New instrument to ferret out trace gases, starting with ozone, hiding in water vapor

One problem with ozone is that it doesn’t take a lot to trigger complex atmospheric processes. Small concentrations can trip up satellites as they take readings on atmospheric chemistry, for instance. Other trace gases behave similarly and are equally difficult to quantify, especially when they get around water vapor. Experimental measurements have lacked the sensitivity to detect weak ozone and ozone-water signals. CIRES’ Veronica Vaida and CIRES/NOAA colleagues are developing a lab instrument with a super sniffer for ozone. This invention would also help investigate what happens to other oxidized trace gases that interact readily with water.