- Glyoxal has been detected over the open ocean by MAX-DOAS and CE-DOAS instruments on ships.
- It is a good tracer for the oxidative capacity in the marine boundary layer (MBL), as it is a sink for OH and tropospheric O3, which modifies the reactive chemistry and lifetime of climate active gases, e.g. CH4.
- Flux measurements are made over the open ocean with the CE-DOAS instrument to determine if the ocean is a glyoxal source or sink. This data is also used to retrieve diurnal profiles of glyoxal over the ocean.


