Development of a New N2O/CO Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer for sub-ppb Ambient Gas Monitoring

Abstract:

With a global warming potential of nearly 300, N2O is a critically important greenhouse gas, contributing about 5% of the US total GHG emissions. Agriculture soil management practices are the dominant source of anthropogenic N2O emissions, contributing nearly 3/4ths of US N2O emissions. In urban areas, vehicle tailpipe emissions and waste water treatment plants are significant sources of N2O. We report here a new mid-infrared laser-based cavity ring-down spectrometer that was recently developed to measure sub-ppb ambient concentrations of two key greenhouse gas species, N2O and CO, simultaneously. It combines a quantum cascade laser with a proprietary 3-mirror optical cavity. The new optical analyzer was set up to monitor nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide, along with CO2 and CH4, in ambient air obtained from a 10m tower in Santa Clara, California. In the data collected, the contribution from traffic and a nearby sewage treatment facility was evident.