Intercomparison of Local Hydroxyl Measurements by Radiocarbon and FAGE Techniques

Abstract

A direct intercomparison of near-surface tropospheric HO concentration measurements by two different techniques was made in October–November 1992 at a rural site near Pullman, Washington. The atmosphere at the site is believed to contain low levels of anthropogenic pollution. The instruments' inlets were located at the same height (3.5 m) above the ground and were separated by 10 m along a line normal to the prevailing wind. Readings of the FAGE3 and radiocarbon instruments showed a high correlation (r² = 0.74) despite HO concentrations that were frequently near the detection limit of the instruments. An unweighted least squares regression shows a slope significantly different from unity, indicating different calibration scales of the two instruments