Retrieval of surface NO2 mixing ratio from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

The multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) technique, in which solar scattered light beams of different elevation angles are used and the spatial distribution of various trace gases is derived, has been widely used for monitoring the NO2 slant column density. Due to the lack of information in a detectable horizontal range of the MAX-DOAS instrument, the concentration of trace gases including NO2 is unable to yield directly. In this work, the relationship between extinction coefficient and light path length of MAX-DOAS observation is analyzed, and a retrieval algorithm to convert the horizontal NO2 differential slant column density into the volume mixing ratio with the information of visibility is described. This algorithm has been used in the MAX-DOAS observation at Hefei, and volume NO2 mixing ratio is derived from MAX-DOAS measurement combining the data of visibility. The NO2 concentration measured with MAX-DOAS shows that it is in good agreement with the result obtained with long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy, proving the feasibility of the retrieval method. This research presents a simple and effective monitoring method of volume NO2 mixing ratio with MAX-DOAS, there by expanding the application scope of MAX-DOAS technique.