The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) focused on studying the phytoplankton life cycle and how it affects marine aerosols and boundary layer clouds. NAAMES had four deployments over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean in 2015 - 2018. Aircraft, a research vessel, satellites, and land-based atmospheric monitoring stations were all utilized to collect data on ocean ecosystem processes, emissions of ocean-generated aerosols and precursor gases, and subsequent atmospheric evolution and processing. NAAMES was one of NASA’s Earth Venture Suborbital-2 projects.
a miniature, lightweight, low-power cloud particle spectrometer that measures droplets in the range of 2-50 µm in concentrations as high as 2000 particles/cm3
Earth Science > >
The Laser Aerosol Spectrometer (LAS) is an in situ airborne spectrometer manufactured by TSI, Inc. LAS provides measurements of particle size based on the light scattering of the sampled particles. It operates at 633 nm wavelength and has a particle size range of 0.09 to 7.5 μm. LAS can provide complete particle size distributions at a rate of 10 Hz. LAS is typically used as part of aerosol instrument suites such as NASA’s Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) and NOAA’s Aerosol Microphysical Properties (AMP).
The Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) is an airborne, passive polarimeter developed by SpecTIR Corporation. It measures total radiance and linear polarization across 9 spectral bands in the visible and infrared wavelengths (410-2250 nm). These measurements can be used to derive aerosol and cloud properties. RSP has a time resolution of 0.8 seconds, a field of view of 14 mrad, and a horizontal resolution of about 100 m at an altitude of 5 km.
If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity
Earth Science > >
The Los Gatos Research (LGR) Greenhouse Gas Analyzer (GGA) is an in situ airborne or ground-based analyzer. It uses off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) technology to measure methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O) simultaneously. It can measure CH4 up to 100 ppm, CO2 up to 20,000 ppm, and H2O up to 30,000 ppm. It has a selectable measurement rate of 0.01 to 1 Hz, with some models having a fast flow option for rates up to 10 Hz.
The Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) is an in situ airborne or ground-based aerosol sensor manufactured by TSI Incorporated. SMPS uses a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) to measure the electrical mobility diameter of aerosol particles to determine the size distribution. It also measures the number of aerosol particles by using a condensation particle counter (CNC). It can detect particles within the size range of 10-1000 nm and can provide measurements typically around 10 seconds per scan.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols > Chemical Composition
The Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) is a spectrometer that measures the chemical composition and properties of sub-micron aerosol particles. AMS has a maximum data collection of 100 Hz and can detect particles with a size range of 40 nm to 1 micron. It operates by switching between mass spectrum (MS) mode and particle time-of-flight (PToF) mode to determine the chemical makeup of aerosol samples. The AMS can be deployed on aircraft, ships, mobile laboratories, or placed directly at a field site.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols > Chemical Composition
The Proton Transfer Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS) is an in situ airborne and ground-based spectrometer designed by the University of Innsbruck in Austria. It measures volatile organic compounds (VOCs) without sample preparation at very low concentrations. PTR-MS uses chemical ionization mass spectroscopy allowing for fast and highly sensitive detection of VOCs. It has a 0.5 to 1 s signal integration time.
GEOstationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Airborne Simulator (GCAS) is an airborne push-broom instrument consisting of two spectrometers. It was developed by the Radiometric Calibration and Flight Development Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as a simulator for the GEO-CAPE mission. The first spectrometer in GCAS operates in the ultraviolet to visible (300-490 nm) range for air quality observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO), and other trace gases. The second spectrometer operates in the visible to near-infrared (480-900 nm) to provide measurements of ocean color. GCAS has a typical spatial resolution of 250m across track and 500m along track at an altitude of 9 km and has a frame rate of 12 Hz.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Optics > Ocean Color
The Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS) is an in situ spectrometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It can be utilized on both airborne and ground-based platforms to measure aerosol size distribution and concentration. UHSAS determines the particle size by detecting the peak light signals of the aerosol particles which are illuminated by a 1054 nm laser. UHSAS can sample particles within the 60 - 1000 nm size range and has a sampling frequency of 10 Hz.
The Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) is a laser-induced photometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. SP2 provides measurements of the black carbon (BC) mass content of individual aerosol particles as well as the optical and physical properties of the particles containing BC. SP2 can be utilized on airborne or ground-based platforms and can be deployed with a paired Humidified-Dual SP2 (HD-SP2). It can detect aerosol particles with a diameter size of 200-400 nm and can measure 25,000 particles/second.
The Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC) is optical method for
counting atmospheric aerosol particles.
Earth Science > >
The Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4-STAR) is an airborne sun-sky spectrometer that measures direct solar irradiance and sky radiance. These measurements can be used to retrieve column-integrated information on aerosols, clouds, and trace gases such as aerosol optical depth, extinction, and single scattering albedo. 4-STAR operates in the 350-1650 nm wavelength range and has a typical horizontal resolution of about 100 m.
The Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) is an in situ airborne instrument suite that measures aerosol and cloud microphysical and optical properties such as size distribution, number concentration, and scattering and absorption coefficient. LARGE consists of multiple instruments including the Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS), Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler (PILS), Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer (CAS), Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP), and additional cloud and aerosol sensors. The LARGE instruments operate across the 450-700 nm wavelength range, can detect particles in the size range between 0.003-20μm, and have a measurement frequency of 1 Hz. It is typically used for airborne measurements, but it also can be deployed on ground-based platforms such as vehicles.
The Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP) is an in situ airborne optical array probe manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. CIP records cloud particle images by capturing the shadow of the particles as they pass through the laser. It also provides information on the particle size distribution and cloud liquid water content. CIP has a typical resolution of 25 μm and can measure particles in the size range of 12.5 μm - 1.55 mm.
The High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) is an airborne lidar system developed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). It utilizes the HSRL technique at 532 nm and the standard backscatter technique at 1064 nm to provide profile measurements of aerosol backscatter, extinction, and depolarization. The profiles of aerosol backscatter and depolarization have a typical vertical resolution of 30 m and a horizontal resolution of about 1 km. For the extinction profiles, the vertical resolution is 300 m with a horizontal resolution of about 6 km. HSRL is typically flown on investigations to validate observations from the CALIPSO spaceborne lidar.
Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) are in situ sensors that measure aerosol particle concentration. CPCs measure aerosol concentration by condensing fluid onto the particles, allowing them to grow to more detectable sizes for optical scattering. Typically, CPCs can detect particles with a size range of 7 nm-3 μm, can measure particle concentrations up to 100,000 particles/cc, and can provide measurements at 1-second intervals. CPCs are manufactured by TSI Incorporated and can be deployed on airborne, shipborne, and ground-based platforms.
The Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) is a spectrometer that measures the chemical composition and properties of sub-micron aerosol particles. AMS has a maximum data collection of 100 Hz and can detect particles with a size range of 40 nm to 1 micron. It operates by switching between mass spectrum (MS) mode and particle time-of-flight (PToF) mode to determine the chemical makeup of aerosol samples. The AMS can be deployed on aircraft, ships, mobile laboratories, or placed directly at a field site.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols > Chemical Composition
The Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) is a laser-induced photometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. SP2 provides measurements of the black carbon (BC) mass content of individual aerosol particles as well as the optical and physical properties of the particles containing BC. SP2 can be utilized on airborne or ground-based platforms and can be deployed with a paired Humidified-Dual SP2 (HD-SP2). It can detect aerosol particles with a diameter size of 200-400 nm and can measure 25,000 particles/second.
The Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) is an in situ airborne photometer manufactured by Radiance Research. It uses Beer's Law to measure the change in light transmission of aerosol particles. These measurements can be used to derive aerosol absorption and extinction. PSAP operates across three wavelengths (467, 530, and 660 nm) and has a temporal resolution of 1 second. It is typically deployed on aircraft, but it can be deployed on other platforms such as ships and vehicles.
The Fourier Transformation Spectrometer (FTS) is a high-resolution airborne and ground-based spectrometer. FTS measures the solar radiance reflected from the surface, which can be used to derive measurements of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. It has a spatial resolution of around 100m x 1000m and a measurement frequency of 1 Hz for typical research flight conditions.
If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity
Earth Science > >
Nephelometers are in situ airborne or ground-based optical sensors. They measure the total scattering and backscattering of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Nephelometers operate across three wavelengths: 450 nm, 550 nm, and 700 nm, and have a typical time resolution of 1 Hz.
The Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4-STAR) is an airborne sun-sky spectrometer that measures direct solar irradiance and sky radiance. These measurements can be used to retrieve column-integrated information on aerosols, clouds, and trace gases such as aerosol optical depth, extinction, and single scattering albedo. 4-STAR operates in the 350-1650 nm wavelength range and has a typical horizontal resolution of about 100 m.
