Showing papers by "Vincent Boudon published in 2015"

Strong thermal nonequilibrium in hypersonic CO and CH4 probed by CRDS

Abstract: A new experimental setup coupling a High Enthalpy Source (HES) reaching 2000 K to a cw-cavity ring-down spectrometer has been developed to investigate rotationally cold hot bands of polyatomic molecules in the [1.5, 1.7] μm region. The rotational and vibrational molecular degrees of freedom are strongly decoupled in the hypersonic expansion produced by the HES and probed by cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Carbon monoxide has been used as a first test molecule to validate the experimental approach. Its expansion in argon led to rotational and vibrational temperatures of 6.7 ± 0.8 K and 2006 ± 476 K, respectively. The tetradecad polyad of methane (1.67 μm) was investigated under similar conditions leading to rotational and vibrational temperatures of 13 ± 5 K and 750 ± 100 K, respectively. The rotationally cold structure of the spectra reveals many hot bands involving highly excited vibrational states of methane.

Mapping spectroscopic uncertainties into prospective methane retrieval errors from Sentinel-5 and its precursor

Abstract: . Sentinel-5 (S5) and its precursor (S5P) are future European satellite missions aiming at global monitoring of methane (CH4) column-average dry air mole fractions (XCH4). The spectrometers to be deployed onboard the satellites record spectra of sunlight backscattered from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. In particular, they exploit CH4 absorption in the shortwave infrared spectral range around 1.65 μm (S5 only) and 2.35 μm (both S5 and S5P) wavelength. Given an accuracy goal of better than 2 % for XCH4 to be delivered on regional scales, assessment and reduction of potential sources of systematic error such as spectroscopic uncertainties is crucial. Here, we investigate how spectroscopic errors propagate into retrieval errors on the global scale. To this end, absorption spectra of a ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) operating at very high spectral resolution serve as estimate for the quality of the spectroscopic parameters. Feeding the FTS fitting residuals as a perturbation into a global ensemble of simulated S5- and S5P-like spectra at relatively low spectral resolution, XCH4 retrieval errors exceed 0.6 % in large parts of the world and show systematic correlations on regional scales, calling for improved spectroscopic parameters.

Synchrotron radiation and long path cryogenic cells: New tools and results for modelling SF6 absorption in the 10μm atmospheric window

Abstract: Sulfur hexa?uoride (SF6) is a heavy and stable molecule used in many sectors, such as the electrical industry, but also as a gas tracer to model air masse motions in the Earth atmosphere. This anthropogenic species is also an atmospheric pollutant owing to its greenhouse effect capability. Although its six fundamental modes have been largely studied up to now, it is not the case for the numerous hot bands that represent the most important part of the SF6 spectrum at room temperature. So, to model correctly the SF6 atmospheric absorption requires the knowledge of the spectroscopic parameters of all states involved in these hot bands. Nevertheless, due to their overlapping, a direct analysis of the hot bands near the 10,5μm absorption of SF6 in the atmospheric window is not possible. It is necessary to use another strategy, gathering information in the far and mid infrared regions on initial and final states to recompute the relevant total absorption.

On-line measurement of gaseous iodine species during a PWR severe accident

Abstract: A long-range remote sensing of severe accidents in nuclear power plants can be obtained by monitoring the online emission of volatile fission products such as xenon, krypton, caesium and iodine. The nuclear accident in Fukushima was ranked at level 7 of the International Nuclear Event Scale by the NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) according to the importance of the radionuclide release and the off-site impact. Among volatile fission products, iodine species are of high concern, since they can be released under aerosols as well as gaseous forms. Four years after the Fukushima accident, the aerosol/gaseous partition is still not clear. Since the iodine gaseous forms are less efficiently trapped by the Filtered Containment Venting Systems than aerosol forms, it is of crucial importance to monitor them on-line during a nuclear accident, in order to improve the source term assessment in such a situation. Therefore, we propose to detect and quantify these iodine gaseous forms by the use of highly sensitive optical methods.