R/V Ronald H. Brown Instrumentation

The instrumentation proposed for deployment on the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown will provide characterization of the atmospheric dynamics, gas-phase chemistry, aerosol chemical, physical, and optical properties, and radiation fields in this complex environment. Central to this field deployment will be techniques that yield information on the interactions between gas-phase and aerosol chemistry and how the evolving aerosol properties affect the radiation fields. A critical requirement is understanding how these chemical effects are influenced by transport to, from and within the MBL. Thus particular emphasis has been placed on the need to understand the dynamical structure of the MBL at large scales via remote sensing instruments. Smaller scales will also be studied with the addition of instrumentation to investigate the turbulence structure from the surface layer to the top of the MBL. Coincident with this activity will be measurements of chemical fluxes of CO2, and possibly O3.


Proposed instrumentation for deployment on NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown
ParameterMethod
Photolysis rates (j-values)Spectral radiometer
Ozone (O3)UV absorbance
OzoneNO chemiluminescence
Carbon monoxide (CO)Nondispersive IR
Carbon dioxide (CO2)Nondispersive IR
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)Pulsed UV fluorescence
Nitric oxide (NO)Chemiluminescence
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)Photolysis/chemiluminescence
Total reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy)Au tube/chemiluminescence
Peroxyacyl nitric anhydrides (PANs)GC/ECD
Alkyl nitrates (RONO2)GC/MS
Nitrate radical (NO3); Dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5)Cavity ring-down spectrometry
Nitric acid (HNO3)Mist chamber/IC
Water vapor (H2O)Nondispersive IR
Continuous Speciation of VOCsPTR-MS/CIMS
VOC SpeciationGC/MS
Formaldehyde (HCHO)CHD fluorimetry
Radon (Rn)Radon gas decay
Seawater/atmospheric CO2Nondispersive IR
Enhanced measurement of radiative fluxes Spectral radiometers
Aerosol optical depthMicroTOPS
IrradiancePortable Radiation Package (PRP)
Size-resolved aerosol composition and gravimetric massImpactors (IC, XRF, and thermal-optical OC/EC)
OC/ECOn-line thermal optical
Ionic Aerosol CompositionParticle In Liquid Sampler (PILS)
Aerosol Size and CompositionAerosol Mass Spectrometer
Organic function groupsFTIR
Aerosol scattering (400, 550, 700 nm)TSI Model 3563 Nephelometer
Aerosol absorption (400, 550, 700nm)Radiance Research PSAP
Aerosol numberCNC
Aerosol size distributionTwin DMAs and an APS
Aerosol light scattering hygroscopic growth f(RH)Twin TSI 3563 nephelometers
Aerosol size hygroscopic growth g(RH)Tandem DMAs
Aerosol light extinction hygroscopic growth f(RH)Cavity ring-down spectrometer
Total and sub-micron aerosol extinctionCavity ring-down spectrometer
Ozone/aerosol vertical profilesO3/Aerosol Lidar (OPAL)
Wind/temperature vertical profiles915 MHz wind Radar
High-resolution BL winds/aerosolDoppler Lidar (HRDL)
Wind profiles/microscale turbulenceC-band radar
Temperature/relative humidity profilesRadiosondes
Surface energy balance (fluxes)Eddy covariance (bow mounted)
High resolution BL turbulence structureDoppler mini-Sodar