Articles | Volume 18, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1441-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1441-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 25 Mar 2025
| 25 Mar 2025
The Flying Laboratory FLab: development and application of a UAS to measure aerosol particles and trace gases in the lower troposphere
Lasse Moormann
Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
now at: Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Thomas Böttger
Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Philipp Schuhmann
Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Luis Valero
Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Institute of Applied Geosciences, Darmstadt University of Technology, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Friederike Fachinger
Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
now at: Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Frank Drewnick
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
now at: Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Related authors
Christine Borchers, Lasse Moormann, Bastien Geil, Niklas Karbach, and Thorsten Hoffmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4015, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4015, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A three-dimensionally printed filter holder is connected to a lightweight, high-performance pump. This sampling system allows for easy and cost-effective measurements of organic aerosols at different heights and locations. By elucidating the chemical composition of organic aerosol, sources and processing of the compounds can be identified. Measurements at different altitudes and times of the day provide insight into the chemical aging and daytime trends of the aerosol particles.
Julia Pikmann, Lasse Moormann, Frank Drewnick, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1323–1341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols measured in complex environments are usually a mixture of emissions from different sources. To characterize sources individually, we developed a sampling system for particles and organic trace gases which is coupled to real-time data of physical and chemical aerosol properties, gas concentrations, and meteorological variables. Using suitable sampling conditions for individual aerosols which are compared with the real-time data the desired aerosols are sampled separately from each other.
Sina Jost, Ralf Weigel, Konrad Kandler, Luis Valero, Jessica Girdwood, Chris Stopford, Warren Stanley, Luca Katharina Eichhorn, Christian von Glahn, and Holger Tost
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-451, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-451, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
For the balloon-borne detection of particles (diameter 0.4 < Dp < 40 µm), a Universal Cloud and Aerosol Sounding System (UCASS) was used, whose sample flow is determined by GPS-measured ascent rates. In flights, actual UCASS sample flows rarely match the ascent rates. Errors are minimized by real-time detection of the UCASS flows, e.g. by implementing a thermal flow sensor (TFS) within the UCASS. The TFSs were tested in flight, and calibrated at up to 10 m s-1 and at variable angles of attack.
Birte Klug, Ralf Weigel, Konrad Kandler, Markus Rapp, Manuel Baumgartner, Thomas Böttger, Klaus Dieter Wilhelm, Harald Rott, Thomas Kenntner, Oliver Drescher, and Anna Hundertmark
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-510, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-510, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
The nuclei onto which noctilucent clouds (NLC) form are largely unknown. We investigated the development of an inertia-based particle collector allowing for sampling NLC particles during a sounding rocket flight for off-line single particle physico-chemical analyzes. Computational fluid dynamics simulations (for Mach numbers 1.31 and 1.75) support the design and development process in reference to a basic mechanical concept of particle sampling and sample storage, which is also presented here.
Christine Borchers, Lasse Moormann, Bastien Geil, Niklas Karbach, and Thorsten Hoffmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4015, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4015, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A three-dimensionally printed filter holder is connected to a lightweight, high-performance pump. This sampling system allows for easy and cost-effective measurements of organic aerosols at different heights and locations. By elucidating the chemical composition of organic aerosol, sources and processing of the compounds can be identified. Measurements at different altitudes and times of the day provide insight into the chemical aging and daytime trends of the aerosol particles.
Julia Pikmann, Frank Drewnick, Friederike Fachinger, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12295–12321, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12295-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12295-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cooking activities can contribute substantially to indoor and ambient aerosol. We performed a comprehensive study with laboratory measurements cooking 19 different dishes and ambient measurements at two Christmas markets measuring various particle properties and trace gases of emissions in real time. Similar emission characteristics were observed for dishes with the same preparation method, mainly due to similar cooking temperature and use of oil, with barbecuing as an especially strong source.
Julia Pikmann, Lasse Moormann, Frank Drewnick, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1323–1341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1323-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols measured in complex environments are usually a mixture of emissions from different sources. To characterize sources individually, we developed a sampling system for particles and organic trace gases which is coupled to real-time data of physical and chemical aerosol properties, gas concentrations, and meteorological variables. Using suitable sampling conditions for individual aerosols which are compared with the real-time data the desired aerosols are sampled separately from each other.
Oliver Appel, Franziska Köllner, Antonis Dragoneas, Andreas Hünig, Sergej Molleker, Hans Schlager, Christoph Mahnke, Ralf Weigel, Max Port, Christiane Schulz, Frank Drewnick, Bärbel Vogel, Fred Stroh, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13607–13630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13607-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper clarifies the chemical composition of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL) by means of airborne in situ aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS). Ammonium nitrate and organics are found to significantly contribute to the particle layer, while sulfate does not show a layered structure. An analysis of the single-particle mass spectra suggests that secondary particle formation and subsequent growth dominate the particle composition, rather than condensation on pre-existing primary particles.
Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Thomas Böttger, Markus Hermann, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5719–5742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, 2022
Short summary
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.
Charlotte M. Beall, Thomas C. J. Hill, Paul J. DeMott, Tobias Köneman, Michael Pikridas, Frank Drewnick, Hartwig Harder, Christopher Pöhlker, Jos Lelieveld, Bettina Weber, Minas Iakovides, Roman Prokeš, Jean Sciare, Meinrat O. Andreae, M. Dale Stokes, and Kimberly A. Prather
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12607–12627, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12607-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are rare aerosols that can trigger ice formation in clouds and affect climate-relevant cloud properties such as phase, reflectivity and lifetime. Dust is the dominant INP source, yet few measurements have been reported near major dust sources. We report INP observations within hundreds of kilometers of the biggest dust source regions globally: the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula. Results show that at temperatures > −15 °C, INPs are dominated by organics.
Marco Wietzoreck, Marios Kyprianou, Benjamin A. Musa Bandowe, Siddika Celik, John N. Crowley, Frank Drewnick, Philipp Eger, Nils Friedrich, Minas Iakovides, Petr Kukučka, Jan Kuta, Barbora Nežiková, Petra Pokorná, Petra Přibylová, Roman Prokeš, Roland Rohloff, Ivan Tadic, Sebastian Tauer, Jake Wilson, Hartwig Harder, Jos Lelieveld, Ulrich Pöschl, Euripides G. Stephanou, and Gerhard Lammel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8739–8766, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8739-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8739-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A unique dataset of concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their alkylated, oxygenated and nitrated derivatives, in total 74 individual species, in the marine atmosphere is presented. Exposure to these substances poses a major health risk. We found very low concentrations over the Arabian Sea, while both local and long-range-transported pollution caused elevated levels over the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
Andreas Hünig, Oliver Appel, Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Hans-Christian Clemen, Frank Helleis, Thomas Klimach, Franziska Köllner, Thomas Böttger, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2889–2921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We have serially combined the two well-established methods for in situ real-time measurement of fine particle chemical composition, the single-particle laser ablation method and the flash evaporation with electron impact ionization method, into a novel instrument. Here we present the design; instrument characteristics, as derived from laboratory and field measurements; and results from the first field deployment during the 2017 StratoClim aircraft campaign.
Nils Friedrich, Philipp Eger, Justin Shenolikar, Nicolas Sobanski, Jan Schuladen, Dirk Dienhart, Bettina Hottmann, Ivan Tadic, Horst Fischer, Monica Martinez, Roland Rohloff, Sebastian Tauer, Hartwig Harder, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Nijing Wang, Jonathan Williams, James Brooks, Frank Drewnick, Hang Su, Guo Li, Yafang Cheng, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7473–7498, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7473-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7473-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper uses NOx and NOz measurements from the 2017 AQABA ship campaign in the Mediterranean Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula to examine the influence e.g. of emissions from shipping and oil and gas production. Night-time losses of NOx dominated in the Arabian Gulf and in the Red Sea, whereas daytime losses were more important in the Mediterranean Sea. Nitric acid and organic nitrates were the most prevalent components of NOz.
Nils Friedrich, Ivan Tadic, Jan Schuladen, James Brooks, Eoghan Darbyshire, Frank Drewnick, Horst Fischer, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5739–5761, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5739-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5739-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new instrument for the measurement of NOx and NOy based on a combination of the thermal dissociation of NOy to NOx and cavity ring-down spectroscopic detection of NO2. It features a denuder to separate the contributions of gas-phase and particulate nitrates to NOy. We provide a detailed characterization of the instrument and briefly outline results from first deployments.
Siddika Celik, Frank Drewnick, Friederike Fachinger, James Brooks, Eoghan Darbyshire, Hugh Coe, Jean-Daniel Paris, Philipp G. Eger, Jan Schuladen, Ivan Tadic, Nils Friedrich, Dirk Dienhart, Bettina Hottmann, Horst Fischer, John N. Crowley, Hartwig Harder, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4713–4734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4713-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4713-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Analysis of 252 ship emission plumes in the Mediterranean Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula examined particulate- and gas-phase characteristics. By identifying the corresponding ships, source features and plume age were determined. Emission factors (amount of pollutant per kilogram of fuel burned) were calculated and investigated for dependencies on source characteristics, atmospheric conditions, and transport time, providing insight into the most relevant influences on ship emissions.
