A new photolysis laser-induced fluorescence instrument for the detection of H2 O and HDO in the lower stratosphere

Abstract

We present a new instrument, Hoxotope, for the in situ measurement of H2O and its heavy deuterium isotopologue (HDO) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere aboard the NASA WB-57. Sensitive measurements of δD are accomplished through the vacuum UV photolysis of water followed by laser-induced fluorescence detection of the resultant OH and OD photofragments. The photolysis laser-induced fluorescence technique can obtain S/N>20 for 1 ppbv HDO and SN>30 for 5 ppmv H2O for 10 s data, providing the sensitivity required for δD measurements in the tropopause region. The technique responds rapidly to changing water concentrations due to its inherently small sampling volume, augmented by steps taken to minimize water uptake on instrument plumbing. Data from the summer 2005 Aura Validation Experiment Water Isotope Intercomparison Flights (AVE-WIIF) out of Houston, TX show agreement for H2O between Hoxotope and the Harvard water vapor instrument and for HDO between Hoxotope and the Harvard ICOS water isotope instrument, to within stated instrument uncertainties. The successful intercomparison validates Hoxotope as a credible source of δD data in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.