Isotopic composition and concentration measurements of atmospheric CO2 with a diode laser making use of correlations between non-equivalent absorption cells

Correlations between a sample and a sealed reference cell of a tunable diode laser spectrometer for the measurement of the isotopic composition ( δ 13C) and the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in air have been investigated. Likely due to fluctuations of the laser emission profile, these correlations have been used to improve the performance of the instrument. In a comparison with isotope ratio mass spectrometer and gas chromatographic measurements, an accuracy of 0.15 ‰ for δ 13C and 0.05 ppmv for the CO2 concentration is demonstrated for 40 s integration time. Long-term stability and field deployment of the instrument have been investigated during a few days measurement campaign in Paris.