Articles | Volume 5, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2981-2012
© Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2981-2012
© Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Dec 2012
Research article |
| 04 Dec 2012
Total OH reactivity measurements using a new fast Gas Chromatographic Photo-Ionization Detector (GC-PID)
A. C. Nölscher
Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Punjab, India
S. Bockisch
Environics-IUT GmbH, Berlin, Germany
T. Klüpfel
Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
J. Williams
Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
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Arpit Awasthi, Baerbel Sinha, Haseeb Hakkim, Sachin Mishra, Varkrishna Mummidivarapu, Gurmanjot Singh, Sachin D. Ghude, Vijay Kumar Soni, Narendra Nigam, Vinayak Sinha, and Madhavan N. Rajeevan
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8149–8168, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8149-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8149-2023, 2023
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Isoprene is emitted mainly by plants and can influence atmospheric chemistry and air quality. But, there are uncertainties in model emission estimates and follow-up atmospheric processes. In our study, with long-term observational datasets of isoprene and biological and environmental factors from central Amazonia, we show that isoprene emission estimates could be improved when biological processes were mechanistically incorporated into the model.
Lisa Ernle, Monika Akima Ringsdorf, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1179–1194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1179-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1179-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric ozone can induce artefacts in volatile organic compound measurements. Laboratory tests were made using GC-MS and PTR-MS aircraft systems under tropospheric and stratospheric conditions of humidity and ozone, with and without sodium thiosulfate filter scrubbers. Ozone in dry air produces some carbonyls and degrades alkenes. The scrubber lifetime depends on ozone concentration, flow rate and humidity. For the troposphere with scrubber, no significant artefacts were found over 14 d.
Denis Leppla, Nora Zannoni, Leslie Kremper, Jonathan Williams, Christopher Pöhlker, Marta Sá, Maria Christina Solci, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 809–820, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-809-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-809-2023, 2023
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Chiral chemodiversity plays a critical role in biochemical processes such as insect and plant communication. Here we report on the measurement of chiral-specified secondary organic aerosol in the Amazon rainforest. The results show that the chiral ratio is mainly determined by large-scale emission processes. Characteristic emissions of chiral aerosol precursors from different forest ecosystems can thus provide large-scale information on different biogenic sources via chiral particle analysis.
Pooja V. Pawar, Sachin D. Ghude, Gaurav Govardhan, Prodip Acharja, Rachana Kulkarni, Rajesh Kumar, Baerbel Sinha, Vinayak Sinha, Chinmay Jena, Preeti Gunwani, Tapan Kumar Adhya, Eiko Nemitz, and Mark A. Sutton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 41–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-41-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-41-2023, 2023
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Therese S. Carter, Colette L. Heald, Jesse H. Kroll, Eric C. Apel, Donald Blake, Matthew Coggon, Achim Edtbauer, Georgios Gkatzelis, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Jeff Peischl, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Felix Piel, Nina G. Reijrink, Akima Ringsdorf, Carsten Warneke, Jonathan Williams, Armin Wisthaler, and Lu Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12093–12111, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12093-2022, 2022
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Fires emit many gases which can contribute to smog and air pollution. However, the amount and properties of these chemicals are not well understood, so this work updates and expands their representation in a global atmospheric model, including by adding new chemicals. We confirm that this updated representation generally matches measurements taken in several fire regions. We then show that fires provide ~15 % of atmospheric reactivity globally and more than 75 % over fire source regions.
Simon F. Reifenberg, Anna Martin, Matthias Kohl, Sara Bacer, Zaneta Hamryszczak, Ivan Tadic, Lenard Röder, Daniel J. Crowley, Horst Fischer, Katharina Kaiser, Johannes Schneider, Raphael Dörich, John N. Crowley, Laura Tomsche, Andreas Marsing, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Zahn, Christopher Pöhlker, Bruna A. Holanda, Ovid Krüger, Ulrich Pöschl, Mira Pöhlker, Patrick Jöckel, Marcel Dorf, Ulrich Schumann, Jonathan Williams, Birger Bohn, Joachim Curtius, Hardwig Harder, Hans Schlager, Jos Lelieveld, and Andrea Pozzer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10901–10917, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10901-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10901-2022, 2022
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In this work we use a combination of observational data from an aircraft campaign and model results to investigate the effect of the European lockdown due to COVID-19 in spring 2020. Using model results, we show that the largest relative changes to the atmospheric composition caused by the reduced emissions are located in the upper troposphere around aircraft cruise altitude, while the largest absolute changes are present at the surface.
Patrick Dewald, Clara M. Nussbaumer, Jan Schuladen, Akima Ringsdorf, Achim Edtbauer, Horst Fischer, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7051–7069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7051-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7051-2022, 2022
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We measured the gas-phase reactivity of the NO3 radical on the summit (825 m a.s.l.) of a semi-rural mountain in southwestern Germany in July 2021. The impact of VOC-induced NO3 losses (mostly monoterpenes) competing with a loss by reaction with NO and photolysis throughout the diel cycle was estimated. Besides chemistry, boundary layer dynamics and plant-physiological processes presumably have a great impact on our observations, which were compared to previous NO3 measurements at the same site.
Yanan Zhao, Dennis Booge, Christa A. Marandino, Cathleen Schlundt, Astrid Bracher, Elliot L. Atlas, Jonathan Williams, and Hermann W. Bange
Biogeosciences, 19, 701–714, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-701-2022, 2022
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We present here, for the first time, simultaneously measured dimethylsulfide (DMS) seawater concentrations and DMS atmospheric mole fractions from the Peruvian upwelling region during two cruises in December 2012 and October 2015. Our results indicate low oceanic DMS concentrations and atmospheric DMS molar fractions in surface waters and the atmosphere, respectively. In addition, the Peruvian upwelling region was identified as an insignificant source of DMS emissions during both periods.
Clara M. Nussbaumer, John N. Crowley, Jan Schuladen, Jonathan Williams, Sascha Hafermann, Andreas Reiffs, Raoul Axinte, Hartwig Harder, Cheryl Ernest, Anna Novelli, Katrin Sala, Monica Martinez, Chinmay Mallik, Laura Tomsche, Christian Plass-Dülmer, Birger Bohn, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18413–18432, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18413-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18413-2021, 2021
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HCHO is an important atmospheric trace gas influencing the photochemical processes in the Earth’s atmosphere, including the budget of HOx and the abundance of tropospheric O3. This research presents the photochemical calculations of HCHO and O3 based on three field campaigns across Europe. We show that HCHO production via the oxidation of only four volatile organic compound precursors, i.e., CH4, CH3CHO, C5H8 and CH3OH, can balance the observed loss at all sites well.
Christophe Lerot, François Hendrick, Michel Van Roozendael, Leonardo M. A. Alvarado, Andreas Richter, Isabelle De Smedt, Nicolas Theys, Jonas Vlietinck, Huan Yu, Jeroen Van Gent, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, Pieter Valks, Diego Loyola, Hitoshi Irie, Vinod Kumar, Thomas Wagner, Stefan F. Schreier, Vinayak Sinha, Ting Wang, Pucai Wang, and Christian Retscher
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7775–7807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7775-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7775-2021, 2021
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Global measurements of glyoxal tropospheric columns from the satellite instrument TROPOMI are presented. Such measurements can contribute to the estimation of atmospheric emissions of volatile organic compounds. This new glyoxal product has been fully characterized with a comprehensive error budget, with comparison with other satellite data sets as well as with validation based on independent ground-based remote sensing glyoxal observations.
Dirk Dienhart, John N. Crowley, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Achim Edtbauer, Philipp G. Eger, Lisa Ernle, Hartwig Harder, Bettina Hottmann, Monica Martinez, Uwe Parchatka, Jean-Daniel Paris, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Roland Rohloff, Jan Schuladen, Christof Stönner, Ivan Tadic, Sebastian Tauer, Nijing Wang, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17373–17388, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17373-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17373-2021, 2021
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We present the first ship-based in situ measurements of formaldehyde (HCHO), hydroxyl radicals (OH) and the OH reactivity around the Arabian Peninsula. Regression analysis of the HCHO production rate and the related OH chemistry revealed the regional HCHO yield αeff, which represents the different chemical regimes encountered. Highest values were found for the Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf), which highlights this region as a hotspot of photochemical air pollution.
Philipp G. Eger, Luc Vereecken, Rolf Sander, Jan Schuladen, Nicolas Sobanski, Horst Fischer, Einar Karu, Jonathan Williams, Ville Vakkari, Tuukka Petäjä, Jos Lelieveld, Andrea Pozzer, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14333–14349, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14333-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14333-2021, 2021
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We determine the impact of pyruvic acid photolysis on the formation of acetaldehyde and peroxy radicals during summer and autumn in the Finnish boreal forest using a data-constrained box model. Our results are dependent on the chosen scenario in which the overall quantum yield and the photolysis products are varied. We highlight that pyruvic acid photolysis can be an important contributor to acetaldehyde and peroxy radical formation in remote, forested regions.
Isabelle De Smedt, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Steven Compernolle, Alkis Bais, Nuria Benavent, Folkert Boersma, Ka-Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Pascal Hedelt, François Hendrick, Hitoshi Irie, Vinod Kumar, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Bavo Langerock, Christophe Lerot, Cheng Liu, Diego Loyola, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Fabian Romahn, Robert George Ryan, Vinayak Sinha, Nicolas Theys, Jonas Vlietinck, Thomas Wagner, Ting Wang, Huan Yu, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12561–12593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, 2021
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This paper assess the performances of the TROPOMI formaldehyde observations compared to its predecessor OMI at different spatial and temporal scales. We also use a global network of MAX-DOAS instruments to validate both satellite datasets for a large range of HCHO columns. The precision obtained with daily TROPOMI observations is comparable to monthly OMI observations. We present clear detection of weak HCHO column enhancements related to shipping emissions in the Indian Ocean.
James Weber, Scott Archer-Nicholls, Nathan Luke Abraham, Youngsub M. Shin, Thomas J. Bannan, Carl J. Percival, Asan Bacak, Paulo Artaxo, Michael Jenkin, M. Anwar H. Khan, Dudley E. Shallcross, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Jonathan Williams, and Alex T. Archibald
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5239–5268, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5239-2021, 2021
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The new mechanism CRI-Strat 2 features state-of-the-art isoprene chemistry not previously available in UKCA and improves UKCA's ability to reproduce observed concentrations of isoprene, monoterpenes, and OH in tropical regions. The enhanced ability to model isoprene, the most widely emitted non-methane volatile organic compound (VOC), will allow understanding of how isoprene and other biogenic VOCs affect atmospheric composition and, through biosphere–atmosphere feedbacks, climate change.
