A broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer for aircraft  measurements of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, nitrous acid, nitrogen dioxide, and  water vapor

K.-E. Min; R. A. Washenfelder; W. P. Dubé; A. O. Langford; P. M. Edwards; K. J. Zarzana; J. Stutz; K. Lu; F. Rohrer; Y. Zhang; S. S. Brown

doi:10.5194/amt-9-423-2016

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Feb 2016)

A broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer for aircraft measurements of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, nitrous acid, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor

K.-E. Min,
R. A. Washenfelder,
W. P. Dubé,
A. O. Langford,
P. M. Edwards,
K. J. Zarzana,
J. Stutz,
K. Lu,
F. Rohrer,
Y. Zhang,
S. S. Brown

Affiliations

K.-E. Min: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
R. A. Washenfelder: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
W. P. Dubé: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
A. O. Langford: Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
P. M. Edwards: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
K. J. Zarzana: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
J. Stutz: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
K. Lu: College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
F. Rohrer: Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-8: Troposphere, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
Y. Zhang: College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
S. S. Brown: Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-423-2016
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9, no. 2
pp. 423 – 440

Abstract

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We describe a two-channel broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer (BBCEAS) for aircraft measurements of glyoxal (CHOCHO), methylglyoxal (CH3COCHO), nitrous acid (HONO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and water (H2O). The instrument spans 361–389 and 438–468 nm, using two light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a single grating spectrometer with a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector. Robust performance is achieved using a custom optical mounting system, high-power LEDs with electronic on/off modulation, high-reflectivity cavity mirrors, and materials that minimize analyte surface losses. We have successfully deployed this instrument during two aircraft and two ground-based field campaigns to date. The demonstrated precision (2σ) for retrievals of CHOCHO, HONO and NO2 are 34, 350, and 80 parts per trillion (pptv) in 5 s. The accuracy is 5.8, 9.0, and 5.0 %, limited mainly by the available absorption cross sections.

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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