Atmospheric NO_2 Concentration Measurements Using Differential Absorption Lidar Technique

Using the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique, two types of approaches, namely, reflection from retroreflector / topographic target and backscatter from atmosphere, are available for studying remotely the atmospheric NO, concentration. The Argon ion lidar system at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India has been used for the measurements by following both the path-averaged and range-resolved approaches. For the former, a topographic target (hill) is used for determining path-averaged surface concentration. In the latter, spectral properties of atmospheric attenuation is used for making range-resolved measurements in the surface layer. The results of the observations collected by following both approaches are presented. The average surface NO2 concentration was found to vary between 0.01 and 0.105 ppm and the range-resolved measurements exhibited higher values suggesting treatment of the lidar data for scattering and extinction effects due to atmospheric aerosols and air molecules, and atmospheric turbulence. Certain modifications that are suggested to the experimental set-up, data acquisition and analysis to improve the measurements are briefly described.

A Parameterized yet Accurate Model of Ozone and Water Vapor Transmittance in the Solar-to-near-infrared Spectrum

A parameterized transmittance model （PTR） for ozone and water vapor monochromatic transmittance calculation in the solar-to-near-infrared spectrum 0.3-4 pm with a spectral resolution of 5 cm-1 was developed based on the transmittance data calculated by Moderate-resolution Transmittance model （MOD- TRAN）. Polynomial equations were derived to represent the transmittance as functions of path length and airmass for every wavelength based on the least-squares method. Comparisons between the transmittances calculated using PTR and MODTRAN were made, using the results of MODTRAN as a reference. Rela- tive root-mean-square error （RMSre） was 0.823% for ozone transmittance. RMSre values were 8.84~ and 3.48~ for water vapor transmittance ranges of 1-1 x 10-is and 1-1x 10-3, respectively. In addition, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II （SAGEII） ozone profiles and University of Wyoming （UWYO） water vapor profiles were applied to validate the applicability of PTR model. RMSre was 0.437~ for ozone transmittance. RMSre values were 8.89~ and 2.43% for water vapor transmittance ranges of 1-1~10-is and 1-1~ 10-6, respectively. Furthermore, the optical depth profiles calculated using the PTR model were compared to the results of MODTRAN. Absolute RMS errors （RMSab） for ozone optical depths were within 0.0055 and 0.0523 for water vapor at all of the tested altitudes. Finally, the comparison between the solar heating rate calculated from the transmittance of PTR and Line-by-Line radiative transfer model （LBLRTM） was performed, showing a maximum deviation of 0.238 K d-1 （6% of the corresponding solar heating rate calculated using LBLRTM）. In the troposphere all of the deviations were within 0.08 K d-1. The computational speed of PTR model is nearly two orders of magnitude faster than that of MODTRAN.

Far-Infrared Laser Diagnostics in EAST

Structure, improvements and experiment results of a vertical three-channel far- in- frared （FIR） hydrogen cyanide （HCN） laser interferometer, operated routinely in EAST to measure the electron density profile, are presented. Moreover, a five-channel deuterium cyanide （DCN） laser interferometer was developed successfully. Some key issues confronted in development, including the economization of working gas and the solution to atmospheric absorption, are resolved and described in detail.

MEASUREMENTS OF THE ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT OF ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS

This paper discusses the measurement of the absorption coefficient of atmospheric aerosols and its meas- uring system based on the principle of integrating plate. Measurements in Beijing show that the absorption coefficient of atmospheric aerosols in the heating period varies in a range of 10to 10mand in the non-heating period, its values are near 10m.

THE ABSORPTION OF SOLAR RADIATION BY AEROSOL ATMOSPHERE

The two-stream approximation is applied to solve the multiple scattered radiation transfer equations for an inhomogeneous aerosol atmosphere.The accurate absorption of water vapor,ozone,carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen is calculated.Calculations have been carried out band by band for the beating rate of atmosphere.The results show that the effect of aerosols on solar heating of the atmosphere is significant.

NitroMAC：An instrument for the measurement of HONO and intercomparison with a long-path absorption photometer

Nitro MAC（French acronym for continuous atmospheric measurements of nitrogenous compounds） is an instrument which has been developed for the semi-continuous measurement of atmospheric nitrous acid（HONO）. This instrument relies on wet chemical sampling and detection using high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）-visible absorption at540 nm. Sampling proceeds by dissolution of gaseous HONO in a phosphate buffer solution followed by derivatization with sulfanilamide/N-（1-naphthyl）-ethylenediamine. The performance of this instrument was found to be as follows： a detection limit of around 3 ppt with measurement uncertainty of 10% over an analysis time of 10 min. Intercomparison was made between the instrument and a long-path absorption photometer（LOPAP） during two experiments in different environments. First, air was sampled in a smog chamber with concentrations up to 18 ppb of nitrous acid. Nitro MAC and LOPAP measurements showed very good agreement. Then, in a second experiment, ambient air with HONO concentrations below250 ppt was sampled. While Nitro MAC showed its capability of measuring HONO in moderate and highly polluted environments, the intercomparison results in ambient air highlighted that corrections must be made for minor interferences when low concentrations are measured.