Showing papers by "Albert A. Ruth published in 2009"

Long optical cavities for open-path monitoring of atmospheric trace gases and aerosol extinction.

Abstract: An incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy setup employing a 20 m long optical cavity is described for sensitive in situ measurements of light extinction between 630 and 690 nm. The setup was installed at the SAPHIR atmospheric simulation chamber during an intercomparison of instruments for nitrate (NO3) radical detection. The long cavity was stable for the entire duration of the two week campaign. A detection limit of ~2 pptv for NO3 in an acquisition time of 5 s was established during that time. In addition to monitoring NO3, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations were simultaneously retrieved and compared against concurrent measurements by a chemiluminescence detector. Some results from the campaign are presented to demonstrate the performance of the instrument in an atmosphere containing water vapor and inorganic aerosol. The spectral analysis of NO3 and NO2, the concentration dependence of the water absorption cross sections, and the retrieval of aerosol extinction are discussed. The first deployment of the setup in the field is also briefly described.

The time dependence of molecular iodine emission from Laminaria digitata

Abstract: . We present the first in situ detection of molecular iodine emitted from the brown macroalga Laminaria digitata under natural stress conditions. We show that the release of I2 occurs in short, strong bursts with a complex time signature. The new data indicate that algal control of I2 release in the form of an oscillatory time-dependence may be based on a nonlinear autocatalytic reaction scheme which is closely linked to the production of H2O2.