Jean-Daniel Paris, Aurélie Riandet, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Marc Delmotte, Antoine Berchet, Jonathan Williams, Lisa Ernle, Ivan Tadic, Hartwig Harder, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12443–12462, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12443-2021, 2021
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We measured atmospheric methane and CO2 by ship in the Middle East. We probe the origin of methane with a combination of light alkane measurements and modeling. We find strong influence from nearby oil and gas production over the Arabian Gulf. Comparing our data to inventories indicates that inventories overestimate sources from the upstream gas industry but underestimate emissions from oil extraction and processing. The Red Sea was under a complex mixture of sources due to human activity.
Clara M. Nussbaumer, Ivan Tadic, Dirk Dienhart, Nijing Wang, Achim Edtbauer, Lisa Ernle, Jonathan Williams, Florian Obersteiner, Isidoro Gutiérrez-Álvarez, Hartwig Harder, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7933–7945, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7933-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7933-2021, 2021
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Lightning over continental and coastal areas is frequent and accompanied by deep convection, while lightning over marine areas and particularly in tropical cyclones is rare. This research presents in situ observations of the tropical storm Florence 2018 near Cabo Verde. We show the absence of lightning in the tropical storm despite the occurrence of deep convective processes by atmospheric trace gas measurements of O3, NO, CO, H2O2, DMS and CH2I.
Nils Friedrich, Philipp Eger, Justin Shenolikar, Nicolas Sobanski, Jan Schuladen, Dirk Dienhart, Bettina Hottmann, Ivan Tadic, Horst Fischer, Monica Martinez, Roland Rohloff, Sebastian Tauer, Hartwig Harder, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Nijing Wang, Jonathan Williams, James Brooks, Frank Drewnick, Hang Su, Guo Li, Yafang Cheng, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7473–7498, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7473-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7473-2021, 2021
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This paper uses NOx and NOz measurements from the 2017 AQABA ship campaign in the Mediterranean Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula to examine the influence e.g. of emissions from shipping and oil and gas production. Night-time losses of NOx dominated in the Arabian Gulf and in the Red Sea, whereas daytime losses were more important in the Mediterranean Sea. Nitric acid and organic nitrates were the most prevalent components of NOz.
Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Nina G. Reijrink, Achim Edtbauer, Akima Ringsdorf, Nora Zannoni, Alessandro Araújo, Florian Ditas, Bruna A. Holanda, Marta O. Sá, Anywhere Tsokankunku, David Walter, Stefan Wolff, Jošt V. Lavrič, Christopher Pöhlker, Matthias Sörgel, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6231–6256, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6231-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6231-2021, 2021
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Tropical forests are globally significant for atmospheric chemistry. However, the mixture of reactive organic gases emitted by these ecosystems is poorly understood. By comprehensive observations at an Amazon forest site, we show that oxygenated species were previously underestimated in their contribution to the tropical-forest reactant mix. Our results show rain and temperature effects and have implications for models and the understanding of ozone and particle formation above tropical forests.
Wenjie Wang, Jipeng Qi, Jun Zhou, Bin Yuan, Yuwen Peng, Sihang Wang, Suxia Yang, Jonathan Williams, Vinayak Sinha, and Min Shao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2285–2298, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2285-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2285-2021, 2021
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We designed a new reactor for measurements of OH reactivity (i.e., OH radical loss frequency) based on the comparative reactivity method under
high-NOx conditions, such as in cities. We performed a series of laboratory tests to evaluate the new reactor. The new reactor was used in the field and performed well in measuring OH reactivity in air influenced by upwind cities.
Einar Karu, Mengze Li, Lisa Ernle, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1817–1831, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1817-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1817-2021, 2021
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A gas measurement device was developed to measure trace gases (ppt level) in the air based on an atomic emission detector. It combines a cryogenic pre-concentrator (CryoTrap), a gas chromatograph (GC), and a new high-resolution atomic emission detector (AED). The CryoTrap–GC–AED instrumental setup, limits of detection, and elemental performance are presented and discussed. Two measurement case studies are reported: one in a Finnish boreal forest and the other based on an aircraft campaign.
Vinod Kumar, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Sebastian Donner, Yang Wang, Vinayak Sinha, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14183–14235, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14183-2020, 2020
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We present the first long-term MAX-DOAS measurements of aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde tropospheric columns, vertical distributions, and temporal variation from Mohali in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. We investigate the effect of various emission sources and meteorological conditions on the measured pollutants and how they control ozone formation. These measurements are also used to validate the corresponding satellite observations and are also compared against in situ observations.
Ashish Kumar, Vinayak Sinha, Muhammed Shabin, Haseeb Hakkim, Bernard Bonsang, and Valerie Gros
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12133–12152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12133-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12133-2020, 2020
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Source apportionment studies require information on the chemical fingerprints of pollution sources to correctly quantify source contributions to ambient composition. These chemical fingerprints vary from region to region, depending on fuel composition and combustion conditions, and are poorly constrained over developing regions such as South Asia. This work characterises the chemical fingerprints of urban and agricultural sources using 49 non-methane hydrocarbons and their environmental impacts.
Nijing Wang, Achim Edtbauer, Christof Stönner, Andrea Pozzer, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Lisa Ernle, Dirk Dienhart, Bettina Hottmann, Horst Fischer, Jan Schuladen, John N. Crowley, Jean-Daniel Paris, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10807–10829, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10807-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10807-2020, 2020
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Carbonyl compounds were measured on a ship travelling around the Arabian Peninsula in summer 2017, crossing both highly polluted and extremely clean regions of the marine boundary layer. We investigated the sources and sinks of carbonyls. The results from a global model showed a significant model underestimation for acetaldehyde, a molecule that can influence regional air chemistry. By adding a diurnal oceanic source, the model estimation was highly improved.
Achim Edtbauer, Christof Stönner, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Matias Berasategui, David Walter, John N. Crowley, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6081–6094, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6081-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6081-2020, 2020
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Marine regions where deep nutrient-rich water is pushed towards the surface are called upwelling regions. In these nutrient-rich waters large algal blooms form which are the basis of the marine food web. We measured methane sulfonamide, a molecule containing sulfur and nitrogen, for the first time in ambient air and could show that the origin of this emission is an algal bloom near the Somalia upwelling. Sulfur-containing compounds from algae can promote particle formation over the oceans.
Karin Kreher, Michel Van Roozendael, Francois Hendrick, Arnoud Apituley, Ermioni Dimitropoulou, Udo Frieß, Andreas Richter, Thomas Wagner, Johannes Lampel, Nader Abuhassan, Li Ang, Monica Anguas, Alkis Bais, Nuria Benavent, Tim Bösch, Kristof Bognar, Alexander Borovski, Ilya Bruchkouski, Alexander Cede, Ka Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Theano Drosoglou, Caroline Fayt, Henning Finkenzeller, David Garcia-Nieto, Clio Gielen, Laura Gómez-Martín, Nan Hao, Bas Henzing, Jay R. Herman, Christian Hermans, Syedul Hoque, Hitoshi Irie, Junli Jin, Paul Johnston, Junaid Khayyam Butt, Fahim Khokhar, Theodore K. Koenig, Jonas Kuhn, Vinod Kumar, Cheng Liu, Jianzhong Ma, Alexis Merlaud, Abhishek K. Mishra, Moritz Müller, Monica Navarro-Comas, Mareike Ostendorf, Andrea Pazmino, Enno Peters, Gaia Pinardi, Manuel Pinharanda, Ankie Piters, Ulrich Platt, Oleg Postylyakov, Cristina Prados-Roman, Olga Puentedura, Richard Querel, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Anja Schönhardt, Stefan F. Schreier, André Seyler, Vinayak Sinha, Elena Spinei, Kimberly Strong, Frederik Tack, Xin Tian, Martin Tiefengraber, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Jeroen van Gent, Rainer Volkamer, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Shanshan Wang, Zhuoru Wang, Mark Wenig, Folkard Wittrock, Pinhua H. Xie, Jin Xu, Margarita Yela, Chengxin Zhang, and Xiaoyi Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2169–2208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2169-2020, 2020
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In September 2016, 36 spectrometers from 24 institutes measured a number of key atmospheric pollutants during an instrument intercomparison campaign (CINDI-2) at Cabauw, the Netherlands. Here we report on the outcome of this intercomparison exercise. The three major goals were to characterise the differences between the participating instruments, to define a robust methodology for performance assessment, and to contribute to the harmonisation of the measurement settings and retrieval methods.
Philipp G. Eger, Jan Schuladen, Nicolas Sobanski, Horst Fischer, Einar Karu, Jonathan Williams, Matthieu Riva, Qiaozhi Zha, Mikael Ehn, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Simon Schallhart, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3697–3711, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3697-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3697-2020, 2020
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Pyruvic acid, CH3C(O)C(O)OH, is an organic acid of biogenic origin that plays a crucial role in plant metabolism, is present in tropospheric air in both gas-phase and aerosol-phase, and is implicated in the formation of secondary organic aerosols. From the first gas-phase measurements of pyruvic acid in the Finnish boreal forest in September 2016 we derive its source strength and discuss potential sources and sinks, with a focus on the relevance of gas-phase pyruvic acid for radical chemistry.
Matias Berasategui, Damien Amedro, Achim Edtbauer, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2695–2707, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2695-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2695-2020, 2020
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We have determined the rate coefficient and mechanism for the reaction of the OH radical with methane sulphonamide, a trace gas which has recently been found in the atmosphere. The rate coefficient is 1.4 × 10−13 cm3 molec.−1 s−1, which indicates a tropospheric lifetime of > 2 months. The observation of CO, CO2, SO2, HNO3, HCOOH, and N2O products enabled us to derive a detailed reaction mechanism for the reaction, which proceeds predominantly by H abstraction from the CH3 group.
Lejish Vettikkat, Vinayak Sinha, Savita Datta, Ashish Kumar, Haseeb Hakkim, Priya Yadav, and Baerbel Sinha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 375–389, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-375-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-375-2020, 2020
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There are several widely grown tree species whose BVOC emission potentials are still unknown. Studies over the Amazon rainforest have reported presence of terrestrial dimethyl sulfide sources. Here, we show that mahogany, which is grown widely in several regions of the world, is a high emitter of dimethyl sulfide and monoterpenes. With future land use and land cover changes promoting plantations of this tree for economic purposes, its impact on air quality could be quite significant.
Tanja J. Schuck, Ann-Katrin Blank, Elisa Rittmeier, Jonathan Williams, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Andreas Engel, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 73–84, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-73-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-73-2020, 2020
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Air sample collection aboard aircraft is a tool to measure atmospheric trace gas mixing ratios at altitude. We present results on the stability of 28 halocarbons during storage of air samples collected in stainless-steel flasks inside an automated air sampling unit which is part of the CARIBIC instrument package. Selected fluorinated compounds grew during the experiments while short-lived compounds were depleted. Individual substances were additionally influenced by high mixing ratios of ozone.
