Articles | Volume 14, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6795-2021
Research article
 | 
21 Oct 2021
Research article |  | 21 Oct 2021

UAS Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) – a versatile instrument for trace gas measurements on airborne platforms

Eric J. Hintsa, Fred L. Moore, Dale F. Hurst, Geoff S. Dutton, Bradley D. Hall, J. David Nance, Ben R. Miller, Stephen A. Montzka, Laura P. Wolton, Audra McClure-Begley, James W. Elkins, Emrys G. Hall, Allen F. Jordan, Andrew W. Rollins, Troy D. Thornberry, Laurel A. Watts, Chelsea R. Thompson, Jeff Peischl, Ilann Bourgeois, Thomas B. Ryerson, Bruce C. Daube, Yenny Gonzalez Ramos, Roisin Commane, Gregory W. Santoni, Jasna V. Pittman, Steven C. Wofsy, Eric Kort, Glenn S. Diskin, and T. Paul Bui

Related authors

The interhemispheric gradient of SF6 in the upper troposphere
Tanja J. Schuck, Johannes Degen, Eric Hintsa, Peter Hoor, Markus Jesswein, Timo Keber, Daniel Kunkel, Fred Moore, Florian Obersteiner, Matt Rigby, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Luke M. Western, Andreas Zahn, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 689–705, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-689-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-689-2024, 2024
Short summary
A novel, cost-effective analytical method for measuring high-resolution vertical profiles of stratospheric trace gases using a gas chromatograph coupled with an electron capture detector
Jianghanyang Li, Bianca C. Baier, Fred Moore, Tim Newberger, Sonja Wolter, Jack Higgs, Geoff Dutton, Eric Hintsa, Bradley Hall, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2851–2863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2851-2023, 2023
Short summary
Heterogeneity and chemical reactivity of the remote troposphere defined by aircraft measurements – corrected
Hao Guo, Clare M. Flynn, Michael J. Prather, Sarah A. Strode, Stephen D. Steenrod, Louisa Emmons, Forrest Lacey, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Arlene M. Fiore, Gus Correa, Lee T. Murray, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Michelle Kim, John Crounse, Glenn Diskin, Joshua DiGangi, Bruce C. Daube, Roisin Commane, Kathryn McKain, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Chelsea Thompson, Thomas F. Hanisco, Donald Blake, Nicola J. Blake, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, James W. Elkins, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred L. Moore, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 99–117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-99-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-99-2023, 2023
Short summary
Satellite measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate from the Cross-Track Infrared Sounder: comparison with ATom aircraft measurements
Vivienne H. Payne, Susan S. Kulawik, Emily V. Fischer, Jared F. Brewer, L. Gregory Huey, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, John R. Worden, Kevin W. Bowman, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred Moore, James W. Elkins, and Julieta Juncosa Calahorrano
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3497–3511, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022, 2022
Short summary
Continental-scale contributions to the global CFC-11 emission increase between 2012 and 2017
Lei Hu, Stephen A. Montzka, Fred Moore, Eric Hintsa, Geoff Dutton, M. Carolina Siso, Kirk Thoning, Robert W. Portmann, Kathryn McKain, Colm Sweeney, Isaac Vimont, David Nance, Bradley Hall, and Steven Wofsy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2891–2907, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2891-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2891-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Design and evaluation of a low-cost sensor node for near-background methane measurement
Daniel Furuta, Bruce Wilson, Albert A. Presto, and Jiayu Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2103–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2103-2024, 2024
Short summary
Development of a Multichannel Organics In situ enviRonmental Analyzer (MOIRA) for mobile measurements of volatile organic compounds
Audrey J. Dang, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Tyler L. Cargill, Jhao-Hong Chen, Sydney Hornitschek, Remy Hutheesing, Jay R. Turner, and Brent J. Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2067–2087, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2067-2024, 2024
Short summary
Evaluation of Aeris mid-infrared absorption (MIRA), Picarro CRDS (cavity ring-down spectroscopy) G2307, and dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-based sampling for long-term formaldehyde monitoring efforts
Asher P. Mouat, Zelda A. Siegel, and Jennifer Kaiser
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1979–1994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1979-2024, 2024
Short summary
Performance characterization of a laminar gas inlet
Da Yang, Margarita Reza, Roy Mauldin, Rainer Volkamer, and Suresh Dhaniyala
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1463–1474, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, 2024
Short summary
Validation and field application of a low-cost device to measure CO2 and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes
Reena Macagga, Michael Asante, Geoffroy Sossa, Danica Antonijević, Maren Dubbert, and Mathias Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1317–1332, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Brewer, P. J., Gieseking, B., Ferracci, V. F., Ward, M., Carroll, P., Bell, S., and Hall, B.: International pilot study CCQM-P193: 10µmol/mol water vapour in nitrogen, Metrologia, 57, 08015, https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/57/1A/08015, 2020. 
Bujok, O., Tan, V., Klein, E., Nopper, R., Bauer, R., Engel, A., Gerhards, M., Afchine, A., McKenna, D. S., Schmidt, U., Wienhold, F. G., and Fischer, H.: GHOST – A Novel Airborne Gas Chromatograph for In Situ Measurements of Long-Lived Tracers in the Lower Stratosphere: Method and Applications, J. Atmos. Chem., 39, 37–64, 2001. 
Download
Short summary
We built UCATS to study atmospheric chemistry and transport. It has measured trace gases including CFCs, N2O, SF6, CH4, CO, and H2 with gas chromatography, as well as ozone and water vapor. UCATS has been part of missions to study the tropical tropopause; transport of air into the stratosphere; greenhouse gases, transport, and chemistry in the troposphere; and ozone chemistry, on both piloted and unmanned aircraft. Its design, capabilities, and some results are shown and described here.