Philipp G. Eger, Nils Friedrich, Jan Schuladen, Justin Shenolikar, Horst Fischer, Ivan Tadic, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Roland Rohloff, Sebastian Tauer, Frank Drewnick, Friederike Fachinger, James Brooks, Eoghan Darbyshire, Jean Sciare, Michael Pikridas, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12121–12140, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12121-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12121-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Shipborne measurements of nitryl chloride (ClNO2) were made during the AQABA (Air Quality and climate change in the Arabian BAsin) ship campaign in summer 2017. The dataset includes measurements over the Mediterranean Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula with observed mixing ratios ranging from the limit of detection to 600 pptv. We examined the regional variability in the generation of ClNO2 and its importance for Cl atom generation in a marine boundary layer influenced by ships and industry.
Johannes R. W. Fachinger, Stéphane J. Gallavardin, Frank Helleis, Friederike Fachinger, Frank Drewnick, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1623–1637, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1623-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1623-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The design of an ion trap aerosol mass spectrometer was improved, allowing for the instrument's first field deployment. Detection limits were found to be sufficiently low for ambient measurements. Via MS-MS measurements the instrument is capable of differentiating ion fragments of different elemental compositions, but also fragments which only differ in their molecular structures. This could allow for e.g. the differentiation between sugars and carboxylic acids by MS–MS studies on m/z 60 and 73.
Caroline Struckmeier, Frank Drewnick, Friederike Fachinger, Gian Paolo Gobbi, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15277–15299, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15277-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15277-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The characteristics of ambient aerosol during two seasons (spring/autumn) and at two locations (suburban/urban) in Rome were investigated. We distinguished regionally advected and locally produced organic aerosols, including from cooking, traffic and biomass burning, but also from locally emitted cigarette smoke, for which we propose a new marker peak for identification in aerosol mass spectra. The impact of Saharan dust advection events on local aerosol concentration was studied.
Gavin J. Phillips, Jim Thieser, Mingjin Tang, Nicolas Sobanski, Gerhard Schuster, Johannes Fachinger, Frank Drewnick, Stephan Borrmann, Heinz Bingemer, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13231–13249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13231-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13231-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We use trace gas measurements (N2O5, ClNO2, NO3) and particle properties (surface area, nitrate content etc.) to derive uptake coefficients (the probability of removal from the gas-phase on a per-collision basis) for the interaction of N2O5 with ambient aerosol and also the efficiency of formation of ClNO2. The uptake coefficients show high variability but are reasonably well captured by parameterisations based on laboratory measurements.
Christos Fountoukis, Athanasios G. Megaritis, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Panagiotis E. Charalampidis, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, Monica Crippa, André S. H. Prévôt, Friederike Fachinger, Alfred Wiedensohler, Christodoulos Pilinis, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3727–3741, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3727-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3727-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We use PMCAMx with high grid resolution over Paris to simulate carbonaceous aerosol during the summer and winter MEGAPOLI campaigns. PMCAMx reproduces BC observations well. Addition of cooking organic aerosol emissions of 80 mg per day per capita is needed to reproduce the corresponding observations. While the oxygenated organic aerosol predictions during the summer are encouraging a major wintertime source appears to be missing.
F. Drewnick, J.-M. Diesch, P. Faber, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3811–3830, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3811-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3811-2015, 2015
M. Pikridas, J. Sciare, F. Freutel, S. Crumeyrolle, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, A. Borbon, A. Schwarzenboeck, M. Merkel, M. Crippa, E. Kostenidou, M. Psichoudaki, L. Hildebrandt, G. J. Engelhart, T. Petäjä, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, U. Baltensperger, A. Wiedensohler, M. Kulmala, M. Beekmann, and S. N. Pandis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10219–10237, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10219-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10219-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol size distribution measurements from three ground sites, two mobile laboratories, and one airplane are combined to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of ultrafine particles in and around Paris during the summer and winter MEGAPOLI campaigns. The role of nucleation as a particle source and the influence of Paris emissions on their surroundings are examined.
M. Beekmann, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Drewnick, J. Sciare, S. N. Pandis, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Crippa, F. Freutel, L. Poulain, V. Ghersi, E. Rodriguez, S. Beirle, P. Zotter, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, M. Bressi, C. Fountoukis, H. Petetin, S. Szidat, J. Schneider, A. Rosso, I. El Haddad, A. Megaritis, Q. J. Zhang, V. Michoud, J. G. Slowik, S. Moukhtar, P. Kolmonen, A. Stohl, S. Eckhardt, A. Borbon, V. Gros, N. Marchand, J. L. Jaffrezo, A. Schwarzenboeck, A. Colomb, A. Wiedensohler, S. Borrmann, M. Lawrence, A. Baklanov, and U. Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9577–9591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9577-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A detailed characterization of air quality in the Paris (France) agglomeration, a megacity, during two summer and winter intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations, revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported into the megacity from upwind regions. Unexpectedly, a major part of organic PM is of modern origin (woodburning and cooking activities, secondary formation from biogenic VOC).
S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, F. Drewnick, Q. J. Zhang, F. Freutel, M. Beekmann, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12931–12950, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12931-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12931-2014, 2014
W. Ait-Helal, A. Borbon, S. Sauvage, J. A. de Gouw, A. Colomb, V. Gros, F. Freutel, M. Crippa, C. Afif, U. Baltensperger, M. Beekmann, J.-F. Doussin, R. Durand-Jolibois, I. Fronval, N. Grand, T. Leonardis, M. Lopez, V. Michoud, K. Miet, S. Perrier, A. S. H. Prévôt, J. Schneider, G. Siour, P. Zapf, and N. Locoge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10439–10464, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10439-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10439-2014, 2014
J. A. Adame, M. Martínez, M. Sorribas, P. J. Hidalgo, H. Harder, J.-M. Diesch, F. Drewnick, W. Song, J. Williams, V. Sinha, M. A. Hernández-Ceballos, J. Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, R. Sander, Z. Hosaynali-Beygi, H. Fischer, J. Lelieveld, and B. De la Morena
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2325–2342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2325-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2325-2014, 2014
S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, F. Drewnick, M. Crippa, A. S. H. Prévôt, F. Meleux, U. Baltensperger, M. Beekmann, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 279–299, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-279-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-279-2014, 2014
F. Freutel, F. Drewnick, J. Schneider, T. Klimach, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 3131–3145, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3131-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3131-2013, 2013
Q. J. Zhang, M. Beekmann, F. Drewnick, F. Freutel, J. Schneider, M. Crippa, A. S. H. Prevot, U. Baltensperger, L. Poulain, A. Wiedensohler, J. Sciare, V. Gros, A. Borbon, A. Colomb, V. Michoud, J.-F. Doussin, H. A. C. Denier van der Gon, M. Haeffelin, J.-C. Dupont, G. Siour, H. Petetin, B. Bessagnet, S. N. Pandis, A. Hodzic, O. Sanchez, C. Honoré, and O. Perrussel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5767–5790, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5767-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5767-2013, 2013
J.-M. Diesch, F. Drewnick, T. Klimach, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3603–3618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3603-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3603-2013, 2013
M. Crippa, P. F. DeCarlo, J. G. Slowik, C. Mohr, M. F. Heringa, R. Chirico, L. Poulain, F. Freutel, J. Sciare, J. Cozic, C. F. Di Marco, M. Elsasser, J. B. Nicolas, N. Marchand, E. Abidi, A. Wiedensohler, F. Drewnick, J. Schneider, S. Borrmann, E. Nemitz, R. Zimmermann, J.-L. Jaffrezo, A. S. H. Prévôt, and U. Baltensperger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 961–981, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-961-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-961-2013, 2013
F. Freutel, J. Schneider, F. Drewnick, S.-L. von der Weiden-Reinmüller, M. Crippa, A. S. H. Prévôt, U. Baltensperger, L. Poulain, A. Wiedensohler, J. Sciare, R. Sarda-Estève, J. F. Burkhart, S. Eckhardt, A. Stohl, V. Gros, A. Colomb, V. Michoud, J. F. Doussin, A. Borbon, M. Haeffelin, Y. Morille, M. Beekmann, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 933–959, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-933-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-933-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Fast and sensitive measurements of sub-3 nm particles using Condensation Particle Counters For Atmospheric Rapid Measurements (CPC FARM)
Performance evaluation of an online monitor based on X-ray fluorescence for detecting elemental concentrations in ambient particulate matter
Deriving the hygroscopicity of ambient particles using low-cost optical particle counters
STRAS: a new high time resolution aerosol sampler for PIXE analysis
In-situ volcanic ash sampling and aerosol-gas analysis based on UAS technologies (AeroVolc)
A solid-state IR laser for two-step desorption/ionization processes in single-particle mass spectrometry
Simulations of the collection of mesospheric dust particles with a rocket instrument
Characterisation of particle single-scattering albedo with a modified airborne dual-wavelength CAPS monitor
Use of an uncrewed aerial system to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing effects in the marine atmosphere
