Principle Investigators: Stony Brook University (Paul Shepson), University of Michigan (Kerri Pratt), University at Albany (Sara Lance), Penn State University (Jose Fuentes), and University of Alaska at Fairbanks (Bill Simpson), along with the U. Wyoming King Air crew and support from UIC-Science and NCAR EOL (Carol Costanza)
Funded by: National Science Foundation
The project CHACHA (CHemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols) is now underway in Utqiaġvik, AK! This project involves two research aircraft, the Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (ALAR) from Purdue University, and the University of Wyoming King Air. This project is a collaboration between PIs from Stony Brook University (Paul Shepson), University of Michigan (Kerri Pratt), University at Albany (Sara Lance), Penn State University (Jose Fuentes), and University of Alaska at Fairbanks (Bill Simpson), along with the U. Wyoming King Air crew and support from UIC-Science and NCAR EOL (Carol Costanza). There are also collaborative measurements at a tundra ground site by PIs Fuentes, Ying Pan (Penn State University), and Pratt. We are delighted to report that approximately half of the PI team members are early career women! The objective of CHACHA is to investigate how the changing sea ice and oil and gas extraction are impacting the atmosphere and clouds. We will test the following three hypotheses about atmospheric chemistry, aerosols, and clouds in the New Arctic: Hypothesis H1: Open sea ice leads are a source of sea spray aerosol, containing particulate halides, to the Arctic boundary layer, affecting cloud composition and the vertical and horizontal propagation of halogen chemistry. Hypothesis H2: Oil and gas extraction emissions significantly modify regional scale natural halogen chemistry, impacting multiphase halogen recycling and activation, as well as the fate of NOx and O3. Hypothesis H3: Atmospheric oxidative processing of sulfur, nitrogen, and other chemical species differs between clear-sky conditions, and those impacted by in-cloud chemical processing.
The two aircraft are housed in a hangar at the airport (PABR) in Utqiaġvik, as shown in the photo at left. This is a highly complex deployment, the success of which depends on proper functionality of multiple instruments on both airplanes, the airplanes themselves, and the health of the teams. But as of this writing all systems are (more or less) go! Besides getting past our test flights and tweaking instruments, the teams have been getting used to life in the Ukpik Nest, and in Utqiaġvik. So far, we have seen many polar bears (from a reasonable distance…), some amazing Auroras, and some appealing lead clouds off in the distance in the Chukchi Sea. We are excited about this great opportunity! Stay tuned for more as we acquire new data, and enjoy our team photos!
For more information, please follow Shep’s CHACHA blog!
ALAR and Polar Bear and Aurora Photo credits: Katja Bigge
