Measurements of CH4, CO, CO2 and N2O on NOAA�??s P3 in CalNex 2010

The goal of this project is to quantitatively assess and distinguish urban/industrial, agricultural, and natural sources of key Greenhouse and Pollutant species by integrating integrate onto the NOAA-P3 aircraft a 4-channel Quantum Cascade Laser Spectrometer (QCLS) to make accurate, rapid (1 Hz) measurements of CH4, CO, CO2, and N2O, during the CalNex 2010 experiment in April/May 2010. The QCLS provides very accurate, rapid (1 Hz) measurements of concentrations of CO2, CH4, CO, and N2O, data are ideally suited for determination of emission sources and for investigation of pollutant transport rates, core goals of CalNex. The proposed QCLS study on the P-3 will provide the only high-frequency measurements of N2O and the only demonstrated 1 Hz CH4 on the NOAA platform. The proposed QCLS sensor has already accumulated more than 100 hrs of successful airborne measurements.