Fast response cavity enhanced ozone monitor

Abstract

Ozone is an important atmospheric gas due to its role in air quality and radiative forcing. A new method for sensitive, rapid monitoring of ambient ozone has been developed using a compact platform and relatively inexpensive components. Based on incoherent broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (IBB-CEAS), the device utilizes an optical cavity of just 14.5 cm and 99.3% reflective mirrors. Performance of the instrument has been validated against direct absorption measurements in a single-pass measurement cell. Currently, the IBB-CEAS ozone instrument can achieve ∼ 1 ppb sensitivities at 0.1 s integration time with a dynamic range over four orders of magnitude, accessing relevant ozone concentrations in both the stratosphere and troposphere. This new device offers improved sensitivity and time response for mapping ozone aboard airborne platforms. © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License.