In-situ detection of tropospheric OH radicals by folded long-path laser absorption. Results from the POPCORN Field Campaign in August 1994

Ground based in-situ measurements of tropospheric hydroxyl radicals were conducted by folded long-path laser absorption as part of the field campaign POPCORN in August 1994. The OH instrument used an open optical multiple-reflection cell of 38.5 m base length through which the laser beam was passed up to 80 times. The broadband emission of a short-pulse UV laser together with a multichannel detection system allowed the simultaneous observation of six OH absorption lines in a spectral interval of Δλ≃0.24 nm at 308.1nm (A²Σ+,υ′ = 0← X²Π,υ″ = 0 transition). Along with the OH radicals, the trace gases SO2, HCHO, and naphthalene were measured by this technique. The large spectral detection range covered a multitude of rotational absorption lines of these trace gases which were all used for multicomponent analysis, thus allowing a specific and sensitive detection of tropospheric OH radicals. An average 2σ detection limit of 1.5 × 106 OH/cm³ for an integration time of 200 seconds and an absorption light path length of 1848 m was determined from the field measurements. In total, 392 OH data were obtained by long-path absorption during 16 days of field measurements. The observed OH concentrations reached peak values of 13 × 106 cm−3 at noon.