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Interference Testing for Atmospheric HOx Measurements by Laser-induced Fluorescence

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Abstract

Accurate OH and HO2 (collectively called HOx) measurements by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) may be contaminated by spurious signals from interfering atmospheric chemicals or from the instrument itself. Interference tests must be conducted to ensure that observed OH signal originates solely from ambient OH and is not due to instrument artifacts. Several tests were performed on the Penn State LIF HOx instrument, both in the laboratory and in the field. Theseincluded measurements of the instrument's zero signal by using either zero air or perfluoropropylene to remove OH, examination of spectral interferences from naphthalene, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde, and tests of interferences by addition of suspected interfering atmospheric chemicals, including ozone, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous acid, formaldehyde, nitric acid, acetone, and organic peroxy radicals (RO2). All tests lacked evidence ofsignificant interferences for measurements in the atmosphere, including highly polluted urban environments.

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Author notes

  1. Hartwig Harder & Monica Martinez

    Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, D-55116, Mainz, Germany

  2. Ian C. Faloona

    Present address: Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, U.S.A

  3. David Tan

    Present address: School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, 503 Walker Building, University Park, PA, 16802, U.S.A., E-mail

    Xinrong Ren, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Ian C. Faloona, David Tan, Robert L. Lesher, Piero Di Carlo, James B. Simpas & William H. Brune

  2. CETEMPS-Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, Italy

    Piero Di Carlo

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  1. Xinrong Ren
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Ren, X., Harder, H., Martinez, M. et al. Interference Testing for Atmospheric HOx Measurements by Laser-induced Fluorescence. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 47, 169–190 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOCH.0000021037.46866.81

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