Cloud & Aerosol Processes: Instruments
| Abbreviation | Instrument | Method | Contacts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Optical | ||||
| miniSASP | sun photometer | measures the radiant flux density at three wavelengths through a layer of atmospheric particles; determines how sunlight in the layer is scattered and absorbed More info... | Dan Murphy |  miniature ULR (upward-looking radiometer) for balloons and UAVs |
| PAS | photoacoustic aerosol absorption spectrometer | heats absorbing particles in an acoustic resonator with a laser; measured sound is converted to aerosol absorption coefficient | Matt Richardson, Bernie Mason, Nick Wagner | |
| CRD-AES | cavity ringdown-aerosol extinction spectrometer | measures loss of laser light by aerosol scattering and absorption in an optical cavity; determines aerosol extinction | Matt Richardson, Bernie Mason, Nick Wagner | |
| aPAS | photoacoustic spectroscopy | measures dry aerosol optical absorption at 660 nm, 532 nm, and 405 nm; additional channels for measurement of absorption from thermal denuded aerosol; designed for deployment aboard aircraft and has flown on the NOAA WP-3D and the NASA DC-8 | Nick Wagner, Matt Richardson |  aPAS and aCRD share electronics, DAQ, and instrument rack |
| aCRD | cavity ringdown spectroscopy | measures dry aerosol optical extinction at 660 nm, 532 nm, and 405 nm; additional channels for measurement of humidified and thermal denuded aerosol; designed for deployment aboard aircraft and has flown on the NOAA WP-3D and the NASA DC-8 | Nick Wagner, Matt Richardson | |
| gCRD-PAS | cavity ringdown spectroscopy and photoacustic spectroscopy | under construction - measures dry aerosol absoroption, extinction and single scatter albedo at 532nm; designed to operate remote and unatteded for several weeks | Nick Wagner, Matt Richardson |  |
| opCRD | cavity ringdown spectroscopy | measures aerosol extinction under ambient conditions in an open-path cavity at 670nm; designed for ground sampling | Dan Murphy, Nick Wagner |  |
| ASTER | aerosol scattering-to-extinction ratio | measures scattering and extinction of individual aerosol particles in a ring laser cavity | Dan Murphy, Matt Richardson | |
Chemical | ||||
| AMS | aerosol mass spectrometer | samples and volatilizes aerosol particles; evolved gases are ionized and measured with a compact time-of-flight mass spectrometer for composition | Ann Middlebrook |  |
| PALMS | particle analysis by laser mass spectroscopy | single particles are vaporized and ionized by a UV laser; composition is determined by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer | Dan Murphy, Karl Froyd |  |
| PiLS | particle-into-liquid sampler | dissolves small aerosol particles into liquids for later chemical composition analysis | Ann Middlebrook |  |
Size distribution | ||||
| NMASS | nucleation-mode aerosol size spectrometer | five condensation particle counters in parallel estimate particle size distributions from 0.004-0.05 µm diameter | Chuck Brock |  |
| UHSAS | ultra-high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer | laser light scattered from single particles is used to determine their size and concentration in the 0.07-1.0 µm diameter range | Chuck Brock |  |
| WLOPC | white-light optical particle counter | LED light scattered from single particles is used to determine their size and concentration in the 0.5-8.5 µm diameter range | Chuck Brock | |
| SMPS | scanning mobility size spectrometer | particles are charged, segregated in an electric field, and counted to determine the size distribution from 0.02-0.7 µm diameter | Chuck Brock | |
Aerosol physics | ||||
| PCVI | pumped counterflow virtual impactor | inertially separates large particles or ice crystals into a dry or inert gas | Dan Murphy | |
Cloud physics | ||||
| CCP (CIP and CDP) | Cloud Combination Probe: cloud imaging and cloud droplet probe | laser shadow images of cloud-sized particles are used to determine size, concentration, and shape; 25-1550 µm; forward scattered laser light from cloud droplets is used to size and count them; 3.0-50 µm | Chuck Brock |  |
| PIP | precipitation imaging probe | laser shadow images of precipitation-sized particles are used to determine size, concentration, and shape; 100-6200 µm | Chuck Brock |  |
| CAS | cloud and aerosol spectrometer | forward scattered laser light from aerosol particles and cloud droplets is used to size and count them; 0.05-50 µm | Chuck Brock |  |