Carbon oxide in the surface air (Obninsk monitoring station)

Abstract

The results of measurements of the concentration of carbon oxide (CO) in the atmospheric surface layer over the town of Obninsk (in European Russia, 105 km to the southwest of Moscow) are presented. Air samples were analyzed with the aid of a measuring system consisting of a Fourier-spectrometer and an optic multipass cell. The CO concentration was measured simultaneously with the measurements of air temperature up to a height of 300 m. The measurement data obtained from February 1998 to January 2009 suggest the presence of variations within the range 100–450 ppb (∼80% of all the data) and nonperiodic relatively short-term and anomalously high CO concentrations that reach several ppm. The highest concentrations are due to CO accumulated in the surface air in the presence of temperature inversion and during forest fires. The measurements of the concentration of CO throughout a day revealed its morning and evening maxima, which coincide in time with the increased traffic current. The maxima and minima of seasonal variations in the monthly mean concentrations of CO, which are due to variations in the sources and sinks of CO that happen within a year, are observed in January and June, respectively. The amplitudes of seasonal variations amounted to (53 ± 10)% of the annual mean. The annual mean concentration of CO decreased by ∼12% over the measurement period. A comparison was made with observational data obtained at five monitoring stations located in the latitudes that are close to the latitude of Obninsk. Over the European continent, the concentration of CO tends to decrease with a longitude decrease as it goes from east to west.