Qin Min

Measurements of Nighttime Nitrate Radical Concentrations in the Atmosphere by Long-Path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy

The long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) technique was developed to measure nighttime atmospheric nitrate radical (NO3) concentrations. An optimized retrieval method, resulting in a small residual structure and low detection limits, was developed to retrieve NO3. The time series of the NO3 concentration were collected from 17 to 24 March, 2006, where a nighttime average value of 15.8 ppt was observed. The interfering factors and errors are also discussed. These results indicate that the DOAS technique provides an essential tool for the quantification of NO3 concentration and in the study of its effects upon nighttime chemistry.

Comparing different light-emitting diodes as light sources for long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy NO2 and SO2 measurements

In this paper, we present a comparison of different light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light source for long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) atmospheric trace gas measurements. In our study, we use a fiberoptic design, where high power LEDs used as the light source are coupled into the telescope using a Y shape fiber bundle. Two blue and one ultraviolet (UV) LEDs with different emission wavelength ranges are tested for NO2 and SO2 measurements. The detailed description of the instrumental setup, the NO2 and SO2 retrieval procedure, the error analysis, and the preliminary results from the measurements carried out in Science Island, Hefei, Anhui, China are presented. Our first measurement results show that atmospheric NO2 and SO2 have strong temporal variations in that area and that the measurement accuracy is strongly dependent on the visibility conditions. The measured NO2 and SO2 data are compared to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations. The results show that the OMI NO2 product underestimates the ground level NO2 by 45%, while the OMI SO2 data are highly influenced by clouds and aerosols, which can lead to large biases in the ground level concentrations. During the experiment, the mixing ratios of the atmospheric NO2 and SO2 vary from 8 ppbv to 36 ppbv and from 3 ppbv to 18 ppbv, respectively.

High precision measurement of formaldehyde in air with differential optical absorption spectroscopy

The formaldehyde (HCHO) measurement is described by differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique and the data processing method is discussed in detail, including the selection of retrieval wavelength band, the removing of interfering structures, the steps of data processing and the spectrum dealing with nonlinear method. The HCHO concentration retrieved in different wavelength bands were compared, including relative error, repeatability and detection limit. As a result, the band from 314 to 332 nm was most suitable for the retrieval of HCHO. With these methods, high measurement precision of 1.9% was obtained and the detection limit of HCHO is less than 1.5 ppb. In addition, high linear relativity 0.9999 is achieved by measuring five different concentrations of HCHO with this system.

Apply single-band brightness variance ratio to the interference dissociation of cloud from satellite date

In satellite remote-sensing detection, cloud as an interference plays a negative role in data retrieval. A new method rooting on atmospheric radiation characteristics of cloud layer, in this paper, presents a sort of solution that single-band brightness variance ratio be used to detect the relative intensity of cloud clutter so as to delineate cloud field rapidly and exactly and, enable cloud elimination to result in the data free from cloud interference. In addition, concerning visible light data modification in cloud area, to use multi-band data fusion and infrared penetration method is a major technique herein. Finally plus the rate of data variation with its formulae and method