CIAO observatory main upgrade: building up an ACTRIS compliant aerosol in-situ laboratory
Characterization of the airborne aerosol inlet and transport system used during the A-LIFE aircraft field experiment
Large-scale automated emission measurement of individual vehicles with point sampling
Development of a cascade impactor optimized for size-fractionated analysis of aerosol metal content by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF)
Modular Multiplatform Compatible Air Measurement System (MoMuCAMS): a new modular platform for boundary layer aerosol and trace gas vertical measurements in extreme environments
Two new multirotor uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for glaciogenic cloud seeding and aerosol measurements within the CLOUDLAB project
Real-time pollen identification using holographic imaging and fluorescence measurements
Assessing potential indicators of aerosol wet scavenging during long-range transport
Next-generation ice-nucleating particle sampling on board aircraft: characterization of the High-volume flow aERosol particle filter sAmpler (HERA)
Development and characterization of the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber 2 (PINCii)
The four-wavelength Photoacoustic Aerosol Absorption Spectrometer (PAAS-4λ)
Improved counting statistics of an ultrafine differential mobility particle size spectrometer system
Performance evaluation of the Alphasense OPC-N3 and Plantower PMS5003 sensor in measuring dust events in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah
Source apportionment of black carbon and combustion-related CO2 for the determination of source-specific emission factors
CAMP: an instrumented platform for balloon-borne aerosol particle studies in the lower atmosphere
New method to determine black carbon mass size distribution
The realization of autonomous, aircraft-based, real-time aerosol mass spectrometry in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
A study on the performance of low-cost sensors for source apportionment at an urban background site
A dual-wavelength photothermal aerosol absorption monitor: design, calibration and performance
A high-transmission axial ion mobility classifier for mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions
Design, characterization, and first field deployment of a novel aircraft-based aerosol mass spectrometer combining the laser ablation and flash vaporization techniques
An instrument for direct measurement of emissions: cooling tower example
The Aerosol Research Observation Station (AEROS)
Laser imaging nephelometer for aircraft deployment
A new method to quantify particulate sodium and potassium salts (nitrate, chloride, and sulfate) by thermal desorption aerosol mass spectrometry
Evaluating the PurpleAir monitor as an aerosol light scattering instrument
Undersizing of aged African biomass burning aerosol by an ultra-high-sensitivity aerosol spectrometer
Evaluation methods for low-cost particulate matter sensors
Simulation-aided characterization of a versatile water-based condensation particle counter for atmospheric airborne research
Development of an in situ dual-channel thermal desorption gas chromatography instrument for consistent quantification of volatile, intermediate-volatility and semivolatile organic compounds
Assessment of online water-soluble brown carbon measuring systems for aircraft sampling
Characterizing the performance of a POPS miniaturized optical particle counter when operated on a quadcopter drone
A low-cost monitor for simultaneous measurement of fine particulate matter and aerosol optical depth – Part 3: Automation and design improvements
Rapid measurement of RH-dependent aerosol hygroscopic growth using a humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS)
Detection of ship plumes from residual fuel operation in emission control areas using single-particle mass spectrometry
Highly time-resolved characterization of carbonaceous aerosols using a two-wavelength Sunset thermal–optical carbon analyzer
Captive Aerosol Growth and Evolution (CAGE) chamber system to investigate particle growth due to secondary aerosol formation
Design and characterization of a new oxidation flow reactor for laboratory and long-term ambient studies
A reel-down instrument system for profile measurements of water vapor, temperature, clouds, and aerosol beneath constant-altitude scientific balloons
Airborne extractive electrospray mass spectrometry measurements of the chemical composition of organic aerosol
A semicontinuous study on the ecotoxicity of atmospheric particles using a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES): development and field characterization
Darren Cheng, Stavros Amanatidis, Gregory S. Lewis, and Coty N. Jen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 197–210, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-197-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-197-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study describes a new method, the Condensation Particle Counters For Atmospheric Rapid Measurements (CPC FARM), to measure sub-3 nm size distribution at high time resolution and sensitivity. The CPC FARM is compared to traditionally used particle mobility sizers during a new particle formation campaign to study rapidly changing sub-3 nm particles in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ivonne Trebs, Céline Lett, Andreas Krein, Erika Matsumoto Kawaguchi, and Jürgen Junk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6791–6805, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6791-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6791-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the effectiveness of the Horiba PX-375 monitor for analysing the elemental composition of airborne particulate matter (PM). Understanding this composition of PM is important for identifying its sources, assessing potential health risks, and developing strategies to reduce air pollution. The PX-375 monitor proved to be a valuable tool for ongoing air quality monitoring studies and could be particularly useful as pollution levels and sources change in the future.
Wei-Chieh Huang, Hui-Ming Hung, Ching-Wei Chu, Wei-Chun Hwang, and Shih-Chun Candice Lung
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6073–6084, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6073-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6073-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates aerosol properties crucial for health, cloud formation, and climate impact. Employing a low-cost sensor system, we assess hygroscopicity of particulate matter (PM) and the ability to influence cloud formation to improve the reported PM concentrations from low-cost sensors. The study introduces an alternate methodology for assessing aerosol hygroscopicity, offering insights into atmospheric science, air quality, and cloud dynamics.
Silvia Nava, Roberta Vecchi, Paolo Prati, Vera Bernardoni, Laura Cadeo, Giulia Calzolai, Luca Carraresi, Carlo Cialdai, Massimo Chiari, Federica Crova, Alice Forello, Cosimo Fratticioli, Fabio Giardi, Marco Manetti, Dario Massabò, Federico Mazzei, Luca Repetto, Gianluigi Valli, Virginia Vernocchi, and Franco Lucarelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-137, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-137, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
The new high time resolution sampler STRAS has been designed, developed and tested. It allows automatic sequential sampling of up to 168 hourly samples of PM10, PM2.5 or PM1. It has been conceived for subsequent elemental composition analysis (from Na to Pb) by PIXE, but optical techniques may also be applied to measure the Black and Brown Carbon. The combined use with other high temporal resolution instrumentation can provide complete chemical speciation of the aerosol on an hourly basis.
Simon Thivet, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Przemyslaw M. Kornatowski, Allan Fries, Jonathan Lemus, Riccardo Simionato, Carolina Díaz-Vecino, Eduardo Rossi, Taishi Yamada, Simona Scollo, and Costanza Bonadonna
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-162, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-162, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
This work presents an innovative way of sampling and analyzing volcanic clouds using an Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS). The UAS can reach hazardous environments to sample volcanic particles, and measure in-situ key parameters such as the atmospheric concentration of volcanic aerosols and gases. Acquired data bridge the gap between the existing approaches of ground sampling and remote sensing, hence contributing to the understanding of volcanic cloud dispersion and impact.
Marco Schmidt, Haseeb Hakkim, Lukas Anders, Aleksandrs Kalamašņikovs, Thomas Kröger-Badge, Robert Irsig, Norbert Graf, Reinhard Kelnberger, Johannes Passig, and Ralf Zimmermann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2587, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2587, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Laser desorption of individual particles prior to ionization is the key to reveal their organic composition. The CO2 lasers required are bulky and maintenance-intensive, limiting their use in the field. We have developed a compact solid-state IR laser that is easily aligned with the particle beam. Mass spectra and hit rates are similar to those of the CO2 laser. For combined characterization of organic and inorganic particle compositions both lasers are superior to conventional single UV pulses.
Adrien Pineau, Henriette Trollvik, Herman Greaker, Sveinung Olsen, Yngve Eilertsen, and Ingrid Mann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3843–3861, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3843-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3843-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The mesosphere, part of the upper atmosphere, contains small solid dust particles, mostly made up of material from interplanetary space. We are preparing an experiment to collect such particles during a rocket flight. A new instrument has been designed and numerical simulations have been performed to investigate the airflow nearby as well as its dust collection efficiency. The collected dust particles will be further analyzed in the laboratory in order to study their chemical composition.
Chenjie Yu, Edouard Pangui, Kevin Tu, Mathieu Cazaunau, Maxime Feingesicht, Landsheere Xavier, Thierry Bourrianne, Vincent Michoud, Christopher Cantrell, Timothy B. Onasch, Andrew Freedman, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3419–3437, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3419-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3419-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To meet the requirements for measuring aerosol optical properties on airborne platforms and conducting dual-wavelength measurements, we introduced A2S2, an airborne dual-wavelength cavity-attenuated phase-shift single monitor. This study reports the results in the laboratory and an aircraft campaign over Paris and its surrounding regions. The results demonstrate A2S2's reliability in measuring aerosol optical properties at both wavelengths and its suitability for future aircraft campaigns.