Pallavi, Baerbel Sinha, and Vinayak Sinha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15467–15482, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15467-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15467-2019, 2019
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This study provides quantitative information regarding the source contributions of the major non-methane volatile organic compound sources in Mohali in the northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plain. Combining in situ data and model analyses, we show that residential biofuel use and waste disposal emissions as well as the VOC burden associated with solvent use and industrial sources are overestimated by all emission inventories.
Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Nijing Wang, Achim Edtbauer, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, John N. Crowley, Dirk Dienhart, Philipp G. Eger, Lisa Ernle, Horst Fischer, Bettina Hottmann, Jean-Daniel Paris, Christof Stönner, Ivan Tadic, David Walter, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11501–11523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11501-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11501-2019, 2019
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The Arabian Peninsula is a global hot spot of ozone pollution. Our measurements, made on a ship in summer 2017, indicate underlying reasons. Despite being at sea, we observed ozone-forming reactive trace gases (measured as so-called total OH reactivity) comparable to highly populated urban regions in amount and composition. This is due to strong emissions from oil extraction and ship traffic. These emissions were quickly converted to ozone due to intense solar irradiation and high temperatures.
Jonathan Liebmann, Nicolas Sobanski, Jan Schuladen, Einar Karu, Heidi Hellén, Hannele Hakola, Qiaozhi Zha, Mikael Ehn, Matthieu Riva, Liine Heikkinen, Jonathan Williams, Horst Fischer, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10391–10403, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10391-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10391-2019, 2019
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The formation of alkyl nitrates in the boreal forest was dominated by reactions of the NO3 radical with terpenes, both during the day and the night, with fewer contributions from OH and ozone. The alkyl nitrates formed had lifetimes on the order of 2 h, reflecting efficient loss via uptake to aerosol and deposition.
Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Lisa Ernle, John N. Crowley, Jos Lelieveld, Jean-Daniel Paris, Andrea Pozzer, David Walter, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7209–7232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7209-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7209-2019, 2019
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We report on results that demonstrate the utility of non-methane hydrocarbons as source/sink identification tracers while providing their mixing ratios around the Arabian Peninsula. By introducing novel data-analysis approaches, we establish a new method for separating associated and non-associated (with liquids) gases. We formulate a relationship between hydrocarbon oxidative pairs that can be used to evaluate the relative abundance of the hydroxyl and chlorine radicals in the troposphere.
Ralph Dlugi, Martina Berger, Chinmay Mallik, Anywhere Tsokankunku, Michael Zelger, Otávio C. Acevedo, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Gerhard Kramm, Daniel Marno, Monica Martinez, Anke C. Nölscher, Huug Ouwersloot, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Franz Rohrer, Sebastian Tauer, Jonathan Williams, Ana-Maria Yáñez-Serrano, Meinrat O. Andreae, Hartwig Harder, and Matthias Sörgel
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1325, 2019
Publication in ACP not foreseen
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Incomplete mixing (segregation) results in reduced chemical reaction rates compared to those expected from mean values and rate constants. Segregation has been suggested to cause discrepancies between modelled and measured OH radical concentrations. In this work, we summarize the intensities of segregation for the reaction of OH and isoprene for different field and modelling studies and compare those to our results from measurements in a pristine environment.
Guo Li, Yafang Cheng, Uwe Kuhn, Rongjuan Xu, Yudong Yang, Hannah Meusel, Zhibin Wang, Nan Ma, Yusheng Wu, Meng Li, Jonathan Williams, Thorsten Hoffmann, Markus Ammann, Ulrich Pöschl, Min Shao, and Hang Su
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2209–2232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2209-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2209-2019, 2019
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VOCs play a key role in atmospheric chemistry. Emission and deposition on soil have been suggested as important sources and sinks of atmospheric trace gases. The exchange characteristics and heterogeneous chemistry of VOCs on soil, however, are not well understood. We used a newly designed differential coated-wall flow tube system to investigate the long-term variability of bidirectional air–soil exchange of 13 VOCs at ambient air conditions of an urban background site in Beijing.
John N. Crowley, Nicolas Pouvesle, Gavin J. Phillips, Raoul Axinte, Horst Fischer, Tuukka Petäjä, Anke Nölscher, Jonathan Williams, Korbinian Hens, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez-Harder, Anna Novelli, Dagmar Kubistin, Birger Bohn, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13457–13479, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13457-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13457-2018, 2018
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Simultaneous observations of PAA, PAN and H2O2 are used to provide insight into processes influencing the HOx chemistry of the boreal forest, including two biomass-burning-impacted periods. A significant contribution from photolytic HOx sources was included in a box model analysis to align model predictions with measurements. The model predicts high levels of organic peroxy radicals, also at night-time.
Chinmay Mallik, Laura Tomsche, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, John N. Crowley, Bettina Derstroff, Horst Fischer, Sascha Hafermann, Imke Hüser, Umar Javed, Stephan Keßel, Jos Lelieveld, Monica Martinez, Hannah Meusel, Anna Novelli, Gavin J. Phillips, Andrea Pozzer, Andreas Reiffs, Rolf Sander, Domenico Taraborrelli, Carina Sauvage, Jan Schuladen, Hang Su, Jonathan Williams, and Hartwig Harder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10825–10847, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10825-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10825-2018, 2018
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OH and HO2 control the transformation of air pollutants and O3 formation. Their implication for air quality over the climatically sensitive Mediterranean region was studied during a field campaign in Cyprus. Production of OH, HO2, and recycled OH was lower in aged marine air masses. Box model simulations of OH and HO2 agreed with measurements except at high terpene concentrations when model RO2 due to terpenes caused large HO2 loss. Autoxidation schemes for RO2 improved the agreement.
Jonathan Liebmann, Einar Karu, Nicolas Sobanski, Jan Schuladen, Mikael Ehn, Simon Schallhart, Lauriane Quéléver, Heidi Hellen, Hannele Hakola, Thorsten Hoffmann, Jonathan Williams, Horst Fischer, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3799–3815, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3799-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3799-2018, 2018
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Using a newly developed experimental setup, we have made the first direct measurements (during autumn 2016) of NO3 reactivity in the Finnish boreal forest. The NO3 reactivity was generally very high (maximum value of 0.94/s) so that daytime reaction with organics was a substantial fraction of the NO3 loss. Observations of biogenic hydrocarbons (BVOCs) suggested a dominant role for monoterpenes in determining the NO3 reactivity, which displayed a strong vertical gradient between 8.5 and 25 m.
Ana María Yáñez-Serrano, Anke Christine Nölscher, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Eliane Gomes Alves, Laurens Ganzeveld, Boris Bonn, Stefan Wolff, Marta Sa, Marcia Yamasoe, Jonathan Williams, Meinrat O. Andreae, and Jürgen Kesselmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3403–3418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3403-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3403-2018, 2018
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This study shows the measurements of concentration of different monoterpene species in terms of height, time of day and season. Speciation seems similar during the dry seasons but changes with season. Furthermore, reactivity with the different oxidants demonstrated that a higher abundance of a monoterpene species does not automatically imply higher reactivity and that the most abundant monoterpene may not be the most atmospheric chemically relevant compound.
Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Frank Helleis, Laura Tomsche, Horst Fischer, Rolf Hofmann, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 5089–5105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-5089-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-5089-2017, 2017
Hendrik Fuchs, Anna Novelli, Michael Rolletter, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Stephan Kessel, Achim Edtbauer, Jonathan Williams, Vincent Michoud, Sebastien Dusanter, Nadine Locoge, Nora Zannoni, Valerie Gros, Francois Truong, Roland Sarda-Esteve, Danny R. Cryer, Charlotte A. Brumby, Lisa K. Whalley, Daniel Stone, Paul W. Seakins, Dwayne E. Heard, Coralie Schoemaecker, Marion Blocquet, Sebastien Coudert, Sebastien Batut, Christa Fittschen, Alexander B. Thames, William H. Brune, Cheryl Ernest, Hartwig Harder, Jennifer B. A. Muller, Thomas Elste, Dagmar Kubistin, Stefanie Andres, Birger Bohn, Thorsten Hohaus, Frank Holland, Xin Li, Franz Rohrer, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Ralf Tillmann, Robert Wegener, Zhujun Yu, Qi Zou, and Andreas Wahner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4023–4053, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4023-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4023-2017, 2017
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Hydroxyl radical reactivity (k(OH)) is closely related to processes that lead to the formation of oxidised, secondary pollutants such as ozone and aerosol. In order to compare the performances of instruments measuring k(OH), experiments were conducted in the simulation chamber SAPHIR. Chemical conditions were chosen either to be representative of the atmosphere or to test potential limitations of instruments. Overall, the results show that instruments are capable of measuring k(OH).
Heiko Bozem, Andrea Pozzer, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11835–11848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11835-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11835-2017, 2017
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We present a case study of deep convection over Germany in July 2007 within the framework of the HOOVER II project. Airborne in situ measurements within the in- and outflow regions of an isolated thunderstorm provide a unique data set to study the influence of deep convection on the transport efficiency of soluble and insoluble trace gases. Despite their high solubility HCHO and H2O2 show enhanced concentrations in the outflow presumably due to degassing from cloud droplets during freezing.
Bettina Derstroff, Imke Hüser, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, John N. Crowley, Horst Fischer, Sergey Gromov, Hartwig Harder, Ruud H. H. Janssen, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Jos Lelieveld, Chinmay Mallik, Monica Martinez, Anna Novelli, Uwe Parchatka, Gavin J. Phillips, Rolf Sander, Carina Sauvage, Jan Schuladen, Christof Stönner, Laura Tomsche, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9547–9566, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9547-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9547-2017, 2017
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The aim of the study was to examine aged air masses being transported from the European continent towards Cyprus. Longer-lived oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) such as methanol were mainly impacted by long-distance transport and showed higher values in air masses from eastern Europe than in a flow regime from the west. The impact of the transport through the marine boundary layer as well as the influence of the residual layer/free troposphere on OVOCs were studied.
Stephan Keßel, David Cabrera-Perez, Abraham Horowitz, Patrick R. Veres, Rolf Sander, Domenico Taraborrelli, Maria Tucceri, John N. Crowley, Andrea Pozzer, Christof Stönner, Luc Vereecken, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8789–8804, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8789-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8789-2017, 2017
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In this study we identify an often overlooked stable oxide of carbon, namely carbon suboxide (C3O2), in ambient air. We have made C3O2 and in the laboratory determined its absorption cross section data and the rate of reaction with two important atmospheric oxidants, OH and O3. By incorporating known sources and sinks in a global model we have generated a first global picture of the distribution of this species in the atmosphere.
