Evaluation and environmental correction of ambient CO<sub>2</sub> measurements from a low-cost NDIR sensor

C. R. Martin; N. Zeng; N. Zeng; A. Karion; R. R. Dickerson; R. R. Dickerson; X. Ren; X. Ren; B. N. Turpie; K. J. Weber; K. J. Weber

doi:10.5194/amt-10-2383-2017

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Jul 2017)

Evaluation and environmental correction of ambient CO<sub>2</sub> measurements from a low-cost NDIR sensor

C. R. Martin,
N. Zeng,
N. Zeng,
A. Karion,
R. R. Dickerson,
R. R. Dickerson,
X. Ren,
X. Ren,
B. N. Turpie,
K. J. Weber,
K. J. Weber

Affiliations

C. R. Martin: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
N. Zeng: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
N. Zeng: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
A. Karion: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
R. R. Dickerson: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
R. R. Dickerson: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
X. Ren: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
X. Ren: Air Resources Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
B. N. Turpie: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
K. J. Weber: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
K. J. Weber: now at: Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2383-2017
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10
pp. 2383 – 2395

Abstract

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Non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors are a low-cost way to observe carbon dioxide concentrations in air, but their specified accuracy and precision are not sufficient for some scientific applications. An initial evaluation of six SenseAir K30 carbon dioxide NDIR sensors in a lab setting showed that without any calibration or correction, the sensors have an individual root mean square error (RMSE) between ∼ 5 and 21 parts per million (ppm) compared to a research-grade greenhouse gas analyzer using cavity enhanced laser absorption spectroscopy. Through further evaluation, after correcting for environmental variables with coefficients determined through a multivariate linear regression analysis, the calculated difference between the each of six individual K30 NDIR sensors and the higher-precision instrument had an RMSE of between 1.7 and 4.3 ppm for 1 min data. The median RMSE improved from 9.6 for off-the-shelf sensors to 1.9 ppm after correction and calibration, demonstrating the potential to provide useful information for ambient air monitoring.

Published in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

ISSN: 1867-1381 (Print); 1867-8548 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Environmental engineering; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Earthwork. Foundations
Website: http://www.atmospheric-measurement-techniques.net/home.html

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