Patricia K. Quinn, Timothy S. Bates, Derek J. Coffman, James E. Johnson, and Lucia M. Upchurch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3157–3170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3157-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3157-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
An uncrewed aerial observing system has been developed for the measurement of vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud properties that affect Earth's radiation balance. The system was successfully deployed from a ship and from a coastal site and flown autonomously up to 3050 m and for 4.5 h. These results indicate the potential of the observing system to make routine, operational flights from ships and land to characterize aerosol interactions with radiation and clouds.
Teresa Laurita, Alessandro Mauceri, Francesco Cardellicchio, Emilio Lapenna, Benedetto De Rosa, Serena Trippetta, Michail Mytilinaios, Davide Amodio, Aldo Giunta, Ermann Ripepi, Canio Colangelo, Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos, Francesca Morrongiello, Claudio Dema, Simone Gagliardi, Carmela Cornacchia, Rosa Maria Petracca Altieri, Aldo Amodeo, Marco Rosoldi, Donato Summa, Gelsomina Pappalardo, and Lucia Mona
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-57, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-57, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides an overview of the CIAO Observatory in South Italy, focusing on the upgrade of its aerosol in-situ laboratory compliant with ACTRIS standard operating procedures. The aim is to provide the aerosol research community with technical details and practical guidance for establishing an in-situ aerosol observational site. The paper also discusses the importance of combinig in-situ and remote sensing measurements for a comprehensive understanding of atmosphetic processes.
Manuel Schöberl, Maximilian Dollner, Josef Gasteiger, Petra Seibert, Anne Tipka, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2761–2776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2761-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2761-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Transporting a representative aerosol sample to instrumentation inside a research aircraft remains a challenge due to losses or enhancements of particles in the aerosol sampling system. Here, we present sampling efficiencies and the cutoff diameter for the DLR Falcon aerosol sampling system as a function of true airspeed by comparing the in-cabin and the out-cabin particle number size distributions observed during the A-LIFE aircraft mission.
Markus Knoll, Martin Penz, Hannes Juchem, Christina Schmidt, Denis Pöhler, and Alexander Bergmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2481–2505, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2481-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2481-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Exhaust emissions from combustion-based vehicles are negatively affecting human health and our environment. In particular, a small share (< 20 %) of poorly maintained or tampered vehicles are responsible for the majority (60 %–90 %) of traffic-related emissions. The emissions from vehicles are currently not properly monitored during their lifetime. We present a roadside measurement technique, called
point sampling, which can be used to monitor vehicle emissions throughout their life cycle.
Claudio Crazzolara and Andreas Held
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2183–2194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2183-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper describes the development of a collection device that can be used to collect airborne dust particles classified according to their size. This collection device is optimized for a special analysis method based on X-ray fluorescence so that particles can be collected from the air and analyzed with high sensitivity. This enables the determination of the content of heavy metals in the airborne particle fraction, which are of health-relevant significance.
Roman Pohorsky, Andrea Baccarini, Julie Tolu, Lenny H. E. Winkel, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 731–754, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-731-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-731-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This manuscript presents a new tethered-balloon-based platform for in situ vertical measurements of aerosols and trace gases in the lower atmosphere of polar and alpine regions. The system can host various instrumental setups to target different research questions and features new instruments, in particular a miniaturized scanning electrical mobility spectrometer, deployed for the first time in a tethered balloon.
Anna J. Miller, Fabiola Ramelli, Christopher Fuchs, Nadja Omanovic, Robert Spirig, Huiying Zhang, Ulrike Lohmann, Zamin A. Kanji, and Jan Henneberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 601–625, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-601-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-601-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a method for aerosol and cloud research using two uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs have a propeller heating mechanism that allows flights in icing conditions, which has so far been a limitation for cloud research with UAVs. One UAV burns seeding flares, producing a plume of particles that causes ice formation in supercooled clouds. The second UAV measures aerosol size distributions and is used for measuring the seeding plume or for characterizing the boundary layer.
Sophie Erb, Elias Graf, Yanick Zeder, Simone Lionetti, Alexis Berne, Bernard Clot, Gian Lieberherr, Fiona Tummon, Pascal Wullschleger, and Benoît Crouzy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 441–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-441-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-441-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we focus on an automatic bioaerosol measurement instrument and investigate the impact of using its fluorescence measurement for pollen identification. The fluorescence signal is used together with a pair of images from the same instrument to identify single pollen grains via neural networks. We test whether considering fluorescence as a supplementary input improves the pollen identification performance by comparing three different neural networks.
Miguel Ricardo A. Hilario, Avelino F. Arellano, Ali Behrangi, Ewan C. Crosbie, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Michael A. Shook, Luke D. Ziemba, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 37–55, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-37-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-37-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wet scavenging strongly influences aerosol lifetime and interactions but is a large uncertainty in global models. We present a method to identify meteorological variables relevant for estimating wet scavenging. During long-range transport over the tropical western Pacific, relative humidity and the frequency of humid conditions are better predictors of scavenging than precipitation. This method can be applied to other regions, and our findings can inform scavenging parameterizations in models.
Sarah Grawe, Conrad Jentzsch, Jonas Schaefer, Heike Wex, Stephan Mertes, and Frank Stratmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4551–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4551-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations are valuable for the simulation of cloud properties. In recent years, filter sampling in combination with offline INP measurements has become increasingly popular. However, most sampling is ground-based, and the vertical transport of INPs is not well quantified. The High-volume flow aERosol particle filter sAmpler (HERA) for applications on board aircraft was developed to expand the sparse dataset of INP concentrations at cloud level.
Dimitri Castarède, Zoé Brasseur, Yusheng Wu, Zamin A. Kanji, Markus Hartmann, Lauri Ahonen, Merete Bilde, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, Jan B. C. Pettersson, Berko Sierau, Olaf Stetzer, Frank Stratmann, Birgitta Svenningsson, Erik Swietlicki, Quynh Thu Nguyen, Jonathan Duplissy, and Erik S. Thomson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3881-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3881-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds play a key role in Earth’s climate by influencing the surface energy budget. Certain types of atmospheric aerosols, called ice-nucleating particles (INPs), induce the formation of ice in clouds and, thus, often initiate precipitation formation. The Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber 2 (PINCii) is a new instrument developed to study ice formation and to conduct ambient measurements of INPs, allowing us to investigate the sources and properties of the atmospheric aerosols that can act as INPs.
Franz Martin Schnaiter, Claudia Linke, Eija Asmi, Henri Servomaa, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, Sho Ohata, Yutaka Kondo, and Emma Järvinen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2753–2769, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2753-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2753-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Light-absorbing particles from combustion processes are important contributors to climate warming. Their highly variable spectral light absorption properties need to be monitored in the field. Commonly used methods show measurement artefacts that are difficult to correct. We introduce a new instrument that is based on the photoacoustic effect. Long-term operation in the Finnish Arctic demonstrates the applicability of the new instrument for unattended light absorption monitoring.
Dominik Stolzenburg, Tiia Laurila, Pasi Aalto, Joonas Vanhanen, Tuukka Petäjä, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2471–2483, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2471-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2471-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Size-distribution measurements of ultrafine particles are of special interest as they can be used to estimate the atmospheric significance of new particle formation, a process which is thought to influence the global climate. Here we show that improved counting statistics in size-distribution measurements through the usage of higher sampling flows can significantly reduce the uncertainties in such calculations.
Kamaljeet Kaur and Kerry E. Kelly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2455–2470, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2455-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2455-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated the AlphaSense OPC-N3 and PMS5003 compared to federal equivalent method (FEM) PM10 measurements in the Salt Lake Valley during five dust events. Before correction, the OPC-N3 agreed well, but the PMS PM10 measurements correlated poorly with the FEM. After correcting the PMS with a PM2.5 / PM10 ratio-based factor, the PMS PM10 correlations improved significantly. This suggests the possibility of better resolved spatial estimates of PM10 using PMS measurements and PM2.5 / PM10 ratios.
Balint Alfoldy, Asta Gregorič, Matic Ivančič, Irena Ježek, and Martin Rigler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 135–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-135-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-135-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric concentrations and source apportionment (SA) of black carbon (BC) and CO2 were determined in an urban environment during a heating season. BC particles were attributed to two major sources: traffic and heating. The BC SA was implemented by an Aethalometer model used for the SA of CO2 supposing that the source-specific CO2 components are correlated with the corresponding BC. Source-specific emission factors were determined as a ratio of corresponding BC and CO2 components.