Chinmoy Sarkar, Vinayak Sinha, Baerbel Sinha, Arnico K. Panday, Maheswar Rupakheti, and Mark G. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8129–8156, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8129-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8129-2017, 2017
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This study provides quantitative information regarding the source contributions of the major non-methane volatile organic compound sources in the Kathmandu Valley. Combining high-resolution in situ NMVOC data and model analyses, we show that REAS v2.1 and EDGAR v4.2 emission inventories underestimate the contribution of traffic and do not take the contribution of brick kilns into account. Furthermore, REAS v2.1 overestimates the contribution of residential biofuel use and industries.
Anna Novelli, Korbinian Hens, Cheryl Tatum Ernest, Monica Martinez, Anke C. Nölscher, Vinayak Sinha, Pauli Paasonen, Tuukka Petäjä, Mikko Sipilä, Thomas Elste, Christian Plass-Dülmer, Gavin J. Phillips, Dagmar Kubistin, Jonathan Williams, Luc Vereecken, Jos Lelieveld, and Hartwig Harder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7807–7826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7807-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7807-2017, 2017
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The ambient concentration of stabilised Criegee intermediates (SCIs) was estimated for two
environments using field data. The low concentrations predicted indicate that SCIs are
unlikely to have a large impact on atmospheric chemistry. Concurrent measurements of an OH background signal using the Mainz IPI-LIF-FAGE instrument were found to be consistent with the chemistry of SCIs during the measurement campaigns.
Yudong Yang, Min Shao, Stephan Keßel, Yue Li, Keding Lu, Sihua Lu, Jonathan Williams, Yuanhang Zhang, Liming Zeng, Anke C. Nölscher, Yusheng Wu, Xuemei Wang, and Junyu Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7127–7142, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7127-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7127-2017, 2017
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Total OH reactivity is an important parameter to evaluate understanding of atmospheric chemistry, especially the VOC contribution to air pollution. Measured by comparative reactivity methods, total OH reactivity in Beijing and Heshan revealed significant differences between measured and calculated results, such as missing reactivity, which were related to unmeasured primary or secondary species. This missing reactivity would introduce a 21–30 % underestimation for ozone production efficiency.
Nicolas Sobanski, Jim Thieser, Jan Schuladen, Carina Sauvage, Wei Song, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4115–4130, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4115-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4115-2017, 2017
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We investigated the formation of gas-phase organic nitrates at a forested semi-urban site. This work constitutes the first detailed analysis of the sum of organic nitrate mixing ratios measured by thermal dissociation cavity ring-down spectroscopy in continental Europe. Day (OH-initiated) and night-time (NO3-initiated) production of alkyl nitrates proceed at similar rates.
Hannah Meusel, Uwe Kuhn, Andreas Reiffs, Chinmay Mallik, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Jan Schuladen, Birger Bohn, Uwe Parchatka, John N. Crowley, Horst Fischer, Laura Tomsche, Anna Novelli, Thorsten Hoffmann, Ruud H. H. Janssen, Oscar Hartogensis, Michael Pikridas, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Bettina Weber, Jos Lelieveld, Jonathan Williams, Ulrich Pöschl, Yafang Cheng, and Hang Su
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14475–14493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016, 2016
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There are many studies which show discrepancies between modeled and measured nitrous acid (HONO, precursor of OH radical) in the troposphere but with no satisfactory explanation. Ideal conditions to study the unknown sources of HONO were found on Cyprus, a remote Mediterranean island. Budget analysis of trace gas measurements indicates a common source of NO and HONO, which is not related to anthropogenic activity and is most likely derived from biologic activity in soils and subsequent emission.
A. M. Yáñez-Serrano, A. C. Nölscher, E. Bourtsoukidis, B. Derstroff, N. Zannoni, V. Gros, M. Lanza, J. Brito, S. M. Noe, E. House, C. N. Hewitt, B. Langford, E. Nemitz, T. Behrendt, J. Williams, P. Artaxo, M. O. Andreae, and J. Kesselmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10965–10984, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10965-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10965-2016, 2016
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This paper provides a general overview of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) ambient observations in different ecosystems around the world in order to provide insights into the sources, sink and role of MEK in the atmosphere.
Jan Zörner, Marloes Penning de Vries, Steffen Beirle, Holger Sihler, Patrick R. Veres, Jonathan Williams, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9457–9487, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9457-2016, 2016
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We present a top-down approach to infer and quantify rain-induced emission pulses of nitrogen oxides from soils using satellite-borne measurements of NO2. We found strong enhancements of NO2 induced by the first intense precipitation after prolonged droughts in many semi-arid regions of the world, in particular in the Sahel. Apart from the clear first-day peak, NO2 VCDs are moderately enhanced compared to background over the following 2 weeks suggesting potential further emissions.
N. Sobanski, M. J. Tang, J. Thieser, G. Schuster, D. Pöhler, H. Fischer, W. Song, C. Sauvage, J. Williams, J. Fachinger, F. Berkes, P. Hoor, U. Platt, J. Lelieveld, and J. N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4867–4883, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4867-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4867-2016, 2016
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The nitrate radical (NO3) is an important nocturnal oxidant. By measuring NO3, its precursors (nitrogen dioxide and ozone) and several trace gases with which it reacts, we examined the chemical and meteorological factors influencing the lifetime of NO3 at a semi-rural mountain site. Unexpectedly long lifetimes, approaching 1 h, were observed on several nights and were associated with a low-lying residual layer. We discuss the role of other reactions that convert NO2 to NO3.
Chinmoy Sarkar, Vinayak Sinha, Vinod Kumar, Maheswar Rupakheti, Arnico Panday, Khadak S. Mahata, Dipesh Rupakheti, Bhogendra Kathayat, and Mark G. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3979–4003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3979-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3979-2016, 2016
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First deployment of PTR-TOF-MS in South Asia. High acetaldehyde and biogenic isoprene concentrations detected even in winter in the Kathmandu Valley. Isocyanic acid, formamide, acetamide, naphthalene and nitromethane were detected for the first time in South Asian air. Oxygenated VOCs and isoprene-dominated OH reactivity and ozone production potentials (> 68 % OPP). Regulation of emissions from biomass co-fired brick kilns' by cleaner technology would improve air quality of the valley.
R. F. Hansen, M. Blocquet, C. Schoemaecker, T. Léonardis, N. Locoge, C. Fittschen, B. Hanoune, P. S. Stevens, V. Sinha, and S. Dusanter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4243–4264, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4243-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4243-2015, 2015
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This paper describes and presents results from a intercomparison, in an environment rich in NOx (i.e., NO+NO2), of two OH reactivity instruments: one based on the comparative reactivity method, and one based on the pump-probe method. Co-located measurements were made of both ambient air and standard mixtures. Ambient OH reactivity values measured by both instruments were found to be in good agreement for ambient NOx mixing ratios as high as 100 ppbv.
M. O. Andreae, O. C. Acevedo, A. Araùjo, P. Artaxo, C. G. G. Barbosa, H. M. J. Barbosa, J. Brito, S. Carbone, X. Chi, B. B. L. Cintra, N. F. da Silva, N. L. Dias, C. Q. Dias-Júnior, F. Ditas, R. Ditz, A. F. L. Godoi, R. H. M. Godoi, M. Heimann, T. Hoffmann, J. Kesselmeier, T. Könemann, M. L. Krüger, J. V. Lavric, A. O. Manzi, A. P. Lopes, D. L. Martins, E. F. Mikhailov, D. Moran-Zuloaga, B. W. Nelson, A. C. Nölscher, D. Santos Nogueira, M. T. F. Piedade, C. Pöhlker, U. Pöschl, C. A. Quesada, L. V. Rizzo, C.-U. Ro, N. Ruckteschler, L. D. A. Sá, M. de Oliveira Sá, C. B. Sales, R. M. N. dos Santos, J. Saturno, J. Schöngart, M. Sörgel, C. M. de Souza, R. A. F. de Souza, H. Su, N. Targhetta, J. Tóta, I. Trebs, S. Trumbore, A. van Eijck, D. Walter, Z. Wang, B. Weber, J. Williams, J. Winderlich, F. Wittmann, S. Wolff, and A. M. Yáñez-Serrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10723–10776, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10723-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10723-2015, 2015
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This paper describes the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), a new atmosphere-biosphere observatory located in the remote Amazon Basin. It presents results from ecosystem ecology, meteorology, trace gas, and aerosol measurements collected at the ATTO site during the first 3 years of operation.
N. Zannoni, S. Dusanter, V. Gros, R. Sarda Esteve, V. Michoud, V. Sinha, N. Locoge, and B. Bonsang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3851–3865, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3851-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3851-2015, 2015
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Our manuscript shows results of an intercomparison exercise conducted on two home-built comparative reactivity method (CRM) instruments operating under the same settings for measuring total OH reactivity. Despite the corrections of the raw data sets for instrumental artifacts having different weights on the two CRMs, we found very consistent results for the final processed data of ambient OH reactivity. Furthermore, we present in detail how to validate the instruments and process the raw data.
B. Sinha, K. Singh Sangwan, Y. Maurya, V. Kumar, C. Sarkar, B. P. Chandra, and V. Sinha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9555–9576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9555-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9555-2015, 2015
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We use ozone measurements at a suburban site in Punjab to estimate ozone-related crop yield losses for wheat, rice, cotton and maize in Punjab and Haryana for the years 2011-2013. Crop production losses amount to 10.3-20.8 Mt yr-1 for wheat and 3.2-5.4 Mt yr-1 for rice, enough to feed 225-437 million of India’s poor. The lower limit for the ozone-related economic losses is 3.7-6.5 billion USD (Punjab and Haryana), while the upper limit amounts to 3.5-20% of Indian GDP (all of India).
K. Violaki, J. Sciare, J. Williams, A. R. Baker, M. Martino, and N. Mihalopoulos
Biogeosciences, 12, 3131–3140, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3131-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3131-2015, 2015
D. Mogensen, R. Gierens, J. N. Crowley, P. Keronen, S. Smolander, A. Sogachev, A. C. Nölscher, L. Zhou, M. Kulmala, M. J. Tang, J. Williams, and M. Boy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3909–3932, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3909-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3909-2015, 2015
A. M. Yáñez-Serrano, A. C. Nölscher, J. Williams, S. Wolff, E. Alves, G. A. Martins, E. Bourtsoukidis, J. Brito, K. Jardine, P. Artaxo, and J. Kesselmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3359–3378, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3359-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3359-2015, 2015
E. Mesarchaki, C. Kräuter, K. E. Krall, M. Bopp, F. Helleis, J. Williams, and B. Jähne
Ocean Sci., 11, 121–138, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-121-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-121-2015, 2015
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Our article presents successful gas exchange measurements obtained in a large-scale wind-wave tank. The adopted box model methodology, experimental produce and instrumentation are described in detail. For the first time, parallel measurements of total transfer velocities for 14 individual gases within a wide range of solubility have been achieved. Various wind speed conditions and the effect of surfactant layers have been investigated providing exciting results.
