NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Three instruments, a cavity ringdown (CRD) aerosol extinction spectrometer, a photoacoustic absorption spectrometer (PAS), and an ultra-high sensitivity aerosol size spectrometer (UHSAS) comprise the AOP package. The AOP package provides multi‐wavelength, multi-RH aerosol extinction and absorption measurements with fast response and excellent accuracy and stability on aircraft platforms. The instruments will also characterize the optics of black carbon (BC) mixing state, brown carbon, and water uptake of aerosol. Aerosol asymmetry parameter, needed for radiative transfer modeling, will be calculated from dry and humidified particle size distributions.

Aerosols of size 0.05 µm to 5 µm are collected with Ames wire impactors. This instrument consists of 25 µm, 75 µm and 500 µm diameter palladium or gold wires on ring mounts exposed to air for up to 5 minutes. Smaller diameter wires utilize their higher collection efficiency for small particles. Alternately, the wires can be replaced by Formvar-coated glass rods to collect cloud particles of sizes up to 500 µm. The collectors are brought back to the laboratory for analysis of size, shape and elemental/chemical composition of the collected particles using optical and electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and microchemical reaction spots on substrates sensitized with specific chemicals.

Improved time and space resolution of ice particle collections is achieved by simultaneous sampling with the continuous Formvar replicator. The prime utility of this instrument is to obtain direct measurements of ice and liquid (volatile) particle concentration, size (1µm < D < 500µm) and shape over the period of approximately 2 hours per flight with a spatial resolution on the order of 20 m (at aircraft speed of 200 m/s). This opens the possibility of obtaining horizontal and vertical gradients of these quantities in cirrus clouds and contrails. Analysis of particles replicated on the films takes place by optical microscopy, interference microscopy and electron microscopy. The phases of supercooled or supersaturated solution droplets can be inferred from whether or not particles shatter or splash on impact to give sharp edged fragments or splash characteristics of high impact speed and high Langmuir numbers (high kinetic-to-surface surface energy ratios).

The SP2 is a laser-induced incandescence instrument primarily used for measuring the refractory BC  (rBC) mass content of individual accumulation-mode aerosol particles. It is able to provide this data product independently of the total particle morphology and mixing state, and thus delivers detailed information not only about BC loadings, but also size distributions, even in exceptionally clean air. The instrument can also provide the optical size of individual particles containing rBC, and identify the presence of materials associated with the BC fraction (i.e. identify the rBC’s mixing state). Since its introduction in 2003, the SP2 has been substantially improved, and now can be considered a highly competent instrument for assessing BC loadings and mixing state in situ.  NOAA deploys multiple SP2s with different designs: the first was built for the WB-57F research aircraft. Two others are rack-mounted units customized at NOAA; one of the rack mounted units can be humidified, and has been deployed with a paired dry rack-mounted SP2 as the "Humidified-Dual SP2" (HD-SP2). The rack mounted units are suitable for in-cabin operations.

1) Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS)

Total and single particle characterization of volatile aerosol ionic and organic components (50-700nm). Uncertainty depends on species and concentration.

2) Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2)

Single particle measure of BC (soot) mass in particles and determination of mixed particle size and non-BC coating using laser scattering and incandescence. 70-700nm. Single particle counting up to 10,000 per sec.

3) A size-resolved thermo-optic aerosol discriminator (30 s avg.):

Aerosol size distribution from 0.12 up to 7.0 μm, often where most aerosol mass, surface area and optical effects are dominant. Uses a modified Laser Optical Particle Counter (OPC) and computer controlled thermal conditioning system is used upstream (airstream dilution dried). Characterizes aerosol components volatile at 150, 300 and 400C and refractory aerosol at 400C (sea salt, dust and soot/flyash). (Clarke, 1991, Clarke et al., 2004). Uncertianty about 15%

4) Condensation Nuclei - heated and unheated (available at 1Hz)

Two butanol based condensation nuclei (CN) counter (TSI 3010) count all particles between 0.01-3.0 um. Total CN, refractory CN (those remaining at 300C after sulfate is removed) and volatile CN (by difference) are obtained as a continuous readout as a fundamental air mass indicator (Clarke et al. 1996). Uncertainty ~ 5%.

5) Aerodynamic Particle Sizer – (APS-TSI3320) – (<5min/scan)

To further characterize larger “dry” particles, including dust, an APS is operated which sizes particles aerodynamically from 0.8 to 20 μm into 50 channels. Uncertainty~10%.

6) Differential Mobility Analyzer with thermal conditioning – (<3 min/scan)

Volatility tandem thermal differential mobility analyzer (VTTDMA) with thermal analysis that provides size information (mass, surface area, number distributions) and their state of mixing over the 0.01 to 0.3μm size range (Clarke et al., 1998, 2007) for sampling times of about 1-3 minutes. Uncertainty ~10%

7) Nephelometer (10-7 m-1 detection for 60s avg., recorded every 1 sec.)

A 3 wavelength nephelometer (450, 550, 700nm) is used for total scattering and submicrometer scattering values using a Radiance Research single wavelength nephelometer (and thereby coarse dust scattering by difference).

8) Two Particle Soot Absorption Photometers (PSAP-Radiance Research; detection <0.1μg m-3 for 5 min. avg. )

The PSAP is used to quantify the spectral light absorption coefficient of the total and submicron aerosol (eg. soot, BC) at three wavelengths (450, 550, 660nm).

9) Humidity Dependent Light-Scattering (10-6 m-1 detection for 60s avg.; recorded every 1 s)

Two additional Radiance Research single-wavelength nephelometers are operated at two humidities (high/low) to establish the humidity dependence of light scattering, f(RH).

Aerosols (particulate matter) have a dramatic effect on radiative forcing of the climate, in some cases cooling and in other cases warming. The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC estimates that direct radiative forcing due to all aerosols is a cooling of -0.50 W m-2 with absorbing aerosol (black carbon) responsible for a warming of +0.22 W m-2, but the uncertainties associated with these numbers are very large. Better measurements of the optical properties of aerosols, especially absorption coefficient and asymmetry parameter, and their spatial and temporal distribution are required to reduce these uncertainties and improve the ability of models to predict climate change. Aero3X was designed to provide such measurements. It is a light weight (11 kg), compact (0.25 x 0.30 x 0.6 m), and fast (1 Hz sample rate) instrument intended for use on an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) but suitable for flight on other aircraft and for surface measurements. Aero3X uses an off-axis cavity ring-down technique to measure extinction coefficient and a reciprocal nephelometry technique for measurement of total-, forward- and back-scatter coefficients at wavelengths of 405 nm and 675 nm. Its outstanding precision (0.1 Mm-1) and sensitivity (0.2 Mm- 1) allow the determination of absorption coefficient, single-scattering albedo, estimates of backscatter to extinction ratio and asymmetry parameter at both wavelengths, and Angstrom exponent. Together with its humidification system for measurement of the dependence of aerosol optical properties on relative humidity, these represent a complete set of the aerosol optical properties important to climate and air quality. Aero3X was designed to operate in pollution plumes where NO2 may cause interference with the measurement, therefore, a measurement of NO2 mixing ratio is also made.

The APS is a passive sensor designed to gather high altitude dust particles for laboratory research. An APS paddle is deployed from a wingtip pod into stratosphere once the ER-2 has reached cruising altitude, and is retracted before descent. Both wire impactor and oil-film paddles are used. After approximately 40 hours of exposure, the sealed units are returned to the investigator for examination by an electron microscope. The returned particles can be the by-products of meteor decomposition in the upper atmosphere, or the products of massive volcanic eruptions.