Abstract. We report on the development, characterization, and fielddeployment of a fast-time-response sensor for measuring ozone (O3) andnitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations utilizing chemical ionizationtime-of-flight mass spectrometry (CI-ToFMS) with oxygen anion(O2-) reagent ion chemistry. Wedemonstrate that the oxygen anion chemical ionization mass spectrometer(Ox-CIMS) is highly sensitive to both O3 (180 counts s−1 pptv−1) and NO2 (97 counts s−1 pptv−1), corresponding todetection limits (3σ, 1 s averages) of 13 and 9.9 pptv,respectively. In both cases, the detection threshold is limited by themagnitude and variability in the background determination. The short-termprecision (1 s averages) is better than 0.3 % at 10 ppbv O3 and 4 %at 10 pptv NO2. We demonstrate that the sensitivity of the O3measurement to fluctuations in ambient water vapor and carbon dioxide isnegligible for typical conditions encountered in the troposphere. Theapplication of the Ox-CIMS to the measurement of O3 vertical fluxesover the coastal ocean, via eddy covariance (EC), was tested during the summer of2018 at Scripps Pier, La Jolla, CA. The observed mean ozone depositionvelocity (vd(O3)) was 0.013 cm s−1 with a campaign ensemblelimit of detection (LOD) of 0.0027 cm s−1 at the 95 % confidencelevel, from each 27 min sampling period LOD. The campaign mean and 1standard deviation range of O3 mixing ratios was 41.2±10.1 ppbv. Several fast ozone titration events from local NO emissions weresampled where unit conversion of O3 to NO2 was observed,highlighting instrument utility as a total odd-oxygen (Ox=O3+NO2) sensor. The demonstrated precision, sensitivity, and timeresolution of this instrument highlight its potential for directmeasurements of O3 ocean–atmosphere and biosphere–atmosphere exchangefrom both stationary and mobile sampling platforms.
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Intercomparison of fast airborne ozone instruments to measure eddy covariance fluxes: spatial variability in deposition at the ocean surface and evidence for cloud processing
Abstract. The air–sea exchange of ozone (O3) is controlled by chemistry involving halogens, dissolved organic carbon, and sulfur in the sea surface microlayer. Calculations also indicate faster ozone photolysis at aqueous surfaces, but the role of clouds as an ozone sink is currently not well established. Fast-response ozone sensors offer opportunities to measure eddy covariance (EC) ozone fluxes in the marine boundary layer. However, intercomparisons of fast airborne O3 sensors and EC O3 fluxes measured on aircraft have not been conducted before. In April 2022, the Technological Innovation Into Iodine and GV Environmental Research (TI3GER) field campaign deployed three fast ozone sensors (gas chemiluminescence and a combination of UV absorption with coumarin chemiluminescence detection, CID) together with a fast water vapor sensor and anemometer to study iodine chemistry in the troposphere and stratosphere over Colorado and over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and Alaska. Here, we present an instrument comparison between the NCAR Fast O3 instrument (FO3, gas-phase CID) and two KIT Fast AIRborne Ozone instruments (FAIRO, UV absorption and coumarin CID). The sensors have comparable precision < 0.4 % Hz−0.5 (0.15 ppbv Hz−0.5), and ozone volume mixing ratios (VMRs) generally agreed within 2 % over a wide range of environmental conditions: 10 < O3 < 1000 ppbv, below detection < NOx < 7 ppbv, and 2 ppmv < H2O < 4 % VMR. Both instrument designs are demonstrated to be suitable for EC flux measurements and were able to detect O3 fluxes with exchange velocities (defined as positive for upward) as slow as −0.010 ± 0.004 cm s−1, which is in the lower range of previously reported measurements. Additionally, we present two case studies. In one, the direction of ozone and water vapor fluxes was reversed (vO3 = +0.134 ± 0.005 cm s−1), suggesting that overhead evaporating clouds could be a strong ozone sink. Further work is needed to better understand the role of clouds as a possibly widespread sink of ozone in the remote marine boundary layer. In the second case study, vO3 values are negative (varying by a factor of 6–10 from −0.036 ± 0.006 to −0.003 ± 0.004 cm s−1), while the water vapor fluxes are consistently positive due to evaporation from the ocean surface and spatially homogeneous. This case study demonstrates that the processes governing ozone and water vapor fluxes can become decoupled and illustrates the need to elucidate possible drivers (physical, chemical, or biological) of the variability in ozone exchange velocities on fine spatial scales (∼ 20 km) over remote oceans.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2027252
- PAR ID:
- 10546605
- Publisher / Repository:
- Copernicus Publications for the European Geosciences Union (Germany)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 19
- ISSN:
- 1867-8548
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 5731 to 5746
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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