MAX-DOAS Antarctic Boundary Layer Trace-Gas Profiles from SIPEX II Voyage, 2012

NIWA's Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer (MAX-DOAS) collected atmospheric spectral measurements during the 2012 SIPEX II voyage of the Aurora Australis. The dataset contains processed spectral data for trace gases like NO2, O3, BrO, HCHO, IO, and O4, retrieved from UV and visible wavelength regions. Measurements were taken at multiple viewing angles above the horizon to profile the boundary layer over open water and sea ice.

Use Cases

• Modeling vertical profiles of trace gases like BrO and NO2 based on multi-angle spectral retrievals.
• Studying boundary layer chemistry in polar regions based on spectral measurements over sea ice and open water.
• Analyzing instrument performance for UV spectroscopy based on the described detector cooling and quantum efficiency.
• Correlating atmospheric trace-gas concentrations with sky conditions based on the included one-minute-interval webcam images.

Strengths

• Instrument details are precisely documented, including spectrograph type (ISA HR320), detector (Hamamatsu C7042), and cooling to -20°C.
• Data processing methodology is specified, using two wavelength fitting regions (323-348 nm and 416 443 nm) for retrieving multiple gases.
• Includes ancillary data like sky images captured at one-minute intervals in the spectrometer's viewing direction.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2012-11-05 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA), built by Dr Karin Kreher, Mr Paul Johnston, and Mr Alan Thomas.

Collection Method

Atmospheric spectral measurements collected via a ship-based MAX-DOAS instrument with a roll-compensating mirror.

Time Range

2012, specifically during the SIPEX II voyage (includes measurements from 5th October).

Freshness

2012-11 05

Geography

Antarctic region, along the route of the Aurora Australis research vessel, over open water and sea ice.