Christian Pilz, Sebastian Düsing, Birgit Wehner, Thomas Müller, Holger Siebert, Jens Voigtländer, and Michael Lonardi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6889–6905, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6889-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Tethered balloon observations are highly valuable for aerosol studies in the lowest part of the atmosphere. This study presents a newly developed platform called CAMP with four aerosol instruments for balloon-borne measurements in the Arctic. Laboratory characterizations and evaluations of the instruments and results of a first field deployment are shown. A case study highlights CAMP's capabilities and the importance of airborne aerosol studies for interpretation of ground-based observations.
Weilun Zhao, Gang Zhao, Ying Li, Song Guo, Nan Ma, Lizi Tang, Zirui Zhang, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6807–6817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6807-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6807-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A new method to determine black carbon mass size distribution (BCMSD) was proposed using the size-resolved absorption coefficient measured by an aerodynamic aerosol classifier in tandem with an aethalometer. This new method fills the gap in the high-time-resolution measurement of BCMSD ranging from upper submicron particle sizes to larger than 1 µm. This method can be applied to field measurement of BCMSD extensively for better understanding BC aging and better estimating the BC climate effect.
Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Thomas Böttger, Markus Hermann, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5719–5742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, 2022
Short summary
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.
Dimitrios Bousiotis, David C. S. Beddows, Ajit Singh, Molly Haugen, Sebastián Diez, Pete M. Edwards, Adam Boies, Roy M. Harrison, and Francis D. Pope
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4047–4061, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4047-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4047-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In the last decade, low-cost sensors have revolutionised the field of air quality monitoring. This paper extends the ability of low-cost sensors to not only measure air pollution, but also to understand where the pollution comes from. This "source apportionment" is a critical step in air quality management to allow for the mitigation of air pollution. The techniques developed in this paper have the potential for great impact in both research and industrial applications.
Luka Drinovec, Uroš Jagodič, Luka Pirker, Miha Škarabot, Mario Kurtjak, Kristijan Vidović, Luca Ferrero, Bradley Visser, Jannis Röhrbein, Ernest Weingartner, Daniel M. Kalbermatter, Konstantina Vasilatou, Tobias Bühlmann, Celine Pascale, Thomas Müller, Alfred Wiedensohler, and Griša Močnik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3805–3825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3805-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3805-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A new photothermal interferometer (PTAAM-2λ) for artefact-free determination of the aerosol absorption coefficient at two wavelengths is presented. The instrument is calibrated with NO2 and polydisperse nigrosin, resulting in very low uncertainties of the absorption coefficients: 4 % at 532 nm and 6 % at 1064 nm. The instrument’s performance makes the PTAAM-2λ a strong candidate for reference measurements of the aerosol absorption coefficient.
Markus Leiminger, Lukas Fischer, Sophia Brilke, Julian Resch, Paul Martin Winkler, Armin Hansel, and Gerhard Steiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3705–3720, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We developed an axial ion mobility classifier coupled to an atmospheric-pressure interface time-of-flight (APi-TOF) mass spectrometer to measure size-segregated atmospheric ions. We characterize the performance of the novel instrument with bipolar-electrospray-generated ion mobility standards and compare the results with CFD simulations and a simplified numerical particle-tracking model. Ultimately, we report first mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions in Innsbruck, Austria.
Andreas Hünig, Oliver Appel, Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Hans-Christian Clemen, Frank Helleis, Thomas Klimach, Franziska Köllner, Thomas Böttger, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2889–2921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We have serially combined the two well-established methods for in situ real-time measurement of fine particle chemical composition, the single-particle laser ablation method and the flash evaporation with electron impact ionization method, into a novel instrument. Here we present the design; instrument characteristics, as derived from laboratory and field measurements; and results from the first field deployment during the 2017 StratoClim aircraft campaign.
Christopher D. Wallis, Mason D. Leandro, Patrick Y. Chuang, and Anthony S. Wexler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2547–2556, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2547-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2547-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Measuring emissions from stacks requires techniques to address a broad range of conditions and measurement challenges. Here we describe an instrument package held by a crane above a stack to characterize both wet droplet and dried aerosol emissions from cooling tower spray drift in situ. The instrument package characterizes the velocity, size distribution, and concentration of the wet droplet emissions and the mass concentration and elemental composition of the dried PM2.5 and PM10 emissions.
Karin Ardon-Dryer, Mary C. Kelley, Xia Xueting, and Yuval Dryer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2345–2360, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2345-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2345-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Aerosol Research Observation Station (AEROS) located in West Texas was designed to continuously measure atmospheric particles, including different particulate matter sizes, total particle number concentration, and size distribution. This article provides a description of AEROS as well as an intercomparison of the different instruments using laboratory and atmospheric particles, showing similar concentration as well to distinguish between various pollution events (natural vs. anthropogenic).
Adam T. Ahern, Frank Erdesz, Nicholas L. Wagner, Charles A. Brock, Ming Lyu, Kyra Slovacek, Richard H. Moore, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, and Daniel M. Murphy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1093–1105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1093-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Particles in the atmosphere play a significant role in climate change by scattering light back into space, reducing the amount of energy available to be absorbed by greenhouse gases. We built a new instrument to measure what direction light is scattered by particles, e.g., wildfire smoke. This is important because, depending on the angle of the sun, some particles scatter light into space (cooling the planet), but some light is also scattered towards the Earth (not cooling the planet).
Yuya Kobayashi and Nobuyuki Takegawa
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 833–844, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-833-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-833-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a new method to quantify particulate sodium and potassium salts (nitrate, chloride, and sulfate) by using a refractory aerosol thermal desorption mass spectrometer (rTDMS). The combination of a graphite particle collector and a carbon dioxide laser enables high desorption temperature. Laboratory experiments showed that major ion signals originating from sodium or potassium salts were clearly detected, associated with the increase in the desorption temperature by laser heating.
James R. Ouimette, William C. Malm, Bret A. Schichtel, Patrick J. Sheridan, Elisabeth Andrews, John A. Ogren, and W. Patrick Arnott
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 655–676, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-655-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-655-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We show that the low-cost PurpleAir sensor can be characterized as a cell-reciprocal nephelometer. At two very different locations (Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii and the Table Mountain rural site in Colorado), the PurpleAir measurements are highly correlated with the submicrometer aerosol scattering coefficient measured by a research-grade integrating nephelometer. These results imply that, with care, PurpleAir data may be used to evaluate climate and air quality models.
Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Amie Dobracki, Nikolai Smirnow, and Arthur J. Sedlacek III
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7381–7404, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7381-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7381-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Small particles in the air have important effects on visibility, clouds, and human health. For the ORACLES project we got a new particle sizing instrument that is fast, works over the most important particle sizes, and avoids some of the issues that plague other optical particle sizers. Unfortunately it sees some particles much smaller than they really are, likely because they heat up and evaporate. We show a crude correction and speculate why these particles heat up much more than expected.
Jeffrey K. Bean
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7369–7379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7369-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7369-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding and improving the quality of data generated from low-cost air quality sensors are crucial steps in using these sensors. This work investigates how averaging time, choice of reference instrument, and the observation of higher pollutant concentrations can impact the perceived performance of low-cost sensors in an evaluation. The influence of these factors should be considered when comparing one sensor to another or determining if a sensor can produce data that fit a specific need.
Fan Mei, Steven Spielman, Susanne Hering, Jian Wang, Mikhail S. Pekour, Gregory Lewis, Beat Schmid, Jason Tomlinson, and Maynard Havlicek
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7329–7340, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7329-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7329-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study focuses on understanding a versatile water-based condensation particle counter (vWCPC 3789) performance under various ambient pressure conditions (500–1000 hPa). A vWCPC has the advantage of avoiding health and safety concerns. However, its performance characterization under low pressure is rare but crucial for ensuring successful airborne deployment. This paper provides advanced knowledge of operating a vWCPC 3789 to capture the spatial variations of atmospheric aerosols.
Rebecca A. Wernis, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Robert J. Weber, Yutong Liang, John Jayne, Susanne Hering, and Allen H. Goldstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6533–6550, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6533-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6533-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
cTAG is a new scientific instrument that measures concentrations of organic chemicals in the atmosphere. cTAG is the first instrument capable of measuring small, light chemicals as well as heavier chemicals and everything in between on a single detector, every hour. In this work we explain how cTAG works and some of the tests we performed to verify that it works properly and reliably. We also present measurements of alkanes that suggest they have three dominant sources in a Bay Area suburb.
Linghan Zeng, Amy P. Sullivan, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Jack Dibb, Eric Scheuer, Teresa L. Campos, Joseph M. Katich, Ezra Levin, Michael A. Robinson, and Rodney J. Weber
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6357–6378, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6357-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Three online systems for measuring water-soluble brown carbon are compared. A mist chamber and two different particle-into-liquid samplers were deployed on separate research aircraft targeting wildfires and followed a similar detection method using a long-path liquid waveguide with a spectrometer to measure the light absorption from 300 to 700 nm. Detection limits, signal hysteresis and other sampling issues are compared, and further improvements of these liquid-based systems are provided.
