Campaigns
The CLOUD experiment is investigating one of the big questions in climate research that is still not understood: How do aerosols form in the atmosphere and what effect does this new formation have on our climate? More aerosol density leads to brighter clouds, which reflect back more sunlight and thus cool our planet. This cloud effect is one of the least understood parameters of our climate, and understanding the mechanisms of aerosol formation is a decisive factor in the propagated climate change. In addition to the influence of various organic and inorganic compounds, CLOUD is also investigating the influence of cosmic radiation on aerosol formation.
Link: http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/Research/CLOUD-en.html
The aim of the investigation is the metrological identification of the odour nuisances occurring in the vicinity of the "M. Kaindl Holzindustrie". For this purpose, emission measurements were carried out at the Kaindl factory premises in Salzburg and immission measurements were carried out in the vicinity of the company premises.
The campaign took place in July 2008 on board the NASA research aircraft DC-8. Among other things, the long-range transport of anthropogenic pollutants and boreal forest fire smoke clouds to the Arctic was investigated.
The campaign took place in the Arctic on the icebreaker "Oden". The aim of the mission is to gain a better understanding of the processes that lead to cloud formation.
Link: http://www.ascos.se/
Conventional PTR-MS devices use H3O+ ions as primary ions, here oxygen was used as the source gas instead of water vapour. This enables rapid measurements of ammonia (NH3) via the electron transfer reaction with O2+. The device was tested in Oensingen (Switzerland) as part of the NitroEurope project.
In order to determine the spatial distribution of air pollutants in the Inn Valley during the cold season, altitude profiles of various pollutants and meteorological parameters were recorded. In the lower altitude range (up to 200 metres above ground), a tethered balloon with a Teflon inlet line attached to it was used. The air was pumped through this inlet line to a PTR-MS and a CO analyser. At higher altitudes, a Metair research aircraft (www.metair.ch) equipped with various measuring devices was used.
During the 2003 ECHO field campaign, the main focus was on measuring emissions from tobacco plants, which were exposed to controlled conditions in a plant chamber. In addition, emission measurements of the forest stand were carried out at the 36 metre high measuring tower, which was set up as part of the ECHO project. The inlet of our PTR-MS system was located at the highest point of the tower, above the canopy level.
Link: http://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg-2/echo/
Just below the Zugspitze is the former Hotel Schneefernerhaus, which has been converted into a modern research station in recent years. High-resolution measurements in clean air areas such as here at 2650 metres place high demands on the measurement technology.
Link: http://www.polar.se/english/expeditions/ao2001/
Our team travelled to the most remote regions of the earth ... Pictures from the Arctic Ocean Expedition from July to August 2001:
Measurements of tree emissions in the Fichtelgebirge (northern Bavaria) with 2 PTR-MS systems, set up on the BEWA measuring tower at heights of 16 and 28 metres:
Houston is known as one of the most polluted cities in the USA. The VOC measurements help to identify the sources that cause the high levels of ozone pollution.
Link: http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/texaqs/
PTR-MS measurements during INDOEX characterised the spatial extent and chemical composition of pollution emitted from the Indian subcontinent (mainly caused by biomass burning) during the winter monsoon. The measurements were carried out over large parts of the Indian Ocean on the NOAA research vessel "Ronald H. Brown" and the NCAR C-130 measuring aircraft - in some cases thousands of kilometres away from the nearest emission source.