Continuous measurements of greenhouse gases and atmospheric oxygen at the Namib Desert Atmospheric Observatory

Researchers established a new coastal background site at Gobabeb, Namibia, to measure greenhouse gases (GHGs) and atmospheric oxygen in the data-poor central Namib Desert. The study introduced continuous measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen using advanced instruments like cavity ring-down spectrometers (CRDS), off-axis integrated cavity output spectrometers (OA-ICOS), and differential fuel cell analyzers (DFCA). Despite challenges such as fine dust, high diurnal temperature variability, and minimal infrastructure, the study demonstrated that these instruments can provide reliable data when operated under controlled conditions. A drift correction for the OA-ICOS improved performance significantly. The findings highlight the feasibility of long-term GHG monitoring in remote desert environments, contributing valuable data to global sampling networks.

Morgan, E. J., Lavrič, J. V., Seifert, T., Chicoine, T., Day, A., Gomez, J., Logan, R., Sack, J., Shuuya, T., Uushona, E. G., Vincent, K., Schultz, U., Brunke, E.-G., Labuschagne, C., Thompson, R. L., Schmidt, S., Manning, A. C., & Heimann, M. (2015). Continuous measurements of greenhouse gases and atmospheric oxygen at the Namib Desert Atmospheric Observatory. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 8(6), 2233–2250. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2233-2015