4-LASER AIRBORNE INFRARED SPECTROMETER FOR ATMOSPHERIC TRACE GAS MEASUREMENTS

We describe the four-laser airborne infrared (FLAIR) instrument, a tun able diode laser absorption spectrometer designed for simultaneous hig h-sensitivity in situ measurements of four atmospheric trace gases in the troposphere. The FLAIR spectrometer was employed during the large- scale airborne research campaign on tropospheric ozone (TROPOZ II) in 1991 and was used to measure CO, H2O2, HCHO, and NO2 in the free tropo sphere where detection limits below 100 parts in 10(12) by volume were achieved. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America.