R. Oswald, M. Ermel, K. Hens, A. Novelli, H. G. Ouwersloot, P. Paasonen, T. Petäjä, M. Sipilä, P. Keronen, J. Bäck, R. Königstedt, Z. Hosaynali Beygi, H. Fischer, B. Bohn, D. Kubistin, H. Harder, M. Martinez, J. Williams, T. Hoffmann, I. Trebs, and M. Sörgel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 799–813, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-799-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-799-2015, 2015
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Nitrous acid (HONO) is a key species in atmospheric photochemistry since the photolysis leads to the important hydroxyl radical (OH). Although the importance of HONO as a precursor of OH is known, the formation pathways of HONO, especially during daytime, are a major challenge in atmospheric science. We present a detailed analysis of sources and sinks for HONO in the atmosphere for a field measurement campaign in the boreal forest in Finland and wonder if there is really a source term missing.
C. E. Stockwell, P. R. Veres, J. Williams, and R. J. Yokelson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 845–865, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-845-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-845-2015, 2015
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We used a high-resolution proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer to measure emissions from peat, crop residue, cooking fires, etc. We assigned > 80% of the mass of gas-phase organic compounds and much of it was secondary organic aerosol precursors. The open cooking emissions were much larger than from advanced cookstoves. Little-studied N-containing organic compounds accounted for 0.1-8.7% of the fuel N and may influence new particle formation.
T. Behrendt, P. R. Veres, F. Ashuri, G. Song, M. Flanz, B. Mamtimin, M. Bruse, J. Williams, and F. X. Meixner
Biogeosciences, 11, 5463–5492, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5463-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5463-2014, 2014
H. Bozem, H. Fischer, C. Gurk, C. L. Schiller, U. Parchatka, R. Koenigstedt, A. Stickler, M. Martinez, H. Harder, D. Kubistin, J. Williams, G. Eerdekens, and J. Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8917–8931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8917-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8917-2014, 2014
K. Hens, A. Novelli, M. Martinez, J. Auld, R. Axinte, B. Bohn, H. Fischer, P. Keronen, D. Kubistin, A. C. Nölscher, R. Oswald, P. Paasonen, T. Petäjä, E. Regelin, R. Sander, V. Sinha, M. Sipilä, D. Taraborrelli, C. Tatum Ernest, J. Williams, J. Lelieveld, and H. Harder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8723–8747, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8723-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8723-2014, 2014
P. R. Veres, T. Behrendt, A. Klapthor, F. X. Meixner, and J. Williams
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-11-12009-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-11-12009-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript not accepted
E. Bourtsoukidis, J. Williams, J. Kesselmeier, S. Jacobi, and B. Bonn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6495–6510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6495-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6495-2014, 2014
V. Sinha, V. Kumar, and C. Sarkar
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5921–5941, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5921-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5921-2014, 2014
W. Song, M. Staudt, I. Bourgeois, and J. Williams
Biogeosciences, 11, 1435–1447, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1435-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1435-2014, 2014
J. A. Adame, M. Martínez, M. Sorribas, P. J. Hidalgo, H. Harder, J.-M. Diesch, F. Drewnick, W. Song, J. Williams, V. Sinha, M. A. Hernández-Ceballos, J. Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, R. Sander, Z. Hosaynali-Beygi, H. Fischer, J. Lelieveld, and B. De la Morena
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2325–2342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2325-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2325-2014, 2014
A. L. Corrigan, L. M. Russell, S. Takahama, M. Äijälä, M. Ehn, H. Junninen, J. Rinne, T. Petäjä, M. Kulmala, A. L. Vogel, T. Hoffmann, C. J. Ebben, F. M. Geiger, P. Chhabra, J. H. Seinfeld, D. R. Worsnop, W. Song, J. Auld, and J. Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12233–12256, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12233-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12233-2013, 2013
A. L. Vogel, M. Äijälä, A. L. Corrigan, H. Junninen, M. Ehn, T. Petäjä, D. R. Worsnop, M. Kulmala, L. M. Russell, J. Williams, and T. Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10933–10950, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10933-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10933-2013, 2013
A.C. Nölscher, E. Bourtsoukidis, B. Bonn, J. Kesselmeier, J. Lelieveld, and J. Williams
Biogeosciences, 10, 4241–4257, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4241-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4241-2013, 2013
M. D. Andrés-Hernández, D. Kartal, J. N. Crowley, V. Sinha, E. Regelin, M. Martínez-Harder, V. Nenakhov, J. Williams, H. Harder, H. Bozem, W. Song, J. Thieser, M. J. Tang, Z. Hosaynali Beigi, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5731–5749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5731-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5731-2013, 2013
A. L. Vogel, M. Äijälä, M. Brüggemann, M. Ehn, H. Junninen, T. Petäjä, D. R. Worsnop, M. Kulmala, J. Williams, and T. Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 431–443, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-431-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-431-2013, 2013
G. J. Phillips, N. Pouvesle, J. Thieser, G. Schuster, R. Axinte, H. Fischer, J. Williams, J. Lelieveld, and J. N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1129–1139, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1129-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1129-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Advances in an OH reactivity instrument for airborne field measurements
The ASK-16 motorized glider: an airborne eddy covariance platform to measure turbulence, energy, and matter fluxes
Development of a Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, for tropospheric and lower-stratospheric water vapor measurements
Deployment and evaluation of an NH4+∕ H3O+ reagent ion switching chemical ionization mass spectrometer for the detection of reduced and oxygenated gas-phase organic compounds
An economical tunable diode laser spectrometer for fast-response measurements of water vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer
Observation of GHG vertical profile in the boundary layer of the Mount Qomolangma region using a multirotor UAV
Eddy covariance with slow-response greenhouse gas analysers on tall towers: bridging atmospheric and ecosystem greenhouse gas networks
Development of a portable laser-flash photolysis Faraday rotation spectrometer for measuring atmospheric total OH reactivity
An overview of outdoor low-cost gas-phase air quality sensor deployments: current efforts, trends, and limitations
Multiphysical description of atmospheric pressure interface chemical ionisation in MION2 and Eisele type inlets
A portable nitrogen dioxide instrument using cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy
Development and deployment of a mid-cost CO2 sensor monitoring network to support atmospheric inverse modeling for quantifying urban CO2 emissions in Paris
UAV-based in situ measurements of CO2 and CH4 fluxes over complex natural ecosystems
A new aerial approach for quantifying and attributing methane emissions: implementation and validation
Vertical profiles and surface distributions of trace gases (CO, O3, NO, NO2) in the Arctic wintertime boundary layer using low-cost sensors during ALPACA-2022
Drone CO2 measurements during the Tajogaite volcanic eruption
Impact and Optimization of Calibration Conditions for Air Quality Sensors in the Long-term Field Monitoring
Multi-decadal atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements in Hungary, central Europe
Reliable water vapour isotopic composition measurements at low humidity using frequency-stabilised cavity ring-down spectroscopy
On Path Length, Beam Divergence, and Retroreflector Array Size in Open-Path FTIR Spectroscopy
A measurement system for CO2 and CH4 emissions quantification of industrial sites using a new in situ concentration sensor operated on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles
Using metal oxide gas sensors to estimate the emission rates and locations of methane leaks in an industrial site: assessment with controlled methane releases
Toward on-demand measurements of greenhouse gas emissions using an uncrewed aircraft AirCore system
A modular approach to volatile organic compound samplers for tethered balloon and drone platforms
Long-term evaluation of commercial air quality sensors: an overview from the QUANT (Quantification of Utility of Atmospheric Network Technologies) study
In-flight characterization of a compact airborne quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer
Full characterization and calibration of a transfer standard monitor for atmospheric radon measurements
Observing low-altitude features in ozone concentrations in a shoreline environment via uncrewed aerial systems
An integrated uncrewed aerial vehicle platform with sensing and sampling systems for the measurement of air pollutant concentrations
Design and evaluation of a low-cost sensor node for near-background methane measurement
Development of a Multichannel Organics In situ enviRonmental Analyzer (MOIRA) for mobile measurements of volatile organic compounds
Evaluation of Aeris mid-infrared absorption (MIRA), Picarro CRDS (cavity ring-down spectroscopy) G2307, and dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-based sampling for long-term formaldehyde monitoring efforts
Performance characterization of a laminar gas inlet
Validation and field application of a low-cost device to measure CO2 and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes
Identifying and correcting interferences to PTR-ToF-MS measurements of isoprene and other urban volatile organic compounds
Development of a continuous UAV-mounted air sampler and application to the quantification of CO2 and CH4 emissions from a major coking plant
Uptake behavior of polycyclic aromatic compounds during field calibrations of the XAD-based passive air sampler across seasons and locations
Effect of land–sea air mass transport on spatiotemporal distributions of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios over the southern Yellow Sea
HYPHOP: a tool for high-altitude, long-range monitoring of hydrogen peroxide and higher organic peroxides in the atmosphere
Portable, low-cost samplers for distributed sampling of atmospheric gases
SI-traceable validation of a laser spectrometer for balloon-borne measurements of water vapor in the upper atmosphere
Field evaluation of low-cost electrochemical air quality gas sensors under extreme temperature and relative humidity conditions
A novel, cost-effective analytical method for measuring high-resolution vertical profiles of stratospheric trace gases using a gas chromatograph coupled with an electron capture detector
Ethylene oxide monitor with part-per-trillion precision for in situ measurements
Development of an automated pump-efficiency measuring system for ozonesondes utilizing an airbag-type flowmeter
Short-term variability of atmospheric helium revealed through a cryo-enrichment method
Using tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectroscopy for ambient hydrogen chloride detection: HCl-TILDAS
New methods for the calibration of optical resonators: integrated calibration by means of optical modulation (ICOM) and narrow-band cavity ring-down (NB-CRD)
A modular field system for near-surface, vertical profiling of the atmospheric composition in harsh environments using cavity ring-down spectroscopy
Field comparison of two novel open-path instruments that measure dry deposition and emission of ammonia using flux-gradient and eddy covariance methods
Hendrik Fuchs, Aaron Stainsby, Florian Berg, René Dubus, Michelle Färber, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Kelvin H. Bates, Steven S. Brown, Matthew M. Coggon, Glenn S. Diskin, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Christopher M. Jernigan, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Andrew W. Rollins, Nell B. Schafer, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Patrick R. Veres, Carsten Warneke, Eleanor M. Waxman, Lu Xu, Kristen Zuraski, Andreas Wahner, and Anna Novelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 881–895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-881-2025, 2025
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Significant improvements have been made to the instruments used to measure OH reactivity, which is equivalent to the sum of air pollutant concentrations. Accurate and precise measurements with a high time resolution have been achieved, allowing use on aircraft, as demonstrated during flights in the USA.