Zixia Liu, Martin Osborne, Karen Anderson, Jamie D. Shutler, Andy Wilson, Justin Langridge, Steve H. L. Yim, Hugh Coe, Suresh Babu, Sreedharan K. Satheesh, Paquita Zuidema, Tao Huang, Jack C. H. Cheng, and James Haywood
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6101–6118, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6101-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6101-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper first validates the performance of an advanced aerosol observation instrument POPS against a reference instrument and examines any biases introduced by operating it on a quadcopter drone. The results show the POPS performs relatively well on the ground. The impact of the UAV rotors on the POPS is small at low wind speeds, but when operating under higher wind speeds, larger discrepancies occur. It appears that the POPS measures sub-micron aerosol particles more accurately on the UAV.
Eric A. Wendt, Casey Quinn, Christian L'Orange, Daniel D. Miller-Lionberg, Bonne Ford, Jeffrey R. Pierce, John Mehaffy, Michael Cheeseman, Shantanu H. Jathar, David H. Hagan, Zoey Rosen, Marilee Long, and John Volckens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6023–6038, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Fine particulate matter air pollution is one of the leading contributors to adverse health outcomes on the planet. Here, we describe the design and validation of a low-cost, compact, and autonomous instrument capable of measuring particulate matter levels directly, via mass sampling, and optically, via mass and sunlight extinction measurements. We demonstrate the instrument's accuracy relative to reference measurements and its potential for community-level sampling.
Jiaoshi Zhang, Steven Spielman, Yang Wang, Guangjie Zheng, Xianda Gong, Susanne Hering, and Jian Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5625–5635, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5625-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5625-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we present a newly developed instrument, the humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS), for fast measurements of aerosol hygroscopic growth. The HFIMS can measure the distributions of particle hygroscopic growth factors at six diameters from 35 to 265 nm under five RH levels from 20 to 85 % within 25 min. The HFIMS significantly advances our capability of characterizing the hygroscopic growth of atmospheric aerosols over a wide range of relative humidities.
Johannes Passig, Julian Schade, Robert Irsig, Lei Li, Xue Li, Zhen Zhou, Thomas Adam, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4171–4185, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4171-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ships are major sources of air pollution; however, monitoring of ship emissions outside harbours is a challenging task. We optimized single-particle mass spectrometry (SPMS) for the detection of bunker fuel emissions and demonstrate the detection of individual ship plumes from more than 10 km in distance. The approach works independently of background air pollution and also when ships use exhaust-cleaning scrubbers. We discuss the potential and limits of SPMS-based monitoring of ship plumes.
Mengying Bao, Yan-Lin Zhang, Fang Cao, Yu-Chi Lin, Yuhang Wang, Xiaoyan Liu, Wenqi Zhang, Meiyi Fan, Feng Xie, Robert Cary, Joshua Dixon, and Lihua Zhou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4053–4068, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4053-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4053-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce a two-wavelength method for brown C measurements with a modified Sunset carbon analyzer. We defined the enhanced concentrations and gave the possibility of providing an indicator of brown C. Compared with the strong local sources of organic and elemental C, we found that differences in EC mainly originated from regional transport. Biomass burning emissions significantly contributed to high differences in EC concentrations during the heavy biomass burning periods.
Candice L. Sirmollo, Don R. Collins, Jordan M. McCormick, Cassandra F. Milan, Matthew H. Erickson, James H. Flynn, Rebecca J. Sheesley, Sascha Usenko, Henry W. Wallace, Alexander A. T. Bui, Robert J. Griffin, Matthew Tezak, Sean M. Kinahan, and Joshua L. Santarpia
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3351–3370, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3351-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3351-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The newly developed portable 1 m3 CAGE chamber systems were characterized using data acquired during a 2-month field study in 2016 in a forested area north of Houston, TX, USA. Concentrations of several oxidant and organic compounds measured in the chamber were found to closely agree with those calculated with a zero-dimensional model. By tracking the modes of injected monodisperse particles, a pattern change was observed for hourly averaged growth rates between late summer and early fall.
Ningjin Xu and Don R. Collins
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2891–2906, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2891-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2891-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Oxidation flow reactors (OFRs) are frequently used to study atmospheric chemistry and aerosol formation by accelerating by up to 10 000 times the reactions that can take hours, days, or even weeks in the atmosphere. Here we present the design and evaluation of a new all-Teflon OFR. The computational, laboratory, and field use data we present demonstrate that the PFA OFR is suitable for a range of applications, including the study of rapidly changing ambient concentrations.
Lars E. Kalnajs, Sean M. Davis, J. Douglas Goetz, Terry Deshler, Sergey Khaykin, Alex St. Clair, Albert Hertzog, Jerome Bordereau, and Alexey Lykov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2635–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work introduces a novel instrument system for high-resolution atmospheric profiling, which lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long-duration balloons. During a 100 d circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over a hundred 2 km profiles of temperature, water vapor, clouds, and aerosol at 1 m resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution measurements of the tropical tropopause layer.
Demetrios Pagonis, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Hongyu Guo, Douglas A. Day, Melinda K. Schueneman, Wyatt L. Brown, Benjamin A. Nault, Harald Stark, Kyla Siemens, Alex Laskin, Felix Piel, Laura Tomsche, Armin Wisthaler, Matthew M. Coggon, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Hannah S. Halliday, Jordan E. Krechmer, Richard H. Moore, David S. Thomson, Carsten Warneke, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1545–1559, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1545-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1545-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the airborne deployment of an extractive electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometer (EESI-MS). The instrument provides a quantitative 1 Hz measurement of the chemical composition of organic aerosol up to altitudes of
7 km, with single-compound detection limits as low as 50 ng per standard cubic meter.
Xiaona Shang, Ling Li, Xinlian Zhang, Huihui Kang, Guodong Sui, Gehui Wang, Xingnan Ye, Hang Xiao, and Jianmin Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1037–1045, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1037-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1037-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Oxidative stress can be used to evaluate not only adverse health effects but also adverse ecological effects. However, little research uses eco-toxicological assay to assess the risks posed by particle matter to non-human biomes. One important reason might be that the concentration of toxic components of atmospheric particles is far below the high detection limit of eco-toxic measurement. To solve the rapid detection problem, we extended a VACES for ecotoxicity aerosol measurement.
Cited articles
Abichandani, P., Lobo, D., Ford, G., Bucci, D., and Kam, M.: Wind Measurement and Simulation Techniques in Multi-Rotor Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, IEEE Access, 8, 54910–54927, https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.2977693, 2020.
Adkins, K. A. and Sescu, A.: Observations of relative humidity in the near-wake of a wind turbine using an instrumented unmanned aerial system, Int. J. Green Energy, 14, 845–860, https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2017.1334661, 2017.
Adkins, K. A., Swinford, C. J., Wambolt, P. D., and Bease, G.: Development of a sensor suite for atmospheric boundary layer measurement with a small multirotor unmanned aerial system, Int. J. Aviation Aeronaut. Aerospace, 7, 4, https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2020.1433, 2020.
Allen, G., Hollingsworth, P., Kabbabe, K., Pitt, J. R., Mead, M. I., Illingworth, S., Roberts, G., Bourn, M., Shallcross, D. E., and Percival, C. J.: The development and trial of an unmanned aerial system for the measurement of methane flux from landfill and greenhouse gas emission hotspots, Waste Manag., 87, 883–892, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.12.024, 2019.
Alphasense: Alphasense User Manual OPC-N3 Optical Particle Counter, 32 pp., https://www.alphasense.com/downloads/soft (last access: 14 March 2025), 2019.
Andersen, T., Zhao, Z., de Vries, M., Necki, J., Swolkien, J., Menoud, M., Röckmann, T., Roiger, A., Fix, A., Peters, W., and Chen, H.: Local-to-regional methane emissions from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) quantified using UAV-based atmospheric measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5191–5216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5191-2023, 2023.
Andreae, M. O. and Rosenfeld, D.: Aerosol–cloud–precipitation interactions. Part 1. The nature and sources of cloud-active aerosols, Earth-Sci. Rev., 89, 13–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.03.001, 2008.
Anemoment: TriSonica Mini Sensors: User Manual, LI-COR GmbH, 80 pp., https://licor.app.boxenterprise.net/s/xmvt49j7fv44fr4382j7y6ctbzzmmb32 (last access: 14 March 2025), 2021.
