Stratospheric whole air sampling experiments at Syowa Station with compact cryogenic air samplers in JARE-49

Abstract

As a part of summer observations of the 49th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, stratospheric whole air sampling experiments were conducted at Syowa Station using newly developed compact cryogenic air samplers. The compact sampler uses liquefied neon (produced in-situ) as a refrigerant to solidify or liquefy atmospheric constituents. Because of its reduced size and weight, the sampler can be launched using small-size balloons (1000–2000 m3 in volume). On December 30, 2007 and January 4, 2008, a total of 4 samplers were launched from Syowa Station and recovered on the same day as their launches. Two of them functioned as designed and collected stratospheric air samples at altitudes of 18 and 25 km. The air samples were analyzed for greenhouse gas concentrations and stable isotopes after return to Japan.