Measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory stopped after the 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano, when lava flow crossed the access road and took out power lines to the facility. The observatory remains inaccessible by vehicle and without power from the local utility company.
Observatory staff has established limited solar power in four observatory buildings and restored approximately 33 percent of the measurements onsite, including the Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps critical CO2 records and other atmospheric measurements.
Media can contact: Theo Stein (303) 819-7409 (theo.stein@noaa.gov) or Karin Vergoth 303-632-6413 (karin.vergoth@noaa.gov)
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL)
Network For the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change
(NDACC)
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)The program measures Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), including NO2 90° slant column density data, from Mauna Loa Observatory.
The NO2 monitor uses a single grating monochromator to measure the zenith skylight between 450 nm and 490 nm, with a resolution of about 1 nm. Scans are made under computer control during early and late morning, and a difference method is used to retrieve NO2 concentration using known absorption lines of the gas. By using scans from various times during the morning it is possible to obtain a profile of NO2.
It is important to continuously monitor stratospheric NO2 at MLO.
Paul V. Johnston (NIWA)
011-643-440-0429
Paul Fukumura
808-933-6965 (x223)
Dr. John E. Barnes
808-933-6965 (x222)
www.niwa.co.nz
gml.noaa.gov/grad/uv.html
July 9, 1996