Inge Wiekenkamp, Anna Katharina Lehmann, Alexander Bütow, Jörg Hartmann, Stefan Metzger, Thomas Ruhtz, Christian Wille, Mathias Zöllner, and Torsten Sachs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 749–772, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-749-2025, 2025
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Airborne eddy covariance platforms are crucial to measure three-dimensional wind and turbulent matter and energy transport between the surface and the atmosphere at larger scales. In this study, we introduce a new airborne eddy covariance platform (Schleicher ASK-16) and demonstrate that this platform is able to accurately measure turbulent fluxes and wind vectors. Data from this platform can help to build bridges between local tower measurements and remote-sensing-based products.
Takuji Sugidachi, Masatomo Fujiwara, Kensaku Shimizu, Shin-Ya Ogino, Junko Suzuki, and Ruud J. Dirksen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 509–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, 2025
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A Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, has been developed to measure tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor. Continuous accurate measurements of water vapor are essential for climate monitoring. More than 40 soundings with SKYDEW have been conducted since 2011 to evaluate the performance. The result of soundings at tropical and midlatitudes demonstrated that SKYDEW is able to measure up to an altitude of 20–25 km for daytime soundings and above 25 km for nighttime soundings.
Cort L. Zang and Megan D. Willis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 17–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-17-2025, 2025
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Atmospheric chemistry of the diverse pool of reactive organic carbon (ROC; all organic species excluding methane) controls air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and influences Earth's climate. However, many important ROC compounds in the atmosphere are difficult to measure. We demonstrate measurement of diverse ROC compounds in a single instrument at a forested site. This approach can improve our ability to measure a broad range of atmospheric ROC.
Emily D. Wein, Lars E. Kalnajs, and Darin W. Toohey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7097–7107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7097-2024, 2024
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We describe a low-cost and small research-grade spectrometer for measurements of water vapor in the boundary layer. The instrument uses small Arduino microcontrollers and inexpensive laser diodes to reduce cost while maintaining high performance comparable to more expensive instruments. Performance was assessed with intercomparisons between commercially available instruments outdoors. The design's simplicity, performance, and price point allow it to be accessible to a variety of users.
Ying Zhou, Congcong Qiao, Minqiang Zhou, Yilong Wang, Xiangjun Tian, Yinghong Wang, and Minzheng Duan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3478, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3478, 2024
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We developed an automated low-cost multi-altitude atmospheric sampling device for various flight platforms. During a 5-day field campaign in the Everest region, we performed 15 flights using the device mounted on a hexacopter UAV platform. 139 samples were analyzed using an Angilent GC 7890A. Vertical profiles of four greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, and SF6) were analyzed and discussed.
Pedro Henrique Herig Coimbra, Benjamin Loubet, Olivier Laurent, Laura Bignotti, Mathis Lozano, and Michel Ramonet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6625–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6625-2024, 2024
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This study presents direct flux measurements in tall towers using existing slow-response analysers and adding 3D sonic anemometers. This way, we can significantly improve greenhouse gas monitoring with little extra instrumental effort. Slow-response analysers may be used here as the relevant frequency ranges depend on measuring height. Tall towers offer a large footprint, amplifying spatial coverage. The presented concept is a valuable bridge between atmospheric and ecosystem communities.
Bo Fang, Nana Wei, Weixiong Zhao, Nana Yang, Hao Zhou, Heng Zhang, Jiarong Li, Weijun Zhang, Yanyu Lu, Zhu Zhu, and Yue Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-184, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-184, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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A portable LP-FRS instrument with dimensions of 130 cm × 40 cm × 35 cm was developed. A specific pump-probe MPC was designed to offer a high overlapping factor of 75.4 %. The precision and uncertainty of the LP-FRS instrument for measuring kOH' were 1.0 s-1 (1σ, 300 s) and within 2 s-1, respectively. The developed portable LP-FRS instrument expands the measurement capabilities for atmospheric total OH reactivity and will be employed in more field observations.
Kristen Okorn and Laura T. Iraci
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6425–6457, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6425-2024, 2024
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We reviewed 60 sensor networks and 17 related efforts (sensor review papers and data accessibility projects) to better understand the landscape of stationary low-cost gas-phase sensor networks deployed in outdoor environments worldwide. Gaps in monitoring efforts include the availability of gas-phase measurements compared to particulate matter (PM) and geographic coverage gaps (the Global South, rural areas). We conclude with a summary of cross-network unification and quality control efforts.
Henning Finkenzeller, Jyri Mikkilä, Cecilia Righi, Paxton Juuti, Mikko Sipilä, Matti Rissanen, Douglas Worsnop, Aleksei Shcherbinin, Nina Sarnela, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5989–6001, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5989-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5989-2024, 2024
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Chemical ionisation mass spectrometry is used in the atmospheric sciences to measure trace gas concentrations. Neutral gases require charging in inlets before the mass-to-charge ratio of the resulting ions can be analysed. This study uses multiphysics modelling to investigate how the MION2 and Eisele type inlets work and shows the effect of tuning parameters and their current limitations. The findings are helpful for inlet users and are expected to aid in developing improved inlets.
Steven A. Bailey, Reem A. Hannun, Andrew K. Swanson, and Thomas F. Hanisco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5903–5910, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5903-2024, 2024
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We have developed a portable, optically based instrument that measures NO2. It consumes less than 6 W of power, so it can easily run off a small battery. This instrument has made both balloon and UAV flights. NO2 measurement results compare favorably with other known NO2 instruments. We find this instrument to be stable with repeatable results compared with calibration sources. Material cost to build a single instrument is around USD 4000. This could be lowered with economies of scale.
Jinghui Lian, Olivier Laurent, Mali Chariot, Luc Lienhardt, Michel Ramonet, Hervé Utard, Thomas Lauvaux, François-Marie Bréon, Grégoire Broquet, Karina Cucchi, Laurent Millair, and Philippe Ciais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5821–5839, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5821-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5821-2024, 2024
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We have designed and deployed a mid-cost medium-precision CO2 sensor monitoring network in Paris since July 2020. The data are automatically calibrated by a newly implemented data processing system. The accuracies of the mid-cost instruments vary from 1.0 to 2.4 ppm for hourly afternoon measurements. Our model–data analyses highlight prospects for integrating mid-cost instrument data with high-precision measurements to improve fine-scale CO2 emission quantification in urban areas.
Abdullah Bolek, Martin Heimann, and Mathias Göckede
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5619–5636, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5619-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5619-2024, 2024
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This study describes the development of a new UAV platform to measure atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) mole fractions, 2D wind speed, air temperature, humidity, and pressure. Understanding GHG flux processes and controls across various ecosystems is essential for estimating the current and future state of climate change. It was shown that using the UAV platform for such measurements is beneficial for improving our understanding of GHG processes over complex landscapes.
Jonathan F. Dooley, Kenneth Minschwaner, Manvendra K. Dubey, Sahar H. El Abbadi, Evan D. Sherwin, Aaron G. Meyer, Emily Follansbee, and James E. Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5091–5111, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5091-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5091-2024, 2024
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Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas originating from both natural and human activities. We describe a new uncrewed aerial system (UAS) designed to measure methane emission rates over a wide range of scales. This system has been used for direct quantification of point sources and distributed emitters over scales of up to 1 km. The system uses simultaneous measurements of methane and ethane to distinguish between different kinds of natural and human-related emission sources.
Brice Barret, Patrice Medina, Natalie Brett, Roman Pohorsky, Kathy Law, Slimane Bekki, Gilberto J. Fochesatto, Julia Schmale, Steve Arnold, Andrea Baccarini, Mauricio Busetto, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, Barbara D'Anna, Stefano Decesari, Jingqiu Mao, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Joel Savarino, Federico Scoto, and William R. Simpson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2421, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2421, 2024
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The Fairbanks area experiences severe pollution episodes in winter because of enhanced emissions of pollutants trapped near the surface by strong temperature inversions. Low-cost sensors were deployed onboard a car and a tethered balloon to measure the concentrations of gaseous pollutants (CO, O3, NOx) in Fairbanks during the winter of 2022. Data calibration with reference measurements and machine learning methods enabled to document pollution at the surface and power plant plumes aloft.
John Ericksen, Tobias P. Fischer, G. Matthew Fricke, Scott Nowicki, Nemesio M. Pérez, Pedro Hernández Pérez, Eleazar Padrón González, and Melanie E. Moses
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4725–4736, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4725-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4725-2024, 2024
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Volcanic eruptions emit significant quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. We present a new method for directly determining the CO2 emission from a volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma, Spain, using an unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV). We also collected samples of the emitted CO2 and analyzed their isotopic composition. Together with the emission rate the isotopic data provide valuable information on the state of volcanic activity and the potential evolution of the eruption.
Han Mei, Peng Wei, Meisam Ahmadi Ghadikolaei, Nirmal Kumar Gali, Ya Wang, and Zhi Ning
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-130, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-130, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Long-term field testing across diverse climatic environments is conducted to identify the optimized calibration conditions for NO2, NO, CO, and O3 electrochemical sensors. The results uncovered three factors that influence calibration performance: calibration period, concentration range, and time averaging. We developed a comprehensive framework for the best sensor calibration practices, which serves as a valuable reference for calibrating various sensor types used in air quality monitoring.
László Haszpra
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4629–4647, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4629-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4629-2024, 2024
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The paper evaluates a 30-year-long atmospheric CO2 data series from a mid-continental central European site, Hegyhátsál (HUN). It presents the site-specific features observed in the long-term evolution of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Since the measurement data are widely used in atmospheric inverse models and budget calculations all around the world, the paper provides potentially valuable information for model tuning and interpretation of the model results.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Tim Stoltmann, Justin Chaillot, Mathieu Daëron, Fréderic Prié, Baptiste Bordet, and Samir Kassi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4599–4612, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4599-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4599-2024, 2024
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Measuring water isotopic composition in Antarctica is difficult because of the extremely cold temperature in winter. Here, we designed a new infrared spectrometer able to measure the vapour isotopic composition during more than 95 % of the year in the coldest locations of Antarctica, whereas current commercial instruments are only able to measure during the warm summer months in the interior.
