Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/13186
UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) – a versatile instrument for trace gas measurements on airborne platforms
Title: UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) – a versatile instrument for trace gas measurements on airborne platforms
Authors: Hintsa, Eric J.Moore, Fred L.Hurst, Dale F.Dutton, Geoff S.Hall, Bradley D.Nance, J. DavidMiller, Ben R.Montzka, Stephen A.Wolton, Laura P.McClure-Begley, AudraElkins, James W.Hall, Emrys G.Jordan, Allen F.Rollins, Andrew W.Thornberry, Troy D.Watts, Laurel A.Thompson, Chelsea R.Peischl, JeffBourgeois, IlannRyerson, Thomas B.Daube, Bruce C.González Ramos, Yenny ORCID Autor AEMETCommane, RoisinSantoni, Gregory W.Pittman, Jasna V.Wofsy, Steven C.Kort, Eric A.Diskin, Glenn S.Bui, T. Paul
Keywords: UCATS; Atmospheric trace gases; Water vapor; Gas chromatographs; Ozone
Issue Date: 2021
Publisher: European Geosciences Union
Citation: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021, 14(10), p. 6795–6819
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021
Abstract: UCATS (the UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species) was designed and built for observations of important atmospheric trace gases from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). Initially it measured major chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and the stratospheric transport tracers nitrous oxide (N2O) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), using gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Compact commercial absorption spectrometers for ozone (O3) and water vapor (H2O) were added to enhance its capabilities on platforms with relatively small payloads. UCATS has since been reconfigured to measure methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and molecular hydrogen (H2) instead of CFCs and has undergone numerous upgrades to its subsystems. It has served as part of large payloads on stratospheric UAS missions to probe the tropical tropopause region and transport of air into the stratosphere; in piloted aircraft studies of greenhouse gases, transport, and chemistry in the troposphere; and in 2021 is scheduled to return to the study of stratospheric ozone and halogen compounds, one of its original goals. Each deployment brought different challenges, which were largely met or resolved. The design, capabilities, modifications, and some results from UCATS are shown and described here, including changes for future missions.
Sponsorship : Support was provided for HIPPO by NSF award no. AGS-0628452, for ATTREX by NASA Earth Venture program award no. NNA11AA55I, and for ATom by NASA award no. NNH17AE26I; additional support was provided by NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Program award no. NNH13AV69I. This work was also supported in part by the NOAA Cooperative Agreement with CIRES, NA17OAR4320101.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/13186
ISSN: 1867-1381
1867-8548
Appears in Collections:Artículos científicos 2019-2022


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