Barbieri, L., Kral, S. T., Bailey, S. C. C., Frazier, A. E., Jacob, J. D., Reuder, J., Brus, D., Chilson, P. B., Crick, C., Detweiler, C., Doddi, A., Elston, J., Foroutan, H., González-Rocha, J., Greene, B. R., Guzman, M. I., Houston, A. L., Islam, A., Kemppinen, O., Lawrence, D., Pillar-Little, E. A., Ross, S. D., Sama, M. P., Schmale, D. G., Schuyler, T. J., Shankar, A., Smith, S. W., Waugh, S., Dixon, C., Borenstein, S., and de Boer, G.: Intercomparison of Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Measurements for Atmospheric Science during the LAPSE-RATE Campaign, Sensors, 2019, 19, 2179 pp., https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092179, 2019.
Bezantakos, S. and Biskos, G.: Temperature and pressure effects on the performance of the portable TSI 3007 condensation particle counter: Implications on ground and aerial observations, J. Aerosol Sci., 159, 105877, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105877, 2022.
Bezantakos, S., Schmidt-Ott, F., and Biskos, G.: Performance evaluation of the cost-effective and lightweight Alphasense optical particle counter for use onboard unmanned aerial vehicles, Aerosol Sci. Technol., 52, 385–392, https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2017.1412394, 2018.
Bonne, J.-L., Donnat, L., Albora, G., Burgalat, J., Chauvin, N., Combaz, D., Cousin, J., Decarpenterie, T., Duclaux, O., Dumelié, N., Galas, N., Juery, C., Parent, F., Pineau, F., Maunoury, A., Ventre, O., Bénassy, M.-F., and Joly, L.: A measurement system for CO2 and CH4 emissions quantification of industrial sites using a new in situ concentration sensor operated on board uncrewed aircraft vehicles, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4471–4491, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4471-2024, 2024.
Brady, J. M., Stokes, M. D., Bonnardel, J., and Bertram, T. H.: Characterization of a Quadrotor Unmanned Aircraft System for Aerosol-Particle-Concentration Measurements, Environ. Sci. Technol., 50, 1376–1383, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05320, 2016.
Brockmann, J. E.: Aerosol Transport in Sampling Lines and Inlets, in: Aerosol Measurement, 68–105, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118001684.ch6, 2011.
Brus, D., Gustafsson, J., Kemppinen, O., de Boer, G., and Hirsikko, A.: Atmospheric aerosol, gases, and meteorological parameters measured during the LAPSE-RATE campaign by the Finnish Meteorological Institute and Kansas State University, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2909–2922, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2909-2021, 2021a.
Brus, D., Gustafsson, J., Vakkari, V., Kemppinen, O., de Boer, G., and Hirsikko, A.: Measurement report: Properties of aerosol and gases in the vertical profile during the LAPSE-RATE campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 517–533, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-517-2021, 2021b.
Burgués, J., Esclapez, M. D., Doñate, S., Pastor, L., and Marco, S.: Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone, Remote Sens., 13, 1757, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091757, 2021.
Castro Gamez, A. F., Rodriguez Maroto, J. M., and Vadillo Perez, I.: Quantification of methane emissions in a Mediterranean landfill (Southern Spain). A combination of flux chambers and geostatistical methods, Waste Manag., 87, 937–946, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.12.015, 2019.
Dragoneas, A., Molleker, S., Appel, O., Hünig, A., Böttger, T., Hermann, M., Drewnick, F., Schneider, J., Weigel, R., and Borrmann, S.: The realization of autonomous, aircraft-based, real-time aerosol mass spectrometry in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5719–5742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, 2022.
Drewnick, F., Böttger, T., von der Weiden-Reinmüller, S.-L., Zorn, S. R., Klimach, T., Schneider, J., and Borrmann, S.: Design of a mobile aerosol research laboratory and data processing tools for effective stationary and mobile field measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 5, 1443–1457, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-1443-2012, 2012.
Drinovec, L., Močnik, G., Zotter, P., Prévôt, A. S. H., Ruckstuhl, C., Coz, E., Rupakheti, M., Sciare, J., Müller, T., Wiedensohler, A., and Hansen, A. D. A.: The ”dual-spot” Aethalometer: an improved measurement of aerosol black carbon with real-time loading compensation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1965–1979, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1965-2015, 2015.
European Parliament and Council: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 24 May 2019 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2019/947/2022-04-04 (last access: 14 March 2025), 2019.
Falco, N., Wainwright, H. M., Dafflon, B., Ulrich, C., Soom, F., Peterson, J. E., Brown, J. B., Schaettle, K. B., Williamson, M., Cothren, J. D., Ham, R. G., McEntire, J. A., and Hubbard, S. S.: Influence of soil heterogeneity on soybean plant development and crop yield evaluated using time-series of UAV and ground-based geophysical imagery, Sci. Rep., 11, 7046, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86480-z, 2021.
Gålfalk, M., Nilsson Påledal, S., and Bastviken, D.: Sensitive Drone Mapping of Methane Emissions without the Need for Supplementary Ground-Based Measurements, ACS Earth Space Chem., 5, 2668–2676, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.1c00106, 2021.
Galle, B., Arellano, S., Bobrowski, N., Conde, V., Fischer, T. P., Gerdes, G., Gutmann, A., Hoffmann, T., Itikarai, I., Krejci, T., Liu, E. J., Mulina, K., Nowicki, S., Richardson, T., Rüdiger, J., Wood, K., and Xu, J.: A multi-purpose, multi-rotor drone system for long-range and high-altitude volcanic gas plume measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4255–4277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4255-2021, 2021.
Gao, L., Tao, T., Liu, Y., and Hu, H.: A field study of ice accretion and its effects on the power production of utility-scale wind turbines, Renew. Energy, 167, 917–928, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.12.014, 2021.
Giez, A., Zöger, M., Mallaun, C., Nenakhov, V., Schimpf, M., Grad, C., Numberger, A., and Raynor, K.: Determination of the Measurement Errors for the HALO Basic Data System BAHAMAS by Means of Error Propagation, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, https://doi.org/10.57676/5rdc-q708, 2022.
Golston, L., Aubut, N., Frish, M., Yang, S., Talbot, R., Gretencord, C., McSpiritt, J., and Zondlo, M.: Natural Gas Fugitive Leak Detection Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle: Localization and Quantification of Emission Rate, Atmosphere, 9, 333, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9090333, 2018.
Grimaccia, F., Aghaei, M., Mussetta, M., Leva, S., and Quater, P. B.: Planning for PV plant performance monitoring by means of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng., 6, 47–54, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-014-0149-6, 2015.
Hamilton, J., de Boer, G., Doddi, A., and Lawrence, D. A.: The DataHawk2 uncrewed aircraft system for atmospheric research, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6789–6806, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6789-2022, 2022.
Hervo, M., Romanens, G., Martucci, G., Weusthoff, T., and Haefele, A.: Evaluation of an Automatic Meteorological Drone Based on a 6-Month Measurement Campaign, Atmosphere, 14, 1382, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14091382, 2023.
Hindman, E. E., Durkee, P. A., Sinclair, P. C., and Haar, T. H. V.: Detection of marine aerosol particles in coastal zones using satellite imagery, Int. J. Remote Sens., 5, 577–586, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431168408948838, 1984.
Kotthaus, S., Bravo-Aranda, J. A., Collaud Coen, M., Guerrero-Rascado, J. L., Costa, M. J., Cimini, D., O'Connor, E. J., Hervo, M., Alados-Arboledas, L., Jiménez-Portaz, M., Mona, L., Ruffieux, D., Illingworth, A., and Haeffelin, M.: Atmospheric boundary layer height from ground-based remote sensing: a review of capabilities and limitations, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 433–479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-433-2023, 2023.
Lappin, F., de Boer, G., Klein, P., Hamilton, J., Spencer, M., Calmer, R., Segales, A. R., Rhodes, M., Bell, T. M., Buchli, J., Britt, K., Asher, E., Medina, I., Butterworth, B., Otterstatter, L., Ritsch, M., Puxley, B., Miller, A., Jordan, A., Gomez-Faulk, C., Smith, E., Borenstein, S., Thornberry, T., Argrow, B., and Pillar-Little, E.: Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2525-2024, 2024.
Law, R. M., Peters, W., Rödenbeck, C., Aulagnier, C., Baker, I., Bergmann, D. J., Bousquet, P., Brandt, J., Bruhwiler, L., Cameron-Smith, P. J., Christensen, J. H., Delage, F., Denning, A. S., Fan, S., Geels, C., Houweling, S., Imasu, R., Karstens, U., Kawa, S. R., Kleist, J., Krol, M. C., Lin, S. J., Lokupitiya, R., Maki, T., Maksyutov, S., Niwa, Y., Onishi, R., Parazoo, N., Patra, P. K., Pieterse, G., Rivier, L., Satoh, M., Serrar, S., Taguchi, S., Takigawa, M., Vautard, R., Vermeulen, A. T., and Zhu, Z.: TransCom model simulations of hourly atmospheric CO2: Experimental overview and diurnal cycle results for 2002, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 22, GB3009, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007gb003050, 2008.
