Articles | Volume 15, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022
Research article
 | 
12 Oct 2022
Research article |  | 12 Oct 2022

The realization of autonomous, aircraft-based, real-time aerosol mass spectrometry in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Thomas Böttger, Markus Hermann, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann

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Cited articles

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Appel, O., Köllner, F., Dragoneas, A., Hünig, A., Molleker, S., Schlager, H., Mahnke, C., Weigel, R., Port, M., Schulz, C., Drewnick, F., Vogel, B., Stroh, F., and Borrmann, S.: Chemical analysis of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL) with emphasis on secondary aerosol particles using aircraft based in situ aerosol mass spectrometry, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-92, in review, 2022. 
Borrmann, S.: High altitude atmospheric observation, in: McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology 2005, McGraw-Hill, New York, 137–139, ISBN: 0071445048, ISSN: 0076-2016, 2005. 
Borrmann, S., Kunkel, D., Weigel, R., Minikin, A., Deshler, T., Wilson, J. C., Curtius, J., Volk, C. M., Homan, C. D., Ulanovsky, A., Ravegnani, F., Viciani, S., Shur, G. N., Belyaev, G. V., Law, K. S., and Cairo, F.: Aerosols in the tropical and subtropical UT/LS: in-situ measurements of submicron particle abundance and volatility, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 5573–5592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-5573-2010, 2010. 
Short summary
The ERICA is a specially designed aerosol particle mass spectrometer for in situ, real-time chemical composition analysis of aerosols. It can operate completely autonomously, in the absence of an instrument operator. Its design has enabled its operation under harsh conditions, like those experienced in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, aboard unpressurized high-altitude research aircraft. The instrument has successfully participated in several aircraft operations around the world.