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Associated content: 
TC4

DC-8 Rick Shetter UND Program Director

DC-8 Karl installing PALMS

DC-8 Installing Instrument Racks

View looking out of DC-8 McClellan Hangar onto Ramp

Crisis Room - Costa Rica

ESPO Team (from top row): Marilyn Vasques, Mike Gaunce, Mike Craig, Quincy Allison, Dan Chirica, Sue Tolley, Steven Gaines, Kent Shiffer,

Lidar Atmosphere Sensing Experiment

The Differential Absorption Lidar uses the backscatter of two simultaneous laser wavelengths through zenith and nadir windows to measure the vertical profiles of H2O and aerosols/clouds.

NASA's Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system is an airborne DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) system used to measure water vapor, aerosols, and clouds throughout the troposphere. LASE probes the atmosphere using lasers to transmit light in the 815-nm absorption band of water vapor. Pulses of laser light are fired vertically below the aircraft. A small fraction of the transmitted laser light is reflected from the atmosphere back to the aircraft and collected with a telescope receiver. The received light indicates the amount of water vapor along the path of the laser beam.

Instrument Type: 
Lidar
Measurements: 
H2O, Aerosol Backscattering
Aircraft: 
DC-8 - AFRC, P-3 Orion - WFF
Point(s) of Contact: 
Amin R. Nehrir (PI)

Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment

Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE).  The "classic" suite of instrumenation measures in-situ aerosol micrphysical and optical properties. The package can be tailored for specific science objectives and to operate on a variety of aircraft. Depending on the aircraft, measurments are made from either a shrouded single-diffuser "Clarke" inlet, from a BMI (Brechtel Manufacturing Inc.) isokinetic inlet, or from a HIML inlet. Primary measurements include:

1.) total and non-volatile particle concentrations (3nm and 10nm nominal size cuts),
2.) dry size distributions from 3nm to 5µm diameter using a combination of mobilty-optical-aerodynamic sizing techniques,
3.) dry and humidified scattering coefficients (at 450, 550, and 700nm wavelength), and
4.) dry absorption coefficients (470, 532, and 670nm wavelength). 

LARGE derived products include particle size statistics (integrated number, surface area, and volume concentrations for ultrafine, accumulation, and coarse modes), dry and ambient aerosol extinction coefficients, single scattering albedo, angstrom exponent coefficients, and scattering hygroscopicity parameter f(RH).

Instrument Type: 
CN counter, Nephelometer, Optical particle counter
Measurements: 
Aerosol Number Concentration, Aerosol Size Distribution, Scattering Coefficient, Absorption Coefficient
Aircraft: 
DC-8 - AFRC, C-130H - WFF, P-3 Orion - WFF, HU-25 Falcon - LaRC, King Air B-200 - LaRC/Dynamic, Twin Otter - CIRPAS - NPS
Point(s) of Contact: 
Luke D. Ziemba (PI)

O3 Photometer - UAS (NOAA)

Ozone (O3) in the lower stratosphere (LS) is responsible for absorbing much of the biologically damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sunlight, and thus plays a critical role in protecting Earth's environment. By absorbing UV light, O3 heats the surrounding air, leading to the vertical stratification and dynamic stability that define the stratosphere. Halogen species from anthropogenic compounds such as CFCs can cause significant damage to the O3 layer in the LS and have led to the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole. Accurate measurement of O3 in the LS is the first step toward understanding and protecting stratospheric O3. The UAS Ozone Photometer was designed specifically for autonomous, precise, and accurate O3 measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) onboard the NASA Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft System (GH UAS) and other high altitude research platforms such as the ER-2 and WB-57. With a data rate of 2 Hz, the instrument can provide high-time-resolution, detailed information for studies of O3 photochemistry, radiation balance, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and air parcel mixing in the UT/LS. Furthermore, its accurate data are useful for satellite retrieval validation.  Contacts: Troy Thornberry, Ru-Shan Gao

Instrument Type: 
Photometer
Measurements: 
O3
Aircraft: 
WB-57 - JSC, Global Hawk - AFRC, ER-2 - AFRC
Point(s) of Contact: 
Troy Thornberry (PI)

O3 Photometer (NOAA)

Ozone (O3) in the lower stratosphere (LS) is responsible for absorbing much of the biologically damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sunlight, and thus plays a critical role in protecting Earth's environment. By absorbing UV light, O3 heats the surrounding air, leading to the vertical stratification and dynamic stability that define the stratosphere. Manmade halogen compounds, such as CFCs, cause significant damage to the O3 layer in the LS and lead to the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole. Accurate measurement of O3 in the LS is the first step toward understanding and protecting stratospheric O3. The Ozone Photometer was designed specifically for autonomous, precise, and accurate O3 measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). Flown for thousands of hours onboard the NASA ER-2, NASA WB-57, and NSF GV high-altitude aircraft, this instrument has played a key role in improving our understanding of O3 photochemistry in the UT/LS. Furthermore, its accurate data has been used, and continues to be highly sought after, for satellite validation, and studies of radiation balance, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and air parcel mixing. Contacts: Ru-Shan Gao, David Fahey, Troy Thornberry, Laurel Watts, Steve Ciciora

Instrument Type: 
Photometer
Measurements: 
O3
Aircraft: 
Gulfstream V - NSF, WB-57 - JSC, Global Hawk - AFRC
Point(s) of Contact: 
Troy Thornberry (PI)

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