Showing papers by "Yutaka Matsumi published in 2010"

Laboratory studies on optical properties of secondary organic aerosols generated during the photooxidation of toluene and the ozonolysis of α‐pinene

Abstract: [1] It has recently been suggested that some organic aerosols can absorb solar radiation, especially at the shorter visible and UV wavelengths. Although quantitative characterization of the optical properties of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) is required in order to confirm the effect of SOAs on the atmospheric radiation balance, the light absorption of SOAs has not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we conducted laboratory experiments to measure the optical properties of SOAs generated during the photooxidation of toluene in the presence of NOx and the ozonolysis of α-pinene. Extinction and scattering coefficients of the SOAs were measured by a cavity ring-down aerosol extinction spectrometer and an integrating nephelometer, respectively. Refractive indices of the SOAs were determined so that the measured particle size dependence of the extinction and scattering efficiencies could be reproduced by calculations using Mie scattering theory. As a result, significant light absorption was found at 355 nm for the toluene SOAs. In contrast, no significant absorption was found either at 355 or 532 nm for the α-pinene SOAs. Using the obtained refractive index, mass absorption cross-section values of the toluene SOAs were calculated to be 0.3–3 m2 g−1 at 355 nm. The results indicate that light absorption by the SOAs formed from the photooxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons have a potential to influence the total aerosol light absorption, especially at UV wavelengths.

Remotely operable compact instruments for measuring atmospheric CO 2 and CH 4 column densities at surface monitoring sites

Abstract: . Remotely operable compact instruments for measuring atmospheric CO2 and CH4 column densities were developed in two independent systems: one utilizing a grating-based desktop optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) with a resolution enough to resolve rotational lines of CO2 and CH4 in the regions of 1565–1585 and 1674–1682 nm, respectively; the other is an application of an optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) to obtain the CO2 column density. Direct sunlight was collimated via a small telescope installed on a portable sun tracker and then transmitted through an optical fiber into the OSA or the FFPI for optical analysis. The near infrared spectra of the OSA were retrieved by a least squares spectral fitting algorithm. The CO2 and CH4 column densities deduced were in excellent agreement with those measured by a Fourier transform spectrometer with high resolution. The rovibronic lines in the wavelength region of 1570–1575 nm were analyzed by the FFPI. The I0 and I values in the Beer-Lambert law equation to obtain CO2 column density were deduced by modulating temperature of the FFPI, which offered column CO2 with the statistical error less than 0.2% for six hours measurement.

Fluorescence detection of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide using a blue light-emitting diode as an excitation source

Abstract: We report on the development of a low-cost and compact instrument for quantifying atmospheric NO(2) concentrations by detecting NO(2) fluorescence using a commercial light-emitting diode around 435 nm as a fluorescence excitation light source. The minimum detectable limit of the NO(2) instrument developed has been estimated to be 9.8 parts per billion of volume mixing ratio (ppbv) in a 60 s integration time and with a signal-to-noise ratio of 2.