FCGGS

Full-column Greenhouse Gas Sampling 2015-2017

1 March 2015 - 28 February 2017

Lead Scientist: Marc Fischer

Observatory: SGP (Southern Great Plains)

The vertical distributions of CO2, CH4, and other gases provide important constraints for the determination of terrestrial and ocean sources and sinks of carbon and other biogeochemical processes in the Earth system. Remote sensing from ground-based and satellite-borne platforms require in-situ validation. In this ARM-IOP, we will conduct a collaborative measurement campaign at the ARM-SGP site that join effort of the DOE Biological and Environmental Research Program (DOE-BER) and the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA-ESRL) to quantify the vertically resolved distribution of atmospheric carbon-cycle gases (CO2, CH4, and CO) throughout 99% of the atmospheric column. To accomplish these measurements, a long coiled tube (or AirCore) is lofted to the stratosphere (~ 30km) on a weather balloon, that then collects a vertically resolved sample of air on descent. Comparisons will be made with other collocated ARM measurements from towers and aircraft, and measurements from ground (TCCON) and satellite based (e.g., OCO2, GOSAT, TES, AIRS) column-mean CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios. The expected outcome of this project will be measured column-resolved GHG data that support key ARM science objectives for evaluating radiative balance of the Earth’s climate.