Composition and Photo-Dissociative Flux Measurement (CPFM)

The website is undergoing a major upgrade. Until that is complete, the current site will be visible but logins are disabled.

Primary tabs

Composition and Photo-Dissociative Flux Measurement (CPFM)

Status

Operated By:

CPFM Team Member Robert Hall underneath the ER-2.

The instrument used for the CPFM is a spectroradiometer based on a concave, holographic diffraction grating and a 1024-element diode array detector. It measures the intensities of the two linear polarization components of radiation propagating upward at the aircraft location from a range of elevation angles near the horizon. In addition, a measurement of the intensity of the direct solar beam is made by viewing a horizontal diffusing surface mounted under a quartz dome on board the aircraft. These measurements are used to verify atmospheric light-scattering calculations, which are essential for the accurate modeling of the chemistry of the stratosphere where POLARIS makes its measurements.

Instrument Type:

Radiometer, Spectrometer (in situ)

Measurements:

Solar flux

Aircraft:

ER-2 - AFRC, WB-57 - JSC

Point(s) of Contact:

C. Thomas McElroy (POC; PI)

Additional Information

Publications:

McLinden, C. A., et al. (1999), Observations of stratospheric aerosol using CPFM polarized limb radiances, J. Atmos. Sci., 56, 233-240.

McElroy, C. T. (1995), A spectroradiometer for the measurement of direct and scattered solar irradiance on-board the NASA ER-2 high altitude research aircraft, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22, 1365-1368.