Development of a New N2O/CO Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer for sub-ppb Ambient Gas Monitoring
Abstract
With a global warming potential of nearly 300, N2O is a critically important greenhouse gas, contributing about 5% of the US total GHG emissions. Agriculture soil management practices are the dominant source of anthropogenic N2O emissions, contributing nearly 3/4ths of US N2O emissions. In urban areas, vehicle tailpipe emissions and waste water treatment plants are significant sources of N2O. We report here a new mid-infrared laser-based cavity ring-down spectrometer that was recently developed to measure sub-ppb ambient concentrations of two key greenhouse gas species, N2O and CO, simultaneously. It combines a quantum cascade laser with a proprietary 3-mirror optical cavity. The new optical analyzer was set up to monitor nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide, along with CO2 and CH4, in ambient air obtained from a 10m tower in Santa Clara, California. In the data collected, the contribution from traffic and a nearby sewage treatment facility was evident.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015AGUFM.A41A0050L
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0317 Chemical kinetic and photochemical properties;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0394 Instruments and techniques;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE