Intercomparison of measurements of NO<sub>2</sub> concentrations in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR during the NO3Comp campaign

Abstract

Abstract. NO 2 concentrations were measured by various instruments during the NO3Comp campaign at the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, in June 2007. Analytical methods included photolytic conversion with chemiluminescence (PC-CLD), broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS), pulsed cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (IBBCEAS), and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). All broadband absorption spectrometers were optimized for the detection of the main target species of the campaign, NO 3 , but were also capable of detecting NO 2 simultaneously with reduced sensitivity. NO 2 mixing ratios in the chamber were within a range characteristic of polluted, urban conditions, with a maximum mixing ratio of approximately 75 ppbv. The overall agreement between measurements of all instruments was excellent. Linear fits of the combined data sets resulted in slopes that differ from unity only within the Correspondence to: S. S. Brown (steven.s.brown@noaa.gov) stated uncertainty of each instrument. Possible interferences from species such as water vapor and ozone were negligible under the experimental conditions.

The production and persistence of ΣRONO<sub>2</sub> in the Mexico City plume

“…Comparison of TD-LIF observations of an isoprene nitrate standard to observations made using a PTR-MS show both instruments to be consistent to within 10% (Perring et al, 2009b). Comparisons of NO 2 and PNs have also been described and indicate similar or better accuracy for these species Fuchs et al, 2010;Wooldridge et al, 2010).…”

Real Time In Situ Detection of Organic Nitrates in Atmospheric Aerosols

“…Alkyl nitrates and nitric acid (HNO 3 ) are quantified by sampling through a heated inlet which thermally dissociates these molecules to NO 2 and a corresponding radical. The method has been compared to independent approaches for detection of NO 2 (28,29), total peroxy nitrates (ΣPN) (27) and ΣAN TD-LIF has previously been used to quantify various classes of gas + particle NO y by taking the difference in LIF signals measured with two inlets at two different temperatures (10). For the application described in this work, gas phase species including NO 2 are separated from particles before entering the heated portion of the inlet, and thus no subtraction is required.…”

“…These values result in a detection limit of 110 ppt for 10 seconds of averaging, or 45 ppt for one minute. Higher sensitivity NO 2 instruments are available and have been employed in other studies (26,27,29). At standard conditions (1013 hPa, 300 K) the detection limit for this instrument converts to 0.11 µg -ONO 2 m −3 min −1 .…”

Near-Ultraviolet Absorption Cross Sections of Nitrophenols and Their Potential Influence on Tropospheric Oxidation Capacity

“…Previous work with broadband cavity systems has largely been applied to trace gas analysis, in which the reflectivity of the dielectric mirrors is usually maximized to increase the sensitivity of the system to small absorptions. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Prior studies have used bandwidths of 20 to 80 nm because increasing the reflectivity tends to narrow the high reflectivity region of the mirrors. 17,19 For measuring absorption cross-sections, on the other hand, it would be preferable to have a bandwidth sufficiently broad to cover the absorption band of the compound of interest.…”