Uncertainty of hourly-average concentration values derived from non-continuous measurements

Continental greenhouse gas monitoring networks extensively use tall towers for higher spatial representativeness. In most cases, several intakes are built along the tower to give information also on the vertical concentration profile of the components considered. Typically, a single gas analyzer is used, and the intake points are sequentially connected to the instrument. It involves that the continuous concentration signal is only sampled for discrete short periods at each intake point, which does not allow for a perfect reconstruction of the original concentration variation. It increases the uncertainty of the calculated hourly averages usually used by the atmospheric transport and budget models. The purpose of the study is to give the data users an impression of the potential magnitude of this kind of uncertainty, as well as how it depends on the number of intakes sampled, on the length of the sampling period at each intake, on the season, and on the time of the day. It presents how much improvement can be achieved using linear or spline interpolation between the measurement periods instead of the simple arithmetic averaging of the available measurements. Although the results presented here may be site-specific, the study calls attention to the potentially rather heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution of the uncertainty of the hourly-average concentration values derived from tall-tower measurements applying sequential sampling.

Uncertainty of the hourly average concentration values derived from non-continuous measurements

Continental greenhouse gas monitoring networks extensively use tall towers for higher spatial representativeness. In most cases, several intakes are built along the tower to give information also on the vertical concentration profile of the components considered. Typically, a single gas analyzer is used, and the intake points are sequentially connected to the instrument. It involves that the continuous concentration signal is only sampled for discrete short periods at each intake points, which does not allow the perfect reconstruction of the original concentration variation. It increases the uncertainty of the calculated hourly averages usually used by the transport and budget models. The purpose of the study is to give the data users an impression on the potential magnitude of this kind of uncertainty, as well as how it depends on the number of intakes sampled, on the length of the sampling period at each intake, on the season, and on the time of the day. It presents how much improvement can be achieved using linear or spline interpolation between the measurement periods instead of the simple arithmetic averaging of the available measurements. Although the results presented here may be site-specific, the study calls attention to the potentially rather heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution of the uncertainty of the hourly average concentration values derived from tall-tower measurements applying sequential sampling.

Characterizing the vertical concentration profiles of ship plumes with a microscale model - is it all Gaussian?

<p>Accurate modeling of ship emissions is a topic of increasing interest due to the ever-growing global fleet and its emission of air pollutants. With the increasing calculation power of modern computers, numerical grid models can nowadays be used to analyze effects of shipping emissions from global to local scales. However, modeling entire ports and larger domains still requires a good representation for the vertical concentration profile of single ship plumes. As the shape of the plume strongly varies depending on parameters like plume temperature, ship-induced turbulence and meteorological conditions, the plume dilution does not always appear to be represented by a simple Gaussian distribution. In this work, the microscale model MITRAS is used to calculate vertical concentration profiles of ship plumes under varying technical and meteorological scenarios. The resulting curves are fitted with different mathematical curves (e.g. Gaussian, Polynomial and Gamma distribution) by a least square minimization approach and the best representations for individual scenarios are discussed.</p>

New and improved infrared absorption cross sections for trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11)

Trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), a widely used refrigerant throughout much of the twentieth century and a very potent (stratospheric) ozone-depleting substance (ODS), is now banned under the Montreal Protocol. With a long atmospheric lifetime, it will only slowly degrade in the atmosphere, so monitoring its vertical concentration profile using infrared-sounding instruments, and thereby validating stratospheric loss rates in atmospheric models, is of great importance; this in turn requires high-quality laboratory spectroscopic data. This work describes new high-resolution infrared absorption cross sections of trichlorofluoromethane/dry synthetic air over the spectral range 710–1290 cm−1, determined from spectra recorded using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (Bruker IFS 125HR) and a 26 cm pathlength cell. Spectra were recorded at resolutions between 0.01 and 0.03 cm−1 (calculated as 0.9/MOPD; MOPD: maximum optical path difference) over a range of temperatures and pressures (7.5–760 Torr and 192–293 K) appropriate for atmospheric conditions. This new cross-section dataset improves upon the one currently available in the HITRAN (HIgh-resolution TRANsmission) and GEISA (Gestion et Étude des Informations Spectroscopiques Atmosphériques) databases through an extension to the range of pressures and temperatures, improved signal-to-noise and wavenumber calibrations, the lack of channel fringing, the better consistency in integrated band intensities, and additionally the coverage of the weak combination band ν2+ν5.