Cameron E. N. Power and Aldona Wiacek
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-97, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-97, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The choice of path length and retroreflector array size in open-path FTIR spectroscopy must be made with care. Longer paths increase target gas absorption (lowering detection limits) and larger retroreflector arrays improve the SNR of spectra by increasing the return signal (improving retrieved concentration precision), but there are limitations to both. An optimum array size and path combination exists in each specific observational environment and application, as explored in this work.
Jean-Louis Bonne, Ludovic Donnat, Grégory Albora, Jérémie Burgalat, Nicolas Chauvin, Delphine Combaz, Julien Cousin, Thomas Decarpenterie, Olivier Duclaux, Nicolas Dumelié, Nicolas Galas, Catherine Juery, Florian Parent, Florent Pineau, Abel Maunoury, Olivier Ventre, Marie-France Bénassy, and Lilian Joly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4471–4491, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, 2024
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We present a top-down approach to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions at the scale of an industrial site, based on a mass balance model relying on atmospheric concentrations measurements from a new sensor embarked on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles (UAVs). We present a laboratory characterization of our sensor and a field validation of our quantification method, together with field application to the monitoring of two real-world offshore oil and gas platforms.
Rodrigo Rivera-Martinez, Pramod Kumar, Olivier Laurent, Gregoire Broquet, Christopher Caldow, Ford Cropley, Diego Santaren, Adil Shah, Cécile Mallet, Michel Ramonet, Leonard Rivier, Catherine Juery, Olivier Duclaux, Caroline Bouchet, Elisa Allegrini, Hervé Utard, and Philippe Ciais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4257–4290, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4257-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4257-2024, 2024
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We explore the use of metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) as a low-cost alternative for detecting and measuring CH4 emissions from industrial facilities. MOSs were exposed to several controlled releases to test their accuracy in detecting and quantifying emissions. Two reconstruction models were compared, and emission estimates were computed using a Gaussian dispersion model. Findings show that MOSs can provide accurate emission estimates with a 25 % emission rate error and a 9.5 m location error.
Zihan Zhu, Javier González-Rocha, Yifan Ding, Isis Frausto-Vicencio, Sajjan Heerah, Akula Venkatram, Manvendra Dubey, Don Collins, and Francesca M. Hopkins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3883–3895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3883-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3883-2024, 2024
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Increases in agriculture, oil and gas, and waste management activities have contributed to the increase in atmospheric methane levels and resultant climate warming. In this paper, we explore the use of small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUASs) and AirCore technology to detect and quantify methane emissions. Results from field experiments demonstrate that sUASs and AirCore technology can be effective for detecting and quantifying methane emissions in near real time.
Meghan Guagenti, Darielle Dexheimer, Alexandra Ulinksi, Paul Walter, James H. Flynn III, and Sascha Usenko
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-96, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-96, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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A robust, automatic VOC collection system was developed for vertical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sampling associated with the 2022 DOE ARM program-led TRACER in Houston, TX. This modular sampler has been developed to measure vertical profiles of VOCs to improve near-surface characterization. This article helps fill the current lack of commercially available options for aerial VOC sampling and serves to support and encourage researchers to build and develop custom samplers.
Sebastian Diez, Stuart Lacy, Hugh Coe, Josefina Urquiza, Max Priestman, Michael Flynn, Nicholas Marsden, Nicholas A. Martin, Stefan Gillott, Thomas Bannan, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3809–3827, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3809-2024, 2024
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In this paper we present an overview of the QUANT project, which to our knowledge is one of the largest evaluations of commercial sensors to date. The objective was to evaluate the performance of a range of commercial products and also to nourish the different applications in which these technologies can offer relevant information.
Linda Ort, Lenard Lukas Röder, Uwe Parchatka, Rainer Königstedt, Daniel Crowley, Frank Kunz, Ralf Wittkowski, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3553–3565, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3553-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3553-2024, 2024
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Airborne in situ measurements are of great importance to collect valuable data to improve our knowledge of the atmosphere but also present challenges which demand specific designs. This study presents an IR spectrometer for airborne trace-gas measurements with high data efficiency and a simple, compact design. Its in-flight performance is characterized with the help of a test flight and a comparison with another spectrometer. Moreover, results from its first campaign highlight its benefits.
Roger Curcoll, Claudia Grossi, Stefan Röttger, and Arturo Vargas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3047–3065, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3047-2024, 2024
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This paper presents a new user-friendly version of the Atmospheric Radon MONitor (ARMON). The efficiency of the instrument is of 0.0057 s-1, obtained using different techniques at Spanish and German chambers. The total calculated uncertainty of the ARMON for hourly radon concentrations above 5 Bq m-3 is lower than 10 % (k = 1). Results confirm that the ARMON is suitable to measure low-level radon activity concentrations and to be used as a transfer standard to calibrate in situ radon monitors.
Josie K. Radtke, Benjamin N. Kies, Whitney A. Mottishaw, Sydney M. Zeuli, Aidan T. H. Voon, Kelly L. Koerber, Grant W. Petty, Michael P. Vermeuel, Timothy H. Bertram, Ankur R. Desai, Joseph P. Hupy, R. Bradley Pierce, Timothy J. Wagner, and Patricia A. Cleary
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2833–2847, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2833-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2833-2024, 2024
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The use of uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs) to conduct a vertical profiling of ozone and meteorological variables was evaluated using comparisons between tower or ground observations and UAS-based measurements. Changes to the UAS profiler showed an improvement in performance. The profiler was used to see the impact of Chicago pollution plumes on a shoreline area near Lake Michigan.
Chen-Wei Liang and Chang-Hung Shen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2671–2686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2671-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2671-2024, 2024
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In the present study, a UAV platform with sensing and sampling systems was developed for 3D air pollutant concentration measurements. The sensing system of this platform contains multiple microsensors and IoT technologies for obtaining the real-time 3D distributions of critical air pollutants. The sampling system contains gas sampling sets and a 1 L Tedlar bag instead of a canister for the 3D measurement of VOC concentrations in accordance with the TO-15 method of the US EPA.
Daniel Furuta, Bruce Wilson, Albert A. Presto, and Jiayu Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2103–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024, 2024
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Methane is an important driver of climate change and is challenging to inexpensively sense in low atmospheric concentrations. We developed a low-cost sensor to monitor methane and tested it in indoor and outdoor settings. Our device shows promise for monitoring low levels of methane. We characterize its limitations and suggest future research directions for further development.
Audrey J. Dang, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Tyler L. Cargill, Jhao-Hong Chen, Sydney Hornitschek, Remy Hutheesing, Jay R. Turner, and Brent J. Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2067–2087, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024, 2024
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The Multichannel Organics In situ enviRonmental Analyzer (MOIRA) is a new instrument for measuring speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air and has been developed for mapping concentrations from a hybrid car. MOIRA is characterized in the lab and pilot field studies of indoor air in a single-family residence and outdoor air during a mobile deployment. Future applications include indoor, outdoor, and lab measurements to grasp the impact of VOCs on air quality, health, and climate.
Asher P. Mouat, Zelda A. Siegel, and Jennifer Kaiser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1979–1994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024, 2024
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Three fast-measurement formaldehyde monitors were deployed at two field sites in Atlanta, GA, over 1 year. Four different zeroing methods were tested to develop an optimal field setup as well as procedures for instrument calibration. Observations agreed well after calibration but were much higher compared to the TO-11A monitoring method, which is the golden standard. Historical HCHO concentrations were compared with measurements in this work, showing a 22 % reduction in midday HCHO since 1999.
Da Yang, Margarita Reza, Roy Mauldin, Rainer Volkamer, and Suresh Dhaniyala
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1463–1474, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, 2024
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This paper evaluates the performance of an aircraft gas inlet. Here, we use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiments to demonstrate the role of turbulence in determining sampling performance of a gas inlet and identify ideal conditions for inlet operation to minimize gas loss. Experiments conducted in a high-speed wind tunnel under near-aircraft speeds validated numerical results. We believe that the results obtained from this work will greatly inform future gas inlet studies.
Reena Macagga, Michael Asante, Geoffroy Sossa, Danica Antonijević, Maren Dubbert, and Mathias Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1317–1332, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, 2024
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Using only low-cost microcontrollers and sensors, we constructed a measurement device to accurately and precisely obtain atmospheric carbon dioxide and water fluxes. The device was tested against known concentration increases and high-cost, commercial sensors during a laboratory and field experiment. We additionally tested the device over a longer period in a field study in Ghana during which the net ecosystem carbon balance and water use efficiency of maize cultivation were studied.
Matthew M. Coggon, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Megan S. Claflin, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Lu Xu, Jessica B. Gilman, Julia Marcantonio, Cong Cao, Kelvin Bates, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Aaron Lamplugh, Erin F. Katz, Caleb Arata, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Felix Piel, Francesca Majluf, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, Manjula Canagaratna, Brian M. Lerner, Allen H. Goldstein, John E. Mak, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 801–825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024, 2024
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Mass spectrometry is a tool commonly used to measure air pollutants. This study evaluates measurement artifacts produced in the proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer. We provide methods to correct these biases and better measure compounds that degrade air quality.
Tianran Han, Conghui Xie, Yayong Liu, Yanrong Yang, Yuheng Zhang, Yufei Huang, Xiangyu Gao, Xiaohua Zhang, Fangmin Bao, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 677–691, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024, 2024
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This study reported an integrated UAV measurement platform for GHG monitoring and its application for emission quantification from a coking plant. The key element of this system is a newly designed air sampler, consisting of a 150 m long tube with remote-controlled time stamping. When comparing the top-down results to those derived from the bottom-up inventory method, the present findings indicate that the use of IPCC emission factors for emission calculations can lead to overestimation.
Yuening Li, Faqiang Zhan, Yushan Su, Ying Duan Lei, Chubashini Shunthirasingham, Zilin Zhou, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Hayley Hung, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 715–729, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024, 2024
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A simple device for sampling gases from the atmosphere without the help of pumps was calibrated for an important group of hazardous air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). While the sampler appeared to perform well when used for relatively short periods of up to several months, some PACs were lost from the sampler during longer deployments. Sampling rates that can be used to quantitatively interpret the quantities of PACs taken up in the device have been derived.
Jiaxin Li, Kunpeng Zang, Yi Lin, Yuanyuan Chen, Shuo Liu, Shanshan Qiu, Kai Jiang, Xuemei Qing, Haoyu Xiong, Haixiang Hong, Shuangxi Fang, Honghui Xu, and Yujun Jiang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4757–4768, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4757-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4757-2023, 2023
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Based on observed data of CO2 and CH4 and meteorological parameters over the Yellow Sea in November 2012 and June 2013, a data process and quality control method was optimized and established to filter the data influenced by multiple factors. Spatial and seasonal variations in CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios were mainly controlled by the East Asian Monsoon, while the influence of air–sea exchange was slight.
