Instruments & Observation
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NSF/NCAR
C-130
The NSF/NCAR C-130 Hercules aircraft supports observational
research studies of atmospheric chemistry, cloud physics,
mesoscale meteorology, boundary-layer dynamics, air-sea interactions,
oceanography, and other fields within the atmospheric sciences. |
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NSF/NCAR
Gulfstream-V—HIAPER
The NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V aircraft, also known
as HIAPER (High-performance
Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research),
has a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet (15,500 meters), enabling
scientists to probe the upper edges of hurricanes and thunderstorms
in unprecedented detail as well as study chemical processes
high above Earth. |
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| Satellites and Space-based Instruments |
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COSMIC
(Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere
and Climate)
This constellation of six microsatellites uses radio occultation
(limb sounding) to study the atmosphere. COSMIC's
global coverage provides information on the
atmosphere's temperature and water vapor structure, even
above hard-to-reach locations, such as Antarctica and the
remote Pacific. (launched
2006, news
updates) |
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Hinode/Solar-B
An international collaboration, the Hinode mission seeks
to understand the physical links between magnetic fields
near the solar surface (the photosphere) and their energetic
and dynamic consequences in the outer solar atmosphere (the
corona). For example, new measurements will help unravel
how changes in the magnetic fields give rise to mass ejections
of energized particles that bombard Earth during solar storms.
(launched 2006, news
update) |
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HIRDLS
(High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder)
This instrument aboard NASA's Aura
satellite is designed to gather fine-scale data on
aerosols and 10 trace gases, including ozone and water vapor,
from altitudes of 5 to 50 miles (8-80 kilometers). Looking
at Earth's limb (the edge of Earth from the satellite perspective),
HIRDLS gathers information by measuring the infrared radiation
emitted by atmospheric gases. (launched 2004, news
updates) |
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MOPITT
(Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere)
Looking down from NASA's Tera satellite,
MOPITT senses infrared radiation, from which the distribution
of carbon monoxide in the troposphere, the lowest layer of
the atmosphere, can be determined. Carbon monoxide persists
in the atmosphere for several weeks, making it a good marker
for the movement of pollution around the world. (launched
1999, news
updates ) |
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| Observing
Instruments, Systems, and Facilities |
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Atmospheric
Chemistry Division—Community
Instruments
An array of ground-based and airborne instruments is available
for use in approved field projects on a broad range of scientific
questions. Many of these community instruments focus on measurements
of carbon dioxide (CO2),
carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and water vapor. |
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Earth
Observing Laboratory—Observing
Facilities
EOL develops and operates a full roster of airborne
and land-based observing facilities, systems, and instruments.
This includes the majority of the Lower Atmospheric
Observing Facilities (LAOF) of the National Science
Foundation. |
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Marshall
Field Site
The Research Applications Laboratory maintains this field
site for instrument development and testing. |
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Mauna
Loa Solar Observatory
Specialized telescopes
at MLSO filter and analyze solar energy emissions at several
different wavelengths, providing multiple images of the Sun
daily, weather conditions permitting. Data from each MLSO
instrument is processed and analyzed by NCAR scientists in
Boulder and made available to the solar research community.
MLSO is operated by NCAR's High Altitude
Observatory. |
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NCAR Vacuum Tunnel Facility
The NVTF consists of a class-10,000
clean room and a coronagraph calibration chamber. The calibration
chamber (vacuum tunnel) is used for testing and calibrating
both internally and externally occulted coronagraphs. Scattered
light, polarization and photometric tests are made. The NVTF
is maintained by NCAR's High
Altitude Observatory. |
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SuomiNet
SuomiNet is an international network of GPS receivers, configured
and managed to generate near-real-time estimates
of precipitable water vapor in the atmosphere and
other meteorological and geodetic information. COSMIC and Unidata are
SuomiNet collaborators. |
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