Recommendations for spectral fitting of SO2 from miniature multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements

Fitting sulfur dioxide (SO2) differential slant column densities (dSCDs) from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements of scattered sunlight is challenging because actinic light intensity is low in the wavelength regions where the SO2 absorption features are strongest. SO2 dSCDs were fit with different wavelength windows (λlow to λhigh) from ambient measurements with calibration cells of 2.2×1017 and 2.2×1016 molec. cm−2 inserted in the light path at different viewing elevation angles using an Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer in a miniature MAX-DOAS instrument. SO2 dSCDs were the least accurate, and fit errors were highest for fitting windows with λlow 312 nm. The SO2 dSCDs also exhibited an inverse relationship with the depth of the differential features in the SO2 absorption cross section for fitting windows with λlow 400 nm. Deviation of the SO2 dSCD from the true value depended on the SO2 concentration for some fitting windows rather than exhibiting a consistent bias. Uncertainties in the SO2 dSCD reported by the fit algorithm were more than 50 % less than the true error for many windows, particularly for the measurements without the filter or offset function. For retrievals with the filter or offset function, increasing λhigh > 320 nm tended to decrease the reported fit uncertainty but did not increase the accuracy. Based on the results of this study, a short-pass filter and a fitting window of 307.5