[1] In this paper we present in situ and tropospheric column measurements of NO 2 in the Po river basin (northern Italy). The aim of the work is to provide a quantitative comparison between ground-based and satellite measurements in order to assess the validity of spaceborne measurements for estimating NO 2 emissions and evaluate possible climatic effects. The study is carried out using in situ chemiluminescent instrumentation installed in the Po valley, a UV/Vis spectrometer installed at Mount Cimone (44.2°N, 10.7°E, 2165 m asl), and tropospheric column measurements obtained from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) spectrometer. Results show that the annual cycle in surface concentrations and also some specific pollution periods observed by the air quality network are well reproduced by the GOME measurements. However, tropospheric columns derived from the surface measurements assuming a well-mixed planetary boundary layer (PBL) are much larger than the GOME columns and also have a different seasonal cycle. This is interpreted as indication of a smaller and less variable mixing height for NO 2 in the boundary layer. Under particular meteorological conditions the agreement between UV/Vis tropospheric column observations and GOME measurements in the Mount Cimone area is good (R 2 = 0.9) with the mixing properties of the atmosphere being the most important parameter for a valid comparison of the measurements. However, even when the atmospheric mixing properties are optimal for comparison, the ratio between GOME and ground-based tropospheric column data may not be unity. It is demonstrated that the values obtained (less than 1) are related to the fraction of the satellite ground pixel occupied by the NO 2 hot spot.
During the period May 12–23, 1992, seven groups from seven countries met in Lauder, New Zealand, to intercompare their remote sensing instruments for the measurement of atmospheric column NO2 from the surface. The purpose of the intercomparison was to determine the degree of intercomparability and to qualify instruments for use in the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). Three of the instruments which took part in the intercomparison are slated for deployment at primary NDSC sites. All instruments were successful in obtaining slant column NO2 amounts at sunrise and sunset on most of the 12 days of the intercomparison. The group as a whole was able to make measurements of the 90° solar zenith angle slant path NO2 column amount that agreed to about ±10% most of the time; however, the sensitivity of the individual measurements varied considerably. Part of the sensitivity problem for these measurements is the result of instrumentation, and part is related to the data analysis algorithms used. All groups learned a great deal from the intercomparison and improved their results considerably as a result of this exercise.
An airborne UV-visible spectrometer, the Gas Analyzer Spectrometer Correlating Optical Differences, airborne version (GASCOD/A4pi) was successfully operated during the Airborne Polar Experiment, Geophysica Aircraft in Antarctica airborne campaign from Ushuaia (54 degrees 49' S, 68 degrees 18' W), Argentina in southern spring 1999. The instrument measured scattered solar radiation through three optical windows with a narrow field of view (FOV), one from the zenith, two from the horizontal, as well as actinic fluxes through 2pi FOV radiometric heads. Only a few airborne measurements of scattered solar radiation at different angles from the zenith are available in the literature. With our configuration we attempted to obtain the average line-of-sight concentrations of detectable trace gases. The retrieval method, based on differential optical absorption spectroscopy, is described and results for ozone are shown and compared with measurements from an in situ instrument as the first method of validation.
Our institute has recently developed a differential optical absorption spectrometry system called the gas analyzer spectrometer correlating optical absorption differences (GASCOAD), which features as a detector a linear image sensor that uses an artificial light source for long-path tropospheric-pollution monitoring. The GASCOAD, its method of eliminating interference from background sky light, and subsequent spectral analysis are reported and discussed. The spectrometer was used from 7 to 22 February 1993 in Milan, a heavily polluted metropolitan area, to measure the concentrations of SO(2), NO(2), O(3), and HNO(2) averaged over a 1.7-km horizontal light path. The findings are reported and briefly discussed.
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