A cavity-enhanced ultraviolet absorption instrument for high-precision, fast-time-response ozone measurements
Reem A. Hannun, Andrew K. Swanson, Steven A. Bailey, T. F. Hanisco, T. P. Bui, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson
Abstract
Abstract. The NASA Rapid Ozone Experiment (ROZE) is a broadband cavity-enhanced UV (ultraviolet) absorption instrument for the detection of in situ ozone (O3). ROZE uses an incoherent LED (light-emitting diode) light source coupled to a high-finesse optical cavity to achieve an effective pathlength of ∼ 104 m. Due to its high sensitivity and small optical cell volume, ROZE demonstrates a 1σ precision of 80 pptv (parts per trillion by volume) in 0.1 s and 31 pptv in a 1 s integration time, as well as an e-fold time response of 50 ms. ROZE can be operated in a range of field environments, including low- and high-altitude research aircraft, and is particularly suited to O3 vertical-flux measurements using the eddy covariance technique. ROZE was successfully integrated aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during July–September 2019 and validated against a well-established chemiluminescence measurement of O3. A flight within the marine boundary layer also demonstrated flux measurement capabilities, and we observed a mean O3 deposition velocity of 0.029 ± 0.005 cm s−1 to the ocean surface. The performance characteristics detailed below make ROZE a robust, versatile instrument for field measurements of O3.