Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 4: Postersession Atmosphäre

UP 4.6: Poster

Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 10:45–19:45, G/Foyer

MAX-DOAS observation of CHOCHO, HCHO and NO2 over Nairobi and Athens — •Leonardo Alvarado¹, Andreas Richter¹, Enno Peters¹, Folkard Wittrock¹, John P. Burrows¹, Mihalis Vrekoussis², Myrto Gratsea³, and Evangelos Gerasopoulos³ — ¹Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany — ²Energy, Environment and Water Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus — ³Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece

Glyoxal (CHOCHO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) are intermediate products in the oxidation of most volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. They therefore can be used as tracers of VOC concentrations in the atmosphere.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays an important role in tropospheric ozone formation in combination with VOCs, and is mainly emitted by anthropogenic activities. While sources and chemistry of CHOCHO and HCHO are similar in many respects, the variation in production efficiency for different sources can be used to better constrain source attribution of VOCs.

In this study, we report time series of CHOCHO, HCHO, and NO2 vertical columns from MAX-DOAS measurements taken in Nairobi (2011-2013) and Athens (2013-2014), which are part of the BREDON network. The results show maxima for Jun-Jul-Aug and minima for Dec-Jan-Feb. Moreover, a significant increase of CHOCHO levels in Nairobi is observed for 2013 in comparison of the other two years.