Development of Concurrent Multi Path (CMP)-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) for Remote Sensing of Surface Atmospheric Gases

Concurrent Multi Path-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CMP-DOAS) is a novel active optical system to measure simultaneously ambient trace gases (such as $NO_2$ , $SO_2$ , $O_3$ , and HCHO) present on several light paths. The CMP-DOAS system consists of a 2D CCD camera, spectrometer, receiving telescopes, and artificial light sources. The system receives spectra, which have been transported through several paths. It also covers wavelength ranges of which trace gases of interest share at the same time. This study presents the instrumental setup of a CMP-DOAS in detail. A field campaign for a comparative measurement was carried out at an urban site in Gwangju for a month on January 2009. $NO_2$ mixing ratios measured by the CMP-DOAS system and in-situ $NO_2$ analyzers were in good agreement by 83%. It demonstrates the high capacities of the CMP-DOAS technique to cover atmospheric trace gases dispersed across wide light paths.