Laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS) is highly suitable for the detection of ethene in air due to the overlap between its strongest absorption lines and the wavelengths accessible by high-powered CO2 lasers. Here, we test the ability of LPAS to measure ethene in ambient air by comparing the measurements in urban air with those from a gas chromatography flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) instrument. Over the course of several days, we obtained quantitative agreement between the two measurements. Over this period, the LPAS instrument had a positive offset of 330 ± 140 pptv (parts-per-trillion by volume) relative to the GC-FID instrument, possibly caused by interference from other species. The detection limit of the LPAS instrument is currently estimated around 1 ppbv and is limited by this offset and the statistical noise in the data. We conclude that LPAS has the potential to provide fast-response measurements of ethene in the atmosphere, with significant advantages over existing techniques when measuring from moving platforms and in the vicinity of emission sources. © 2005 American Chemical Society.
CITATION STYLE
Kuster, W. C., Harren, F. J. M., & De Gouw, J. A. (2005). Inter-comparison of laser photoacoustic spectroscopy and gas chromatography techniques for measurements of ethene in the atmosphere. Environmental Science and Technology, 39(12), 4581–4585. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0504385
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