Assessment of Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Concentration Equipment Performance

This study evaluates three distinct observation methods, CRDS, OA-ICOS, and OF-CEAS, in greenhouse gas monitoring equipment for atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations. The assessment encompasses fundamental performance, high-concentration measurement accuracy, calibration methods, and the impact of atmospheric humidity on measurement accuracy. Results indicate that within a range of approximately 500 ppm, all three devices demonstrate high accuracy and linearity. However, beyond 1000 ppm, CO2 accuracy sharply declines (84%), emphasizing the need for caution when interpreting high-concentration CO2 data. An analysis of calibration methods reveals that both CO2 and CH4 measurements achieve high accuracy and linearity through 1-point calibration, suggesting that multi-point calibration is not imperative for precision. In dynamic atmospheric conditions with significant CO2 and CH4 concentration variations, a 1-point calibration suffices for reliable data (99% accuracy). The evaluation of humidity impact demonstrates that humidity removal devices significantly reduce air moisture levels, yet this has a negligible effect on dry CO2 concentrations (less than 0.5% relative error). All three observation method instruments, which have integrated humidity correction to calculate dry CO2 concentrations, exhibit minor sensitivity to humidity removal devices, implying that additional removal devices may not be essential. Consequently, this study offers valuable insights for comparing data from different measurement devices and provides crucial information to consider in the operation of monitoring sites.