Responses to Referee 2

Abstract

Referee Comments: Overall this paper presents a useful extension of FTIR analysis for VOCs in samples taken from challenging environments. The paper is well written and requires few, if any, typographical corrections. However, I do have some suggestions that I believe would increase the readability and utility of the paper. The term "Seminal Detections" is correct but, unfortunately, the term is much more commonly associated C1 AMTD Interactive commentPrinter-friendly version Discussion paper with seminal fluid detection and may reduce the "searchability" of the paper. Perhaps "First Detections" could be used in the title and in equivalent places within the body of the manuscript.Author Comments: We thank the referee for the constructive suggestions to improve the readability, utility and "searchability" of the paper. The term "seminal" has been replaced with "first" in the title and throughout the manuscript.Referee Comments: Lines 16/17 (first sentence in abstract): split into two sentences at the semicolon.Author Comments: Lines 16/17 have been corrected as suggested.Referee Comments: Line 29 "significantly": in a measurement and analysis paper the term "significantly" should be retained for use only in the statistical context. While clear enough here, it is best to avoid it and use, perhaps, "profoundly", "strongly", etc.Author Comments: The term "significantly" has been replaced with "profoundly" in the line 29. Referee Comments: Line 31 "however, prescribed ...": "however" implies "in contrast to", but this sentence seems more to be about additional sources of VOCs. Perhaps "Additionally, prescribed..." Author Comments: The term "however" has been replaced with "additionally" in the line 31.Referee Comments: Line 55 "thermal decomposition (pyrolysis)": the technical definition of pyrolysis seems to be something like physical and chemical transformation induced by high temperature INERT atmosphere (absence of oxygen). I am not sure that wildfire processes meet that definition. Perhaps the authors can expand upon this section slightly to make it clear that this is actually pyrolysis and not simply emission due to pressure increases (gas expansion), vapourisation, etc.