Shipborne MAX-DOAS Observations of Tropospheric Trace Gases over a Coastal City and the Yellow Sea near Qingdao, China

Abstract

AbstractObservations of the atmospheric trace gases are crucial for quality assessment of the human living environment. Multiaxis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is the most promising candidate to meet the requirements on observations of atmospheric trace gases with high sensitivity, good stability, and a wide range of regional monitoring. The shipborne observations of tropospheric trace gases (NO2, SO2, and O3) over a coastal city, Qingdao, with MAX-DOAS were conducted by a Chinese oceanographic research vessel, XiangYangHong 08 (XYH 08). During the observational campaign, the shipborne MAX-DOAS equipment was used to make anchor measurements for 3 days, and a sailing measurement along Qingdao coast for half an hour. Measurement results are presented for both sailing and anchor point measurements in this paper. Combining geometry characteristic of the monitoring area, it can be concluded from the sailing measurements that the traffic emissions may play an important role in the boundary layer (BL) pollution of a coastal city’s atmosphere. The anchor point measurements showed that the NO2 vertical column density (VCD) mean value of Jiaozhou Bay is about 2.7 times of the value of the Qingdao offshore sea area. Likewise, the tropospheric VCDs of SO2 and O3 have an increase of 30% and 40%, respectively, on 1 September in Jiaozhou Bay, compared to the other 2 days in Qingdao offshore sea area.