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| ARCTAS | |
|---|---|
| Name | ARCTAS |
| Full name | Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites |
| Type | Field campaign |
| Region | Arctic |
| Start | 2008 |
| Organizers | NASA, National Center for Atmospheric Research |
| Platforms | Aircraft, Satellites |
| Subjects | Atmospheric chemistry, Climate change, Aerosols |
ARCTAS ARCTAS was a 2008 multidisciplinary NASA field campaign that investigated Arctic atmospheric composition, aerosol processes, and trace gas transport using aircraft and satellite coordination. The project brought together teams from NASA, National Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Michigan, California Institute of Technology, and international partners including Environment Canada and University of Toronto. ARCTAS integrated airborne measurements with satellite observations from platforms such as Aqua (satellite), Terra (satellite), and Aura (satellite) to study interactions among pollutants from wildfires, industrial sources, and natural Arctic processes.
ARCTAS focused on the high-latitude atmosphere above the Arctic Ocean, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and parts of Siberia to quantify chemical species and aerosol burdens relevant to regional climate and air quality. The campaign aligned with satellite overpasses from CloudSat, CALIPSO, OMI, MODIS, and MOPITT and coordinated with ground sites such as the Barrow (Utqiagvik) Observatory, Alert (Nunavut), and Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. Partnering agencies and institutions included Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, and Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
ARCTAS aimed to (1) determine sources and transport pathways of black carbon, organic aerosol, ozone precursors, and reactive halogens; (2) assess aerosol radiative forcing and cloud interactions affecting Arctic warming and sea ice loss; and (3) provide airborne validation for satellite retrievals and chemical transport models used by groups at European Space Agency, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NCAR, and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Specific targets included emissions from Russian wildfires, Canadian boreal fires, and industrial plumes from Norilsk, Murmansk, and Sakhalin Island, and implications for phenomena like Arctic amplification and Arctic haze observed at sites including Barrow Observatory and Ny-Ålesund.
The campaign used synoptic flight strategies combining transects, spirals, and coordinated satellite-underflight patterns to sample synoptic-scale plumes, convective lofting, and boundary layer structure. Sampling methodologies included trace gas detection by chemiluminescence and cavity ring-down spectroscopy instruments similar to those deployed in studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Harvard University, and University of Colorado Boulder. Aerosol size, composition, and optical properties were measured using tandem mass spectrometry and nephelometry approaches applied previously in projects like MILAGRO, INTEX, and ICARTT. Chemical transport and source attribution employed models such as GEOS-Chem, WRF-Chem, and FLEXPART alongside inverse techniques used by researchers at ETH Zurich, University of Oxford, and Princeton University.
ARCTAS platforms included NASA's research aircraft such as the DC-8 (aircraft), P-3 Orion (aircraft), and smaller turboprops, partnered with international aircraft from Environment Canada and British Antarctic Survey logistics. Instrument suites measured black carbon with aethalometers and single-particle soot photometers similar to instruments at Paul Scherrer Institute and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, while organic aerosol composition used aerosol mass spectrometers like those developed at Aerodyne Research. Trace gas instruments targeted ozone, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds using technologies comparable to those from NOAA ESRL, University of York, University of Helsinki, and University of Bremen deployable systems. Remote sensing on board included lidar and imaging spectrometers analogous to sensors on CALIPSO and MODIS.
ARCTAS comprised two major deployments in spring and summer 2008 with preparatory planning and post-campaign synthesis through 2009. The spring phase emphasized long-range transport and Arctic haze events influenced by Eurasian emissions during conditions studied in POLARCAT and IPY (International Polar Year). The summer phase focused on boreal fire emissions tied to extreme fire seasons in Siberia and Alaska and coordinated with campaigns like ARCPAC and ARCTIC-CLIM. Field operations staged from bases including Fairbanks International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, Iqaluit Airport, and Kiruna Airport with logistical support from institutions such as University of Alaska Fairbanks and Swedish Space Corporation.
Data processing combined in situ and remote observations with model output using quality assurance protocols developed by teams at NASA Ames Research Center, Caltech, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, and Environment Canada. Analyses included source apportionment using receptor models and isotopic fingerprinting approaches applied in studies at University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Leipzig Institute for Meteorology. Radiative forcing estimates referenced parameterizations from IPCC, CMIP5 model intercomparisons, and aerosol-cloud interaction frameworks used by Hadley Centre and MPI-Met Office Hadley Centre collaborators. Syntheses were presented at forums such as the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and published in journals including Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.
ARCTAS demonstrated significant summertime Arctic forcing by boreal fire aerosols, quantified long-range transport pathways from Siberia and North America, and provided critical validation for satellite retrievals from Aqua, Terra, and Aura. Results influenced assessments of black carbon impacts on snow and ice in studies by NSIDC and University of Colorado, informed emissions inventories used by ECLIPSE and EDGAR, and supported policy-relevant analyses for the Arctic Council and national agencies including EPA and Environment Canada. The campaign's datasets remain archived at NASA Oak Ridge National Laboratory DAAC and continue to underpin research at institutions like University of Washington, Yale University, Rutgers University, and University of Maryland.
Category:Arctic research