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www.atmos-meas-tech-discuss.net/2/1693/2009/
doi:10.5194/amtd-2-1693-2009
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under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Continuous measurements of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide on a North Sea gas platform
Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract. A new atmospheric measurement station has been established on the North Sea oil and gas production platform F3, 200 km north off the Dutch coast (54°51' N, 4°44' E). Atmospheric mixing ratios of O2 and CO2 are continuously measured using fuel cell technology and compact infrared absorption instruments, respectively. Furthermore, the station includes an automated air flask sampler for laboratory analysis of the atmospheric mixing ratios of CO2, CH4, CO and O2 and isotope measurements of δ13C, δ18O and Δ14C from CO2. This station is – to our knowledge – the first fixed sea based station with on-site continuous O2 and CO2 measurements and therefore yields valuable additional information about the CO2 uptake in coastal marine regions, specifically the North Sea. This paper presents the measurement station and the used methodologies in detail. Additionally, the first data is presented showing the seasonal cycle as expected during August 2008 through June 2009. In comparison to land-based stations, the data show low day-to-day variability, as they are practically free of nightly inversions. Therefore, the data set collected at this measurement station serves directly as background data for the coastal northwest European region. Additionally, some short-term O2 and CO2 signals are presented, including very large (over 200 per meg) and fast negative atmospheric O2 excursions.
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Citation: Luijkx, I. T., Neubert, R. E. M., van der Laan, S., and Meijer, H. A. J.: Continuous measurements of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide on a North Sea gas platform, Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., 2, 1693-1724, doi:10.5194/amtd-2-1693-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
