A fully automated Dobson sun spectrophotometer for total column ozone and Umkehr measurements

• Published in: Atmospheric measurement techniques Vol. 14; no. 8; pp. 5757 - 5769
• Main Authors: Stübi, René, Schill, Herbert, Klausen, Jörg, Maillard Barras, Eliane, Haefele, Alexander
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 23.08.2021; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: 20th century; Air pollution; Analytical instruments; Automatic control; Automation; Breweries; Calibration; Clear sky; Control equipment; Data acquisition; Emission measurements; Error analysis; Instruments; Long-term records; Measuring instruments; Optical instruments; Ozone; Random errors; Satellites; Spectrophotometers; Sun; Ultraviolet radiation; Values; Working conditions; Canada; Montreal Quebec Canada
• ISSN: 1867-8548; 1867-1381; 1867-8548
• DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-5757-2021

The longest ozone column measurement series are based on the Dobson sun spectrophotometers developed in the 1920s by Prof. G. B. W. Dobson . These ingenious and robustly designed instruments still constitute an important part of the global network presently. However, the Dobson sun spectrophotometer requires manual operation, which has led to the discontinuation of its use at many stations, thus disrupting long-term records of observation. To overcome this problem, MeteoSwiss developed a fully automated version of the Dobson spectrophotometer. The description of the data acquisition and automated control of the instrument is presented here with some technical details. The results of different tests performed regularly to assess the instrument's good working conditions are illustrated and discussed.