Full-column greenhouse gas profiles measured at ARM SGP

 

Authors

Marc L. Fischer — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Colm Sweeney — Earth System Research Laboratory
Anna Karion — Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
John (Jack) Higgs — NOAA- Earth System Research Laboratory
Timothy Allen Newberger — NOAA - Global Monitoring Division
Sonja Elena Wolter — NOAA- Earth System Research Laboratory
Sebastien Christophe Biraud — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Pieter Tans — NOAA - Earth System Research Laboratory
Russell B. Chadwick — U.S. Department of Commerce

Category

Field Campaigns

Description

The vertical distributions of CO2, CH4, and other gases provide important constraints for the determination of terrestrial and ocean sources and sinks of carbon and other biogeochemical processes in the Earth system. Remote sensing from ground-based and satellite-borne platforms requires in situ validation. We report results from a collaborative measurement campaign between the DOE Biological and Environmental Research Program (DOE-BER) and the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA-ESRL) to quantify the vertically resolved distribution of atmospheric carbon cycle gases (CO2, CH4, and CO) throughout 99% of the atmospheric column. To accomplish these measurements, a long coiled tube (or Aircore) is lofted to the stratosphere (~ 30 km) on a weather balloon and then collects a vertically resolved sample of air on descent. In 2012, we conducted eight successful Aircore flights from the DOE ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma. Comparisons with collocated ARM aircraft measurements show good agreement for the lower half of the atmospheric column. In the coming year we plan to compare Aircore measurements with NASA remote sensing measurements and begin a transition from research mode to operational balloon-borne sampling that includes semi-automated recovery and on-site gas analysis at SGP. The expected outcome of this project will be an operational capability providing data that supports key DOE science objectives.