Glyoxal (CHOCHO) is the smallest dicarbonyl compound and is formed in the atmosphere as an intermediate product in the oxidation of anthropogenic, pyrogenic and biogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). It is also directly emitted from fossil fuel and biofuel combustion and during fire events. With a short lifetime, glyoxal is a good indicator for NMVOCs emissions. A better localization of these NMVOC sources is required because of their important role in the tropospheric chemistry and in particular in the ozone production.
Glyoxal also leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and measurements of this specie consequently provide useful constraints for the establishment of the SOA global budget.
Glyoxal presents structured absorption bands in the visible region between 400 nm and 460 nm, which are used for retrieving the vertical columns using the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) technique.

Data available on request.
Contact person: Christophe Lerot