N).  Although an early reach, it is possible to speculate that the Mauna Loa CO2 measurements are biased by the huge CO2 emissions from China and the Middle East.  Anyone tried a correlation between ramp up of fossil fuel use in China and the Mauna Loa measurements?