Zaneta Hamryszczak, Antonia Hartmann, Dirk Dienhart, Sascha Hafermann, Bettina Brendel, Rainer Königstedt, Uwe Parchatka, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4741–4756, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4741-2023, 2023
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Hydroperoxide measurements improve the understanding of atmospheric oxidation processes. We introduce an instrumental setup for airborne measurements. The aim of the work is the characterization of the measurement method with emphasis on interferences impacting instrumental uncertainty. Technical and physical challenges do not critically impact the instrumental performance. The instrument resolves dynamic processes, such as convective transport, as shown based on the CAFE-Brazil campaign.
James F. Hurley, Alejandra Caceres, Deborah F. McGlynn, Mary E. Tovillo, Suzanne Pinar, Roger Schürch, Ksenia Onufrieva, and Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4681–4692, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4681-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4681-2023, 2023
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have a wide range of sources and impacts on environments and human health that make them spatially, temporally, and chemically varied. Current methods lack the ability to collect samples in ways that provide spatial and chemical resolution without complex, costly instrumentation. We describe and validate a low-cost, portable VOC sampler and demonstrate its utility in collecting distributed coordinated samples.
Simone Brunamonti, Manuel Graf, Tobias Bühlmann, Céline Pascale, Ivan Ilak, Lukas Emmenegger, and Béla Tuzson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4391–4407, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4391-2023, 2023
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The abundance of water vapor (H2O) in the upper atmosphere has a significant impact on the rate of global warming. We developed a new lightweight spectrometer (ALBATROSS) for H2O measurements aboard meteorological balloons. Here, we assess the accuracy and precision of ALBATROSS using metrology-grade reference gases. The results demonstrate the exceptional potential of mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy as a new reference method for in situ measurements of H2O in the upper atmosphere.
Roubina Papaconstantinou, Marios Demosthenous, Spyros Bezantakos, Neoclis Hadjigeorgiou, Marinos Costi, Melina Stylianou, Elli Symeou, Chrysanthos Savvides, and George Biskos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3313–3329, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3313-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3313-2023, 2023
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In this paper, we investigate the performance of low-cost electrochemical gas sensors. We carried out yearlong measurements at a traffic air quality monitoring station, where the low-cost sensors were collocated with reference instruments and exposed to highly variable environmental conditions with extremely high temperatures and low relative humidity (RH). Sensors provide measurements that exhibit increasing errors and decreasing correlations as temperature increases and RH decreases.
Jianghanyang Li, Bianca C. Baier, Fred Moore, Tim Newberger, Sonja Wolter, Jack Higgs, Geoff Dutton, Eric Hintsa, Bradley Hall, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2851–2863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023, 2023
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Monitoring a suite of trace gases in the stratosphere will help us better understand the stratospheric circulation and its impact on the earth's radiation balance. However, such measurements are rare and usually expensive. We developed an instrument that can measure stratospheric trace gases using a low-cost sampling platform (AirCore). The results showed expected agreement with aircraft measurements, demonstrating this technique provides a low-cost and robust way to observe the stratosphere.
Tara I. Yacovitch, Christoph Dyroff, Joseph R. Roscioli, Conner Daube, J. Barry McManus, and Scott C. Herndon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1915–1921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023, 2023
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Ethylene oxide is a toxic, carcinogenic compound used in the medical and bulk sterilization industry. Here we describe a precise and fast laser-based ethylene oxide monitor. We report months-long concentrations at a Massachusetts site, and we show how they suggest a potential emission source 35 km away. This source, and another, is confirmed by driving the instrument downwind of the sites, where concentrations were tens to tens of thousands of times greater than background levels.
Tatsumi Nakano and Takashi Morofuji
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1583–1595, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1583-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1583-2023, 2023
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We have developed a system that can automatically measure the pump efficiency of the ECC-type ozonesonde. Operational measurement for 13 years by this system revealed that the efficiency fluctuates in each and slightly increases over time. Those can affect the estimation of total ozone amount by up to 4 %. This result indicates that it is necessary to understand the tendency of the pump correction factor of each ozonesonde in order to detect the actual atmospheric change with high accuracy.
Benjamin Birner, Eric Morgan, and Ralph F. Keeling
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1551–1561, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1551-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric variations of helium (He) and CO2 are strongly linked due to the co-release of both gases from natural-gas burning. This implies that atmospheric He measurements may be a potentially powerful tool for verifying reported anthropogenic natural-gas usage. Here, we present the development and initial results of a novel measurement system of atmospheric He that paves the way for establishing a global monitoring network in the future.
John W. Halfacre, Jordan Stewart, Scott C. Herndon, Joseph R. Roscioli, Christoph Dyroff, Tara I. Yacovitch, Michael Flynn, Stephen J. Andrews, Steven S. Brown, Patrick R. Veres, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1407–1429, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1407-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1407-2023, 2023
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This study details a new sampling method for the optical detection of hydrogen chloride (HCl). HCl is an important atmospheric reservoir for chlorine atoms, which can affect nitrogen oxide cycling and the lifetimes of volatile organic compounds and ozone. However, HCl has a high affinity for interacting with surfaces, thereby preventing fast, quantitative measurements. The sampling technique in this study minimizes these surface interactions and provides a high-quality measurement of HCl.
Henning Finkenzeller, Denis Pöhler, Martin Horbanski, Johannes Lampel, and Ulrich Platt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1343–1356, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1343-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1343-2023, 2023
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Optical resonators enhance the light path in compact instruments, thereby improving their sensitivity. Determining the established path length in the instrument is a prerequisite for the accurate determination of trace gas concentrations but can be a significant complication in the use of such resonators. Here we show two calibration techniques which are relatively simple and free of consumables but still provide accurate calibrations. This facilitates the use of optical resonators.
Andrew W. Seidl, Harald Sodemann, and Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 769–790, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-769-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-769-2023, 2023
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It is challenging to make field measurements of stable water isotopes in the Arctic. To this end, we present a modular stable-water-isotope analyzer profiling system. The system operated for a 2-week field campaign on Svalbard during the Arctic winter. We evaluate the system’s performance and analyze any potential impact that the field conditions might have had on the isotopic measurements and the system's ability to resolve isotope gradients in the lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
Daan Swart, Jun Zhang, Shelley van der Graaf, Susanna Rutledge-Jonker, Arjan Hensen, Stijn Berkhout, Pascal Wintjen, René van der Hoff, Marty Haaima, Arnoud Frumau, Pim van den Bulk, Ruben Schulte, Margreet van Zanten, and Thomas van Goethem
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 529–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-529-2023, 2023
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During a 5-week comparison campaign, we tested two set-ups to measure half hourly ammonia fluxes. The eddy covariance and flux gradient systems showed very similar results when the upwind terrain was both homogeneous and free of obstacles. We discuss the technical performance and practical limitations of both systems. Measurements from these instruments can facilitate the study of processes behind ammonia deposition, an important contributor to eutrophication and acidificationin natural areas.
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Martinez, M., Harder, H., Kovacs, T., Simpas, J., Bassis, J., Lesher, R., Brune, W., Frost, G., Williams, E., Stroud, C., Jobson, B., Roberts, J., Hall, S., Shetter, R., Wert, B., Fired, A., Alicke, B., Stutz, J., Young, V., White, A., and Zamora, R.: OH and HO2 concentrations, sources, and loss rates during the Southern Oxidants Study in Nashville, Tennessee, summer 1999, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 4617, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003551, 2003.
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Shirley, T. R., Brune, W. H., Ren, X., Mao, J., Lesher, R., Cardenas, B., Volkamer, R., Molina, L. T., Molina, M. J., Lamb, B., Velasco, E., Jobson, T., and Alexander, M.: Atmospheric oxidation in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) during April 2003, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 2753–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-2753-2006, 2006.
Sinha, V., Williams, J., Crowley, J. N., and Lelieveld, J.: The Comparative Reactivity Method – a new tool to measure total OH Reactivity in ambient air, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2213–2227, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-2213-2008, 2008.
Sinha, V., Custer, T., Kluepfel, T., and Williams, J.: The effect of relative humidity on the detection of pyrrole by PTR-MS for OH reactivity measurements, Int. J. Mass Spectrom., 282, 108–111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2009.02.019, 2009.
Sinha, V., Williams, J., Lelieveld, J., Ruuskanen, T., Kajos, M., Patokoski, J., Hellen, H., Hakola, H., Mogensen, D., Boy, M., Rinne, J., and Kulmala, M.: OH reactivity measurements within a boreal forest: evidence for unknown reactive emissions, Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 6614–6620, https://doi.org/10.1021/es101780b, 2010.
Sinha, V., Williams, J., Diesch, J. M., Drewnick, F., Martinez, M., Harder, H., Regelin, E., Kubistin, D., Bozem, H., Hosaynali-Beygi, Z., Fischer, H., Andrés-Hernández, M. D., Kartal, D., Adame, J. A., and Lelieveld, J.: Constraints on instantaneous ozone production rates and regimes during DOMINO derived using in-situ OH reactivity measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 7269–7283, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-7269-2012, 2012.
Warneke, C., Roberts, J., Veres, P., Gilman, J., Kuster, W., Burling, I., Yokelson, R., and de Gouw, J.: VOC identification and inter-comparison from laboratory biomass burning using PTR-MS and PIT-MS, Int. J. Mass Spectrom., 303, 6–14, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2010.12.002, 2011.
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Williams, J., Crowley, J., Fischer, H., Harder, H., Martinez, M., Petäjä, T., Rinne, J., Bäck, J., Boy, M., Dal Maso, M., Hakala, J., Kajos, M., Keronen, P., Rantala, P., Aalto, J., Aaltonen, H., Paatero, J., Vesala, T., Hakola, H., Levula, J., Pohja, T., Herrmann, F., Auld, J., Mesarchaki, E., Song, W., Yassaa, N., Nölscher, A., Johnson, A. M., Custer, T., Sinha, V., Thieser, J., Pouvesle, N., Taraborrelli, D., Tang, M. J., Bozem, H., Hosaynali-Beygi, Z., Axinte, R., Oswald, R., Novelli, A., Kubistin, D., Hens, K., Javed, U., Trawny, K., Breitenberger, C., Hidalgo, P. J., Ebben, C. J., Geiger, F. M., Corrigan, A. L., Russell, L. M., Ouwersloot, H. G., Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, J., Ganzeveld, L., Vogel, A., Beck, M., Bayerle, A., Kampf, C. J., Bertelmann, M., Köllner, F., Hoffmann, T., Valverde, J., González, D., Riekkola, M.-L., Kulmala, M., and Lelieveld, J.: The summertime Boreal forest field measurement intensive (HUMPPA-COPEC-2010): an overview of meteorological and chemical influences, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 10599–10618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10599-2011, 2011.
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