Remote sensing of mass fluxes of trace gases in the boundary layer

Abstract

The combination of remote sensing methods like Doppler lidar and FTIR offers the possibility to determine mass fluxes of gases remotely. Doppler lidar measures the three-dimensional wind vector in the vicinity of diffuse sources or the velocity of air in a chimney plume if an industrial complex is monitored. FTIR is a multi-component remote sensing method for gas concentrations. The Fourier transformation of an interferogram of a Michelson interferometer within a FTIR system converts the recorded intensity (function of optical path length) to a spectral signal (function of wavenumber). Both information, velocity and concentration, give the mass fluxes of the tracer (gas). A first test was performed at Munich-North power station with FTIR and cw-Doppler lidar. Fluxes of CO₂, CO, NO, and HC1 were determined. The results are in good agreement with the fluxes measured by in-situ instruments of the power station. The method can be used to control industrial complexes from an outside observation site.