We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- 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. David; Miller, Ben R.; Montzka, Stephen A.; Wolton, Laura P.; McClure-Begley, Audra; Elkins, James W.; Hall, Emrys G.; Jordan, Allen F.; Rollins, Andrew W.; Thornberry, Troy D.; Watts, Laurel A.; Thompson, Chelsea R.; Peischl, Jeff; Bourgeois, Ilann; Ryerson, Thomas B.
- 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 (UT/LS). 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 ozone (O3) and water vapor (H2O) instruments were added to enhance science missions on platforms with relatively small payloads. Over the past decade, UCATS has 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 will soon return to the study of stratospheric ozone depletion, one of the original goals for UCATS. 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 upcoming missions.
- Subjects
TRACE gases; OZONE layer depletion; OZONE layer; ELECTRON gas; ELECTRON detection; ELECTRON capture; CARBON monoxide
- Publication
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions, 2021, p1
- ISSN
1867-8610
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5194/amt-2020-496