Li, Z., Pu, O., Pan, Y., Huang, B., Zhao, Z., and Wu, H.: A study on measuring wind turbine wake based on UAV anemometry system, Sustain. Energ. Technol. Assess., 53, 102537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102537, 2022.
Li, Z., Pu, O., Pan, Y., Huang, B., Zhao, Z., and Wu, H.: A Study on Measuring the Wind Field in the Air Using a Multi-rotor UAV Mounted with an Anemometer, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-023-00798-x, 2023.
Li, Z., Guo, J., Ding, A., Liao, H., Liu, J., Sun, Y., Wang, T., Xue, H., Zhang, H., and Zhu, B.: Aerosol and boundary-layer interactions and impact on air quality, Nat. Sci. Rev., 4, 810–833, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwx117, 2017.
Liang, C.-W. and Shen, C.-H.: An integrated uncrewed aerial vehicle platform with sensing and sampling systems for the measurement of air pollutant concentrations, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2671–2686, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2671-2024, 2024.
Mahnke, C., Weigel, R., Cairo, F., Vernier, J.-P., Afchine, A., Krämer, M., Mitev, V., Matthey, R., Viciani, S., D'Amato, F., Ploeger, F., Deshler, T., and Borrmann, S.: The Asian tropopause aerosol layer within the 2017 monsoon anticyclone: microphysical properties derived from aircraft-borne in situ measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15259–15282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, 2021.
Mathes, W.: DatCon Version 4.3.0 (4.3.0), bug@flylog.info [code], https://datfile.net/DatCon/intro.html (last access: 19 March 2025), 2023.
Miller, A. J., Ramelli, F., Fuchs, C., Omanovic, N., Spirig, R., Zhang, H., Lohmann, U., Kanji, Z. A., and Henneberger, J.: Two new multirotor uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for glaciogenic cloud seeding and aerosol measurements within the CLOUDLAB project, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 601–625, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-601-2024, 2024.
Moormann, L. and Drewnick, F.: The Flying Laboratory FLab: Development and application of a UAS to measure aerosol particles and trace gases in the lower troposphere (final), Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14748149, 2025.
Neu, U., Künzle, T., and Wanner, H.: On the relation between ozone storage in the residual layer and daily variation in near-surface ozone concentration – A case study, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 69, 221–247, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708857, 1994.
Niedek, C. R., Mei, F., Zawadowicz, M. A., Zhu, Z., Schmid, B., and Zhang, Q.: Quantitative chemical assay of nanogram-level particulate matter using aerosol mass spectrometry: characterization of particles collected from uncrewed atmospheric measurement platforms, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 955–968, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-955-2023, 2023.
Oliveira, P. H. F., Artaxo, P., Pires, C., De Lucca, S., ProcÓPio, A., Holben, B., Schafer, J., Cardoso, L. F., Wofsy, S. C., and Rocha, H. R.: The effects of biomass burning aerosols and clouds on the CO2 flux in Amazonia, Tellus B, 59, 338–349, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2007.00270.x, 2007.
Ouchi, M., Matsumi, Y., Nakayama, T., Shimizu, K., Sawada, T., Machida, T., Matsueda, H., Sawa, Y., Morino, I., Uchino, O., Tanaka, T., and Imasu, R.: Development of a balloon-borne instrument for CO2 vertical profile observations in the troposphere, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5639–5653, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5639-2019, 2019.
Pikridas, M., Bezantakos, S., Močnik, G., Keleshis, C., Brechtel, F., Stavroulas, I., Demetriades, G., Antoniou, P., Vouterakos, P., Argyrides, M., Liakakou, E., Drinovec, L., Marinou, E., Amiridis, V., Vrekoussis, M., Mihalopoulos, N., and Sciare, J.: On-flight intercomparison of three miniature aerosol absorption sensors using unmanned aerial systems (UASs), Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6425–6447, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6425-2019, 2019.
Pohorsky, R., Baccarini, A., Tolu, J., Winkel, L. H. E., and Schmale, J.: Modular Multiplatform Compatible Air Measurement System (MoMuCAMS): a new modular platform for boundary layer aerosol and trace gas vertical measurements in extreme environments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 731–754, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-731-2024, 2024.
Quinn, P. K., Bates, T. S., Coffman, D. J., Johnson, J. E., and Upchurch, L. M.: Use of an uncrewed aerial system to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing effects in the marine atmosphere, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3157–3170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3157-2024, 2024.
Rabins, L. F., Theuerkauf, E. J., and Bunting, E. L.: Using existing infrastructure as ground control points to support citizen science coastal UAS monitoring programs, Front. Environ. Sci., 11, 1101458, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1101458, 2023.
Radtke, J. K., Kies, B. N., Mottishaw, W. A., Zeuli, S. M., Voon, A. T. H., Koerber, K. L., Petty, G. W., Vermeuel, M. P., Bertram, T. H., Desai, A. R., Hupy, J. P., Pierce, R. B., Wagner, T. J., and Cleary, P. A.: Observing low-altitude features in ozone concentrations in a shoreline environment via uncrewed aerial systems, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2833–2847, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2833-2024, 2024.
Reuder, J., Jonassen, M. O., and Ólafsson, H.: The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO: Recent developments and applications of a micro-UAS for atmospheric boundary layer research, Acta Geophys., 60, 1454–1473, https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-012-0042-8, 2012.
Roberts, G. C., Ramana, M. V., Corrigan, C., Kim, D., and Ramanathan, V.: Simultaneous observations of aerosol–cloud–albedo interactions with three stacked unmanned aerial vehicles, P. Natl. Acad. Sci., 105, 7370–7375, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710308105, 2008.
Schrod, J., Thomson, E. S., Weber, D., Kossmann, J., Pöhlker, C., Saturno, J., Ditas, F., Artaxo, P., Clouard, V., Saurel, J.-M., Ebert, M., Curtius, J., and Bingemer, H. G.: Long-term deposition and condensation ice-nucleating particle measurements from four stations across the globe, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15983–16006, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15983-2020, 2020.
Schuldt, T., Gkatzelis, G. I., Wesolek, C., Rohrer, F., Winter, B., Kuhlbusch, T. A. J., Kiendler-Scharr, A., and Tillmann, R.: Electrochemical sensors on board a Zeppelin NT: in-flight evaluation of low-cost trace gas measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 373–386, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-373-2023, 2023.
Si, Y., Lu, Q., Zhang, X., Hu, X., Wang, F., Li, L., and Gu, S.: A review of advances in the retrieval of aerosol properties by remote sensing multi-angle technology, Atmos. Environ., 244, 117928, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117928, 2021.
Stull, R. B.: An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology, Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3027-8, 1988.
Sziroczak, D., Rohacs, D., and Rohacs, J.: Review of using small UAV based meteorological measurements for road weather management, Prog. Aerospace Sci., 134, 100859, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2022.100859, 2022.
Thielicke, W., Hübert, W., Müller, U., Eggert, M., and Wilhelm, P.: Towards accurate and practical drone-based wind measurements with an ultrasonic anemometer, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1303–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1303-2021, 2021.
Werle, P., Mücke, R., and Slemr, F.: The limits of signal averaging in atmospheric trace-gas monitoring by tunable diode-laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), Appl. Phys. B, 57, 131–139, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00425997, 1993.
Wildmann, N. and Wetz, T.: Towards vertical wind and turbulent flux estimation with multicopter uncrewed aircraft systems, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5465–5477, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5465-2022, 2022.
Womack, C. C., Brown, S. S., Ciciora, S. J., Gao, R.-S., McLaughlin, R. J., Robinson, M. A., Rudich, Y., and Washenfelder, R. A.: A lightweight broadband cavity-enhanced spectrometer for NO2 measurement on uncrewed aerial vehicles, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6643–6652, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6643-2022, 2022.
Zheng, Y., Yang, S., Liu, X., Wang, J., Norton, T., Chen, J., and Tan, Y.: The computational fluid dynamic modeling of downwash flow field for a six-rotor UAV, Front. Agr. Sci. Eng., 0, 0, https://doi.org/10.15302/j-fase-2018216, 2018.
Zhu, Z., González-Rocha, J., Ding, Y., Frausto-Vicencio, I., Heerah, S., Venkatram, A., Dubey, M., Collins, D., and Hopkins, F. M.: Toward on-demand measurements of greenhouse gas emissions using an uncrewed aircraft AirCore system, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3883–3895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3883-2024, 2024.
Short summary
The drone-based Flying Laboratory FLab was developed to simultaneously measure aerosol (number concentration, size distribution, and black carbon), trace gas (O3, CO2), and meteorological variables. FLab was characterized in the field regarding limitations and biases due to different flight maneuvers. Two application cases are presented: analysis of the development of the lowermost troposphere (up to 300 m) and successfully bridging ground-based and aircraft- and radiosonde-based measurements.
The drone-based Flying Laboratory FLab was developed to simultaneously measure aerosol (number...
