Cooperative Institute of Research in Environmental SciencesCooperative Institute of Research in Environmental Sciences
A CSL team, sulfur dioxide laser-based instrument
Profiles
People
Andrew Rollins, Troy Thornberry, Laurel Watts, Richard McLaughlin
Year Awarded
2016
Type
OPA Science
Affiliation
CSL
Geography
CIRES
NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory won for developing a new laser-based instrument to measure SO2 at extremely low mixing ratios relevant to the stratosphere. The instrument, built and deployed in record time, will enable better understanding of atmospheric sulfur chemistry and transport, which is critical to understanding the stratospheric aerosol layer, including impacts from geoengineering. The new instrument’s detection limit is 50-fold better than previous technologies and it is already is allowing investigation of science questions previously impossible to tackle. This project grew out of a 2013 CIRES Innovative Research Project.