ARCTAS
The Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) took place as two 3-week aircraft deployments, in spring and summer 2008. It involved the NASA DC-8 as an in situ platform for detailed atmospheric composition. Two other aircraft, the NASA P-3 and the NASA B-200 focused more closely on aerosols and radiation. The P-3 serves as a remote sensing platform generally flying constant altitude transects in the middle to upper troposphere. The B-200 is a profiling aircraft for examining radiative fluxes and in situ aerosol properties. The spring (April 1 – 22) deployment in Fairbanks, Alaska targeted anthropogenic pollution including arctic haze, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and sunrise photochemistry including halogen radicals. The summer deployment (June 26 – July 14) in Cold Lake, Alberta targeted boreal forest fires, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and summertime photochemistry.
Science Themes
ARCTAS has four major scientific themes:
- Long-range transport of pollution to the Arctic including arctic haze, tropospheric ozone, and persistent pollutants such as mercury;
- Boreal forest fires and their implications for atmospheric composition and climate;
- Aerosol radiative forcing from arctic haze, boreal fires, surface-deposited black carbon, and other perturbations;
- Chemical processes with focus on ozone, aerosols, mercury, and halogens.
Role of the Real Time Mission Monitor
The Real Time Mission Monitor provided simultaneous aircraft tracking for all three aircraft during the ARCTAS experiments. During ARCTAS, the NASA DC-8, P-3, and B-200 flew missions at various altitudes and tracks. RTMM facilitated mission planning by providing satellite overpass projections and atmospheric model forecasts. During missions, RTMM integrates satellite imagery, aircraft state information, and surface data sets into a single easy to use visualization package. Post-mission playbacks enable the scientist to review the completed flight missions.
