Atmospheric Tracer Technology
Providing Ground Truth for Dispersion and Air Quality Monitoring
Understanding how the atmosphere transports and disperses materials released into the air is
essential to understanding and dealing with important problems such as air pollution and accidental (or intentional)
toxic gas releases. FRD's atmospheric tracer experiments improve our understanding by providing basic information about
transport and dispersion processes. An atmospheric tracer experiment is conceptually very simple. A small amount of
stable, non-toxic, invisible, odorless, and easily detectable substance (known as a tracer) is released into the air. The
air in the surrounding area is sampled and the concentration of the tracer is measured. By combining the tracer concentrations
with meteorological information, scientists can develop and test theories and models of atmospheric transport and dispersion.
The FRD is a pioneer in the use of gaseous atmospheric tracers. In the mid 1960's,
we pioneered the use of gas chromatography with electron capture detectors to analyze air samples for the
atmospheric tracer sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Since then, we have developed and refined air sampling and
analytical techniques for SF6 and other intentionally released atmospheric tracers, and we have participated
in tracer experiments on local, regional, national, and international scales. Our current capabilities
include continuous (near real time) analyzers, time integrated sampling, and automated tracer release
mechanisms.
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FRD is a pioneer in atmospheric tracer experiments dating back to the 1960's. Our recent work has expanded
to include studies important to national security and dispersion of toxic agents during a terrorist
attack.
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