Mobile laboratory with rapid response instruments for real-time measurements of urban and regional trace gas and particulate distributions and emission source characteristics.
Recent technological advances have allowed the development of robust, relatively compact, low power, rapid response (approximately 1 s) instruments with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to quantify many trace gases and aerosol particle components in the ambient atmosphere. Suites of such instruments can be deployed on mobile platforms to study atmospheric processes, map concentration distributions of atmospheric pollutants, and determine the composition and intensities of emission sources. A mobile laboratory containing innovative tunable infrared laser differential absorption spectroscopy (TILDAS) instruments to measure selected trace gas concentrations at sub parts-per-billion levels and an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) to measure size resolved distributions of the nonrefractory chemical components of fine airborne particles as well as selected commercial fast response instruments and position/velocity sensors is described. Examples of the range of measurement strategies that can be undertaken using this mobile laboratory are discussed, and samples of measurement data are presented.
Kolb
Charles E
CE
Center for Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry, Aerodyne Research Inc, Billerica, Massachusetts 01821-3976, USA. kolb@aerodyne.com
Herndon
Scott C
SC
McManus
J Barry
JB
Shorter
Joanne H
JH
Zahniser
Mark S
MS
Nelson
David D
DD
Jayne
John T
JT
Canagaratna
Manjula R
MR
Worsnop
Douglas R
DR
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D002947:Cities; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009609:Nitrous Oxide