Report on a portable laboratory, made from a modified cargo container, aboard the RV Shirase during the 2009-2010 Antarctic cruise of the 51st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-51)

Abstract

A portable laboratory, made from a modified 20 feet-long cargo container,was newly installed on the observation deck of the RV Shirase on her maiden voyage to the Antarctic during 2009-2010. The laboratory was used to measure the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (e.g., dimethyle sulfides) in samples of air collected from above the sea and the sea ice, using a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer (PTR-MS). This paper describes the laboratory and notes several problems to be overcome in terms of its use.