ATom: Measurements from the Quantum Cascade Laser System (QCLS)
This dataset from the Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) provides atmospheric concentrations of CO2, CH4, CO, and N2O measured by the Harvard Quantum Cascade Laser System (QCLS) instruments. The QCLS (DUAL and CO2) instrument package contains two separate optical assemblies and calibration systems, and a common data system and power supply. The DUAL instrument simultaneously measures CO, CH4, and N2O concentrations, in situ, using two thermoelectrically cooled pulsed-quantum cascade lasers light sources, a multiple pass absorption cell, and two liquid nitrogen-cooled solid-state detectors. The CO2 instrument measures CO2 concentrations in situ using a thermoelectrically cooled pulsed-quantum cascade laser light source, gas cells, and liquid nitrogen cooled solid-state detectors.
ATom is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital-2 mission that studied the impact of human-produced air pollution on greenhouse gases and on chemically reactive gases in the atmosphere. ATom deployed an extensive gas and aerosol payload on the NASA DC-8 aircraft for systematic, global-scale sampling of the atmosphere, profiling continuously from 0.2 to 12 km altitude. Flights occurred in each of four seasons over a 4-year period. See all ORNL DAAC data from ATom.
Data Citation: Commane, R., J.W. Budney, Y. Gonzalez ramos, M. Sargent, S.C. Wofsy, and B.C. Daube. 2020. ATom: Measurements from the Quantum Cascade Laser System (QCLS). ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1747
Data Center: ORNL DAAC
Sponsor: ESDIS