Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Oct 2021)
UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) – a versatile instrument for trace gas measurements on airborne platforms
- E. J. Hintsa,
- E. J. Hintsa,
- F. L. Moore,
- F. L. Moore,
- D. F. Hurst,
- D. F. Hurst,
- G. S. Dutton,
- G. S. Dutton,
- B. D. Hall,
- J. D. Nance,
- J. D. Nance,
- B. R. Miller,
- B. R. Miller,
- S. A. Montzka,
- L. P. Wolton,
- L. P. Wolton,
- A. McClure-Begley,
- A. McClure-Begley,
- J. W. Elkins,
- E. G. Hall,
- E. G. Hall,
- A. F. Jordan,
- A. F. Jordan,
- A. W. Rollins,
- T. D. Thornberry,
- T. D. Thornberry,
- L. A. Watts,
- L. A. Watts,
- C. R. Thompson,
- C. R. Thompson,
- J. Peischl,
- J. Peischl,
- I. Bourgeois,
- I. Bourgeois,
- T. B. Ryerson,
- B. C. Daube,
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos,
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos,
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos,
- R. Commane,
- R. Commane,
- R. Commane,
- G. W. Santoni,
- J. V. Pittman,
- S. C. Wofsy,
- E. Kort,
- G. S. Diskin,
- T. P. Bui
Affiliations
- E. J. Hintsa
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- E. J. Hintsa
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- F. L. Moore
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- F. L. Moore
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- D. F. Hurst
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- D. F. Hurst
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- G. S. Dutton
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- G. S. Dutton
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- B. D. Hall
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- J. D. Nance
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- J. D. Nance
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- B. R. Miller
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- B. R. Miller
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- S. A. Montzka
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- L. P. Wolton
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- L. P. Wolton
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- A. McClure-Begley
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- A. McClure-Begley
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- J. W. Elkins
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- E. G. Hall
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- E. G. Hall
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- A. F. Jordan
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- A. F. Jordan
- Global Monitoring Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- A. W. Rollins
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- T. D. Thornberry
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- T. D. Thornberry
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- L. A. Watts
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- L. A. Watts
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- C. R. Thompson
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- C. R. Thompson
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- J. Peischl
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- J. Peischl
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- I. Bourgeois
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- I. Bourgeois
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- T. B. Ryerson
- Chemical Sciences Laboratory, NOAA, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
- B. C. Daube
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos
- CIMEL Electronique, Paris, 75011, France
- Y. Gonzalez Ramos
- Izaña Atmospheric Research Center, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 38001, Spain
- R. Commane
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- R. Commane
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- R. Commane
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
- G. W. Santoni
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- J. V. Pittman
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- S. C. Wofsy
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- E. Kort
- Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- G. S. Diskin
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
- T. P. Bui
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA 94035, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 14
pp. 6795 – 6819
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.
