The general mission of the Halocarbons and other Atmospheric
Trace Species group is to quantify the distributions and magnitudes of sources
and sinks for atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) and halogen containing compounds.
HATS utilizes numerous types of platforms, including ground-based stations,
towers, ocean vessels, aircraft, and balloons, to accomplish its mission. For
a detailed mission statement, consult our FAQ.
You can also read about
CFCs and their substitutes in stratospheric ozone depletion.
Airborne
Projects involve measuring
trace gases in the upper troposphere and stratosphere on balloons and aircraft
including Unpiloted Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) to help understanding the chemistry
and transport of the upper atmosphere.
Hourly in situ observations at NOAA/ESRL baseline observatories, Niwot Ridge, Colorado
and Summit, Greenland provide information on transport, emissions, and trends.
Instrumentation
Custom instrumentation for measuring greenhouse gases, halocarbons, substitute
halocarbons, and hydrocarbons have been built for unique platforms. Some
instrumentation has been provided to other countries to monitor trace gases.
Research centers on obtaining the maximum science from weekly to monthly flasks samples
collected worldwide and analyzed in our Boulder labs. These samples are used to determine
current and historical trends, trace gas and OH distributions, emissions, and inventories.
The oceans play an important role as sources and sinks for atmospheric trace species.
The determination of fluxes between the surface seawater and the marine air require
knowledge of the saturation anomaly with air and the gas exchange rate.
Research is conducted for developing and maintaining standard gas mixtures of atmospheric
gases to calibrate instrumentation on the many platforms used in our studies.
Custom standards provided as tertiary calibration mixtures are available.