A comparison of Arctic BrO measurements by chemical ionization mass spectrometry and long path-differential optical absorption spectroscopy

A measurement intensive was carried out in Barrow, Alaska, in spring 2009 as part of the Ocean‐Atmosphere‐Sea‐Ice–Snowpack (OASIS) program. The central focus of this campaign was the role of halogen chemistry in the Arctic. A chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) performed in situ bromine oxide (BrO) measurements. In addition, a long path‐differential optical absorption spectrometer (LP‐DOAS) measured the average concentration of BrO along light paths of either 7.2 or 2.1 km. A comparison of the 1 min observations from both instruments is presented in this work. The two measurements were highly correlated and agreed within their uncertainties (R2 = 0.74, slope = 1.10, and intercept = −0.15 pptv). Better correlation was found (R2 = 0.85, slope = 1.04, and intercept = −0.11 pptv) for BrO observations at moderate wind speeds (>3 m s−1 and