Lower Tropospheric Ozone Measurements by Light Aircraft Equipped with Chemiluminescent Sonde

Abstract

Novel use of a commercial, battery-powered, chemiluminescent ozonesonde on a light aircraft is described. This fast-response instrument, originally designed for balloon deployment into the stratosphere, is light, inexpensive, robust (reuseable), reliable, and accurate. Integration with other lightweight components (data logger, global positioning system, pressure, temperature, and humidity sensors) renders the system suitable for use in a light (rental) aircraft with no modification of the aircraft required. The system is well suited to routine reconnaissance and vertical profiling in regions of complex terrain, and with well-designed field studies, mass budget analyses are feasible. The application and validation of the system is described for the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, a region of complex coastal terrain where photochemical smog is a significant problem in the summer months.