An Efficient Model for Predicting the Segregation Profile of Binary Fluidized Beds

In most cases, the stationary fluidized beds are composed of two different particle classes (inert and active particles), and the concentration profile of these binary beds along the vertical axis is crucial regarding the effectiveness of the reactor. The present study introduces a semi-empirical 1D mathematical model for predicting the vertical concentration profile of binary fluidized beds. The proposed model is a developed and applicable version of the so-called Gibilaro and Rowe two-phase model, in which the differential equations describing the jetsam movement in the bulk and wake phases were solved numerically. The main work was to determine the parameters of the basic model, which was carried out by means of an advanced multi-step parameter fitting procedure. A more general form was established, which is based on direct linkage with the operating parameters that can be directly set and measured on the system. Comparisons with very diverse measured data sets available in the literature prove the accuracy of this model. Additional comparisons pointed out that the realization of this model is numerically inexpensive as it is several orders of magnitude faster than the available 2D and 3D models.

New and improved infrared absorption cross sections for trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11)

Trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), a widely used refrigerant throughout much of the twentieth century and a very potent (stratospheric) ozone depleting substance (ODS), is now banned under the Montreal Protocol. With a long atmospheric lifetime, it will only slowly degrade in the atmosphere, so monitoring its vertical concentration profile using infrared-sounding instruments, thereby validating stratospheric loss rates in atmospheric models, is of great importance; this in turn requires high quality laboratory spectroscopic data. This work describes new high-resolution infrared absorption cross sections of trichlorofluoromethane/dry synthetic air over the spectral range 710–1290 cm−1, determined from spectra recorded using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (Bruker IFS 125HR) and a 26-cm-pathlength cell. Spectra were recorded at resolutions between 0.01 and 0.03 cm−1 (calculated as 0.9/MOPD; MOPD = maximum optical path difference) over a range of temperatures and pressures (7.5–760 Torr and 192–293 K) appropriate for atmospheric conditions. This new cross-section dataset improves upon the one currently available in the HITRAN and GEISA databases.

New and improved infrared absorption cross sections for dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12)

Despite its widespread commercial use throughout the twentieth century, primarily in the refrigeration industry, dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) is now known to have the undesirable effect of depleting stratospheric ozone. As this long-lived molecule slowly degrades in the atmosphere, monitoring its vertical concentration profile using infrared sounders on satellite platforms crucially requires accurate laboratory spectroscopic data. This work describes new high-resolution infrared absorption cross sections of dichlorodifluoromethane over the spectral range 800–1270 cm−1, determined from spectra recorded using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (Bruker IFS 125HR) and a 26 cm pathlength cell. Spectra of dichlorodifluoromethane/dry synthetic air mixtures were recorded at resolutions between 0.01 and 0.03 cm−1 (calculated as 0.9/MOPD; MOPD = maximum optical path difference) over a range of temperatures and pressures (7.5–761 Torr and 190–294 K) appropriate for atmospheric conditions. This new cross-section dataset improves upon the one currently available in the HITRAN and GEISA databases.

New and improved infrared absorption cross sections for dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12)

Despite its widespread commercial use throughout the twentieth century, primarily in the refrigeration industry, dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) is now known to have the undesirable effect of depleting stratospheric ozone. As this long-lived molecule slowly degrades in the atmosphere, monitoring its vertical concentration profile using infrared sounders on satellite platforms crucially requires accurate laboratory spectroscopic data. This work describes new high-resolution infrared absorption cross sections of dichlorodifluoromethane over the spectral range 800–1270 cm−1, determined from spectra recorded using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (Bruker IFS 125HR) and a 26 cm-pathlength cell. Spectra of dichlorodifluoromethane/dry synthetic air mixtures were recorded at resolutions between 0.01 and 0.03 cm−1 (calculated as 0.9/MOPD; MOPD = maximum optical path difference) over a range of temperatures and pressures (7.5–761 Torr and 190–294 K) appropriate for atmospheric conditions. This new cross-section dataset improves upon the one currently available in the HITRAN and GEISA databases.