Eight-component retrievals from ground-based MAX-DOAS observations

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Authors
Irie, H.
Takashima, H.
Kanaya, Y.
Boersma, K.F.
Gast, L.
Wittrock, F.
Brunner, D.
Zhou, Y.
Van Roozendael, M.
Discipline
Earth and related Environmental sciences
Subject
aerosol composition
air mass
algorithm
atmospheric modeling
atmospheric plume
data set
ground-based measurement
mixing ratio
nitrogen dioxide
spatial resolution
spectroscopy
troposphere
ultraviolet radiation
vertical profile
visible spectrum
volume
wavelength
Cabauw
Netherlands
Utrecht [Netherlands]
Audience
Scientific
Date
2011Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
We attempt for the first time to retrieve lower-tropospheric vertical profile information for 8 quantities from ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations. The components retrieved are the aerosol extinction coefficients at two wavelengths, 357 and 476 nm, and NO2, HCHO, CHOCHO, H2O, SO2, and O3 volume mixing ratios. A Japanese MAX-DOAS profile retrieval algorithm, version 1 (JM1), is applied to observations performed at Cabauw, the Netherlands (51.97° N, 4.93° E), in June–July 2009 during the Cabauw Intercomparison campaign of Nitrogen Dioxide measuring Instruments (CINDI). Of the retrieved profiles, we focus here on the lowest-layer data (mean values at altitudes 0–1 km), where the sensitivity is usually highest owing to the longest light path. In support of the capability of the multi-component retrievals, we find reasonable overall agreement with independent data sets, including a regional chemical transport model (CHIMERE) and in situ observations performed near the surface (2–3 m) and at the 200-m height level of the tall tower in Cabauw. Plumes of enhanced HCHO and SO2 were likely affected by biogenic and ship emissions, respectively, and an improvement in their emission strengths is suggested for better agreement between CHIMERE simulations and MAX-DOAS observations. Analysis of air mass factors indicates that the horizontal spatial representativeness of MAX-DOAS observations is about 3–15 km (depending mainly on aerosol extinction), comparable to or better than the spatial resolution of current UV-visible satellite observations and model calculations. These demonstrate that MAX-DOAS provides multi-component data useful for the evaluation of satellite observations and model calculations and can play an important role in bridging different data sets having different spatial resolutions.
Citation
Irie, H.; Takashima, H.; Kanaya, Y.; Boersma, K.F.; Gast, L.; Wittrock, F.; Brunner, D.; Zhou, Y.; Van Roozendael, M. (2011). Eight-component retrievals from ground-based MAX-DOAS observations. , Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol. 4, Issue 6, 1027-1044, DOI: 10.5194/amt-4-1027-2011.Identifiers
scopus: 2-s2.0-84864514718
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng