Cloud & Aerosol Processes: Instruments
| Abbreviation | Full Name | Description | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
Optical | |||
| PAS | photoacoustic aerosol absorption spectrometer | heats absorbing particles in an acoustic resonator with a laser; measured sound is converted to aerosol absorption coefficient | Dan Lack, Dan Law, Matt Richardson |
| CRD-AES | cavity ringdown-aerosol extinction spectrometer | measures loss of laser light by aerosol scattering and absorption in an optical cavity; determines aerosol extinction | Justin Langridge, Dan Lack, Matt Richardson |
| ASTER | aerosol scattering-to-extinction ratio | measures scattering and extinction of individual aerosol particles in a ring laser cavity | Shane Murphy, Dan Murphy, Matt Richardson |
Chemical | |||
| AMS | aerosol mass spectrometer | samples and volatilizes aerosol particles; evolved gases are ionized and measured with a compact time-of-flight mass spectrometer for composition | Ann Middlebrook, Roya Bahreini |
| PALMS | particle analysis by laser mass spectroscopy | single particles are vaporized and ionized by a UV laser; composition is determined by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer | Karl Froyd, Dan Murphy |
| PiLS | particle-into-liquid sampler | dissolves small aerosol particles into liquids for later chemical composition analysis | Ann Middlebrook |
Size distribution | |||
| NMASS | nucleation-mode aerosol size spectrometer | five condensation particle counters in parallel estimate particle size distributions from 0.004-0.05 um diameter | Chuck Brock |
| UHSAS | ultra-high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer | laser light scattered from single particles is used to determine their size and concentration in the 0.07-1.0 um diameter range | Chuck Brock |
| WLOPC | white-light optical particle counter | LED light scattered from single particles is used to determine their size and concentration in the 0.5-8.5 um diameter range | Chuck Brock |
| SMPS | scanning mobility size spectrometer | particles are charged, segregated in an electric field, and counted to determine the size distribution from 0.02-0.7 um diameter | Chuck Brock |
Aerosol physics | |||
| PCVI | pumped counterflow virtual impactor | inertially separates large particles or ice crystals into a dry or inert gas | Dan Murphy |
Cloud physics | |||
| CIP | cloud imaging probe | laser shadow images of cloud-sized particles are used to determine size, concentration, and shape; 25-1550 um | Sara Lance |
| PIP | precipitation imaging probe | laser shadow images of precipitation-sized particles are used to determine size, concentration, and shape; 100-6200 um | Sara Lance |
| CDP | cloud droplet probe | forward scattered laser light from cloud droplets is used to size and count them; 3.0-50 um | Sara Lance |
| CAS | cloud and aerosol spectrometer | forward scattered laser light from aerosol particles and cloud droplets is used to size and count them; 0.05-50 um | Sara Lance |