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Extremely Fine-Grained Observations of Atmospheric Gasses 1 Water vapor measurements from the VCSEL hygrometer Garnet Abrams October 7, 2011

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Outline Project, affiliations, and motivations Instrumentation Water vapor-climate science and feedbacks Sampling - flight paths and patterns Preliminary Results 2

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Acronyms 3 National Science Foundation and National Center for Atmospheric Research funded operation HIPPO Highly Instrumented Aerial Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observations A series of 5 pole-to-pole flights (N. Pole to S. Pole and back) Capture each season January (1), November (II), March-April (III), June (IV), August-September (V), Instruments on board Multiple Enclosure Devise for Unfractioned Sampling of Air | MEDUSA O2, CO2, Ar/N2, 13CO2, C18O16O Whole Air Sampler | WAS CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, Solvents, Methyl Halides, Organic Nitrates, Non-Methane Hydrocarbons, Perflourocarbons; See the comprehensive list of chemical species Quantum Cascade Laser System | QCLS CO2, CO, CH4, N2O

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Instrument VCSEL Hygrometer 4 Operates at 1854 nm 25 Hz readings Temperature and pressure probes Beam makes 25 passes, heaters beneath mirrors Sits outside the boundary layer of the plane The only in-situ water vapor instrument on the flight

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Water Vapor in the Atmosphere Water vapor has 4 times the radiative forcing of CO 2, however considered a feedback, not anthropogenic source The warmer the atmosphere, the more water if can hold... Clouds, depending upon their height, color, and time of day can insulate and absorb or reflect solar energy Clouds pose difficulty for modelers Water vapor is sticky, making it difficult to measure 5 http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/warmer_humidity.html CLOUDS?

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Research Flights 6

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Preliminary Results 7 Temporal differences just between the beginning and end of June. Lack of profiling in Southern Pacific on return flight Sampling avoids extreme convection

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Special Thanks 8 I would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Mark Zondlo, Minghui Diao, and the Atmospheric Chemistry Lab GV crew and NCAR researchers