NOAA Unmanned aircraft systems Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species UCATS

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NOAA Unmanned aircraft systems Chromatograph for
Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS)

• NASA Fire Mission Kickoff Meeting, Palmdale, CA
  May 2, 2006
• J.W. Elkins1, Principal Investigator,
• Team D. F. Hurst1,2, F.L. Moore1,2, S. J.
  Oltmans1,
• G.S. Dutton1,2, J. D. Nance1,2, and B. A.
  Vasel1,2,
• 1NOAA/ESRL/GMD and 2CIRES

Photo courtesy NASA Chase Plane on NOAA UAV
flight of 14/11/2006 over Channel Islands, CA
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NOAA/ESRL UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric
Trace Species (UCATS)

• Box weighs 22 kg (55 lbs.), 24.6 x 40.6 x 45.7 cm
  (9.7x16x18.1), 45.6 liters
• Measures O3 once every 10 seconds (commercial
  unit 2B,Inc.)
• Water vapor (H2O) once every 1 second (Maycomm,
  Inc).
• Measures N2O, SF6, CFC-11, CFC-12, halon-1211
  once
• every 70 seconds. On board calibration.
• In the future, could measure( PAN, PPN) or (CO,
  H2, CH4)
• for tropospheric mission.
• Compounds in red are measured
  by Aura Satellite Instruments.

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Components of UCATS on aircraft
Randy Mays H2O TDL (cell inside)
UCATS inlet (2 3/8 Stainless Steel)
Pump
Carrier
Standard
Pump, carrier gas and standard cylinder
2B Model O3 photometer
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Science with UCATS

• Biomass burning trace species H2O, CO, CH4, and
  N2O
• Tropospheric folds Stratospheric down-welling
  into the troposphere.
• Man-made tropospheric pollution tracers SF6,
  CO, and O3
• Aura Validation Trace Species (H2O, O3, N2O, CH4,
  CO).
• Stratosphere age of the air (SF6)

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NOAA UAS Demo Highlights Spring and Fall 2005
Flight Key of Example Flights Red Test Flights
from El Mirage Blue 6 Hour Flight (Channel
Islands) Yellow 21 Hour Flight (North Pacific)
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Atmospheric Rivers over California
Atmospheric river on 9 Jan 2005
Fatal mudslides and floods on 10 Jan 2005
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Results Coastal Image Mapping

• Mosaic of Anacapa Island of the Channel Islands
  near Santa Barbara, California

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Results Sea Lion Population Studies

• Sea Lions on the beach over the Channel lslands
  observed by UAS

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What is a tropopause fold?
Brewer-Dobson Circulation

• Folds are stratospheric intrusion of air that
  sinks beneath the upper tropospheric jet stream.
  
• Folds formed by a steepening of the tropopause at
  a jet core. Occurrences are common with major
  fronts and movement of polar stratospheric air
  into the midlatitudes.
• Folds are the dominant and most efficient form of
  short-term (days-weeks) Stratosphere-Troposphere
  Exchange (STE)
• Brewer-Dobson Circulation makes up the long-term
  (years), large scale STE of air from the upper
  tropical troposphere to polar stratosphere.

Fold
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Observation of Tropopause Fold on the UAS Altair
B
PV plot courtesy of Leslie Lait, (NASA/GSFC)
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Five hour test flight finds fold above Gray
Butte, CA airfield.
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Results from Trinidad Head (THD)

• 481 flights with 13 failed launches, 10 flights
  with data to tropopause (not used).
• 47 out of 458 flights identified with possible
  folds (10.3).
• Late winter and spring have the highest monthly
  frequency (left).
• Compares with previous ozonesonde study (Van
  Haver et al., 1996, GRL) of 2-5 of the total
  sondes have folds. A climatological study (Elbern
  et al., 1998) calculates an average of 11,000
  fold days per year.

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Results Aura Satellite Validation

• UCATS validation of nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone
  (O3) data.

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ResultsLong Duration Flight to NOAA Station_at_
Trinidad Head, California 14-15 Nov. 05

• 18.4 hour flight proves long endurance of
  Unmanned Aircraft System.

Flight track over Pacific Ocean with PV
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Lessons Learned from NOAA UAS Demo

• Tool control in hangar, get in touch with GA for
  specialized tools.
• Internet is generally good for E-mail and web
  browsing, slow for large files.
• Hangar can be hot, have flying insects, and
  blowing sand. Far west hangar door area was an
  improvement
• Insulation and heaters may be needed on high
  altitude flights
• Nomex felt, Velcro, and Kapton tape are
  permitted.
• All pressure vessels must have DOT certification
  or testing.
• Flame test on uncertain items.
• Optics and humidity can be a problem because of
  cold soaking.

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NOAA UAS Demonstration

• Team Members from NOAA/NASA/General Atomics after
  historic long endurance flight (18.4 hour).