The Total Carbon Column Observing Network Site Description for Lauder, New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract. In this paper we describe the retrievals of atmospheric trace gases from near infrared, high resolution solar absorption spectroscopy measurements at the Lauder atmospheric research station in New Zealand and submitted to the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) archive. The Lauder site (45.034°S, 169.68°E, 370 masl) is located within a sparsely populated region of the South Island of New Zealand, and is sheltered from the prevailing wind direction by the Southern Alps, which gives the site a high number of clear-sky days and an airmass that is largely unmodified by regional anthropogenic sources. The Lauder TCCON archive consists of data from two instruments; a Bruker IFS 120HR from June 2004 to February 2010 and a Bruker IFS 125HR from February 2010 to present. The bias between the two instrument is assessed to be 0.068% for CO2. Since measurements using the IFS 125HR began, the standard deviation about the hourly mean has been better than 0.1% for 96.81% of CO2 column retrievals. The retrievals have been calibrated against in situ airborne measurements to correct for biases and provide traceability to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) scales with an accuracy of 0.1% for CO2. The Lauder TCCON time series of retrieved dry-air mole fractions of CO2, CH4, N2O, HF, H2O, HDO and CO are available from the TCCON data archive. The DOIs are: doi:10.14291/tccon.ggg2014.lauder01.R0/1149293 for the IFS 120HR data doi:10.14291/tccon.ggg2014.lauder02.R0/1149298 for the IFS 125HR data.