mu Dirac: an autonomous instrument for halocarbon measurements

作者：Gostlow B; Robinson A D; Harris N R P^*; O'Brien L M; Oram D E; Mills G P; Newton H M; Yong S E; Pyle J A

来源：Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2010, 3(2): 507-521.

DOI：10.5194/amt-3-507-2010

We describe a new instrument (mu Dirac) capable of measuring halocarbons in the atmosphere. Portability, power efficiency and autonomy were critical design requirements and the resulting instrument can be readily deployed unattended on a range of platforms: long duration balloon, aircraft, ship and ground-based stations. The instrument is a temperature programmed gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The design requirements led to mu Dirac being built in-house with several novel features. It currently measures a range of halocarbons ( including short- lived tracers having biogenic and anthropogenic sources) with measurement precision relative standard deviations ranging from +/- 1% (CCl4) to +/- 9%( CH3I). The prototype instrument was first tested in 2005 and the instrument has been proved in the field on technically challenging aircraft and ground-based campaigns. Results from an aircraft and a ground-based deployment are described.

• 出版日期2010