Effect of HITRAN Database Improvement on Retrievals of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide from Reflected Sunlight Spectra in the 1.61-μm Spectral Window

A large number of experimental and theoretical investigations of carbon dioxide （CO 2 ） spectra have been conducted since the most recent update of the High-Resolution Transmission Molecular Absorption （HITRAN） database. To maintain optimal parameters, the HITRAN 2004 CO 2 line list has been completely replaced by HITRAN 2008 data in the near-infrared region from 4300 cm-1 to 7000 cm-1 . To examine the effect of this change on the retrieval of CO 2 vertical column data from reflected sunlight spectra in the 1.61-μm spectral window, synthetic measurements for a given atmospheric state and instrument setup were generated and compared using radiative transfer model with the line-transition parameters from the HITRAN 2004 and 2008 databases. Simulated retrievals were then performed based on the optimal estimation retrieval theory. The results show that large systematic errors in atmospheric CO 2 column retrievals were induced by the differences in the HITRAN laboratory line parameters in the 1.61-μm region. The retrieved CO 2 columns were underestimated by 10 ppm using the HITRAN 2004 data, and improvements resulting from the use of the improved HITRAN database were more pronounced at a higher spectral resolution.

Study of Photocatalytic Activity of a Nanostructured Composite of ZnS and Carbon Dots

Environmental pollution jeopardizes our existence. For this purpose, research is moving more and more towards the search for economic means and green chemistry to curb this phenomenon. In this context, the photocatalytic activity of zinc sulfide nanoparticles (ZnS NPs) and nanostructured composite ZnS/carbon dots (ZnS/CDs) was evaluated after their synthesis. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicate that the crystal structure of ZnS/CDs is identical to that of the cubic phase structure of ZnS, revealing that the cubic phase structure of ZnS was not altered in the presence of CDs. Indeed, there is no additional peak in the crystal structure of ZnS/CDs, revealing that the crystalline structure of ZnS is not responsible for the difference in photocatalytic activity between ZnS/CDs and ZnS NPs. Moreover, analysis performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows aggregation of the synthesized ZnS and ZnS/CDs nanoparticles with an average size estimated around 10 nm and 12 nm, respectively. In addition, the reflectance study in the visible range shows a reduction in the sunlight reflection intensity using ZnS/CDs compared to the capability of ZnS NPs. Photocatalytic degradation tests reveal that ZnS/CDs have the best methylene blue (MB) degradation rate. Indeed, under the optimal conditions, the photocatalytic activity can reach 100% efficiency within 100 min and 240 min of sunlight exposure for the degradation of 7.5 mg/L MB using ZnS/CDs and ZnS, respectively. This improvement in photocatalytic activity of ZnS/CDs may be due to the presence of CDs which can permit to undergo a reduction of reflection properties of ZnS NPs in the visible range. These results show that CDs can play a key role in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of ZnS, and suggest that ZnS/CDs could be used as eco-friendly composite materials for the degradation of organic pollutants of similar structures in the aquatic environment under solar irradiation.

Comparison of daylight simulation methods for reflected sunlight from curtain walls

Curtain walls are more and more commonly used as building facades.They allow a better daylight availability and a direct connection to exterior environments.Meanwhile,due to the high specular reflections,they may also introduce negative impacts,such as glare and urban heat island effects,to the surround,especially in dense and urban environments.Therefore,it is important to effectively characterize the reflected sunlight from curtain walls.This study aimed to compare how different simulation methods can be used to characterize the reflected sunlight from curtain walls.It was found that the modeling of the sun and sky,ambient calculation,and the modeling of the building facade significantly affected the simulation results.A combination of forward and backward ray-tracing is recommended,with forward ray-tracing for identifying the curtain wall areas reflecting sunlight and backward ray-tracing for calculating illuminance due to reflected sunlight.A follow-up work is planned to investigate how different parameters will affect the simulation results and which method can produce similar results as field measurements.