Sulfur Dioxide Measurements Near Point Sources Using Ultraviolet Spectroscopy From Aircraft During ICARTT-2004

Accurate measurements of sulfur dioxide are important in urban air pollution studies due to the role sulfur dioxide plays in atmospheric processes such as acid rain and particle formation. We will show slant column sulfur dioxide abundances that were derived using the differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique with ultraviolet spectrograph measurements taken aboard the NOAA WP-3D aircraft during ICARTT-2004. The spectrograph has zenith and nadir fields of view allowing for measurements of the pollution plume independent of the aircraft altitude and the height and uniformity of the boundary layer. A short integration time yields a high frequency measurement in order to distinguish localized pollution plumes from surrounding air. The sulfur dioxide slant column abundances show good qualitative agreement when compared to sulfur dioxide in-situ measurements aboard the same aircraft.