Airborne Measurements

Maintaining stable instrument operation when large pressure and temperature changes occur during vertical profiling can be a real challenge. Instruments developed at Brechtel (SEMS, MCPC, ISO, CVI) are designed to meet airborne measurement challenges. Air flow, pressure, humidity, and temperature parameters are taken care of during research flights.

The Brechtel Scanning Electrical Mobility Sizer (SEMS, see Lopez-Yglesias et al. (2014) Aer. Sci. & Tech.) was used on-board the Environment Canada Convair 580 research aircraft to perform rapid 40 second size scans between 20 and 100 nm during vertical profiles to 9,500 feet. The SEMS performed very well with no down time over the three weeks of intensive flights performed from Resolute Bay, Nunavut (Alaska). The vertical profile data from the SEMS captured particle production and growth events that were a primary focus of the research.