Laboratory for Ocean and Atmospheric Research

Introduction

The Laboratory for Ocean and Atmospheric Research of CRO is intended to support the atmospheric pollution researches near the coastal region of the bay area.

Currently, the laboratory is equipped with monitoring equipment of aerosols and gaseous pollutants including a beta-attenuation (PM_2.5) monitor, a chemiluminescence (NO_x) analyzer, a pulsed fluorescence (SO₂) analyzer, a gas filter correlation (CO) analyzer, a UV photometric (O₃) analyzer and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) for measuring the concentrations of PM_2.5, NO_x, SO₂, CO, O₃ and the aerosol size distribution of PM₁. Meanwhile, the laboratory has various sampling and calibration facilities including the gas sampling system, the multi-gas calibrator and the zero-air generator to support ambient sampling and instrument calibration.

Overall, the monitoring data gathered from these instruments can be used to aid the study of the complex mechanism forming the air quality episodes of Macau and neighbouring cites of the bay area. Some of which include the transboundary pollutant transport between cities and large-scale air stagnation processes.