The Atmospheric Mercury Flight Campaign

The Atmospheric Mercury Flight Campaign
Aviation
Av
a o Sys
Systemss Progra
Program,, UT Space
Spac Institute
I s
August 2010
Some of the Atmospheric Mercury Team from U. of Miami and the UT Space Institute
The UT Space Institute Participates in
At
Atmospheric
h i Mercury
M
Study
St d
From 31 July through 12 August 2010, The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI)
participated in an intensive field study to investigate the chemistry,
chemistry transport,
transport and deposition of
mercury compounds in the atmosphere. Partners in this study included
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory (ARL)
The Georgia Institute of Technology
Florida State University
The University of Miami
The Canaan Valley Institute, West Virginia
Florida A&M University
Th Mississippi
The
Mi i i i Department
D
t
t off Environmental
E i
t l Quality
Q lit
NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
The UT Space Institute Aviation Systems Program
Scientists and engineers converged on the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)
in Moss Point, MS where they could take advantage of the existing NOAA ARL mercury
measurement facility. Specifically, the scientists measured the mercury in the atmosphere, in
specific rainfall episodes, and in dew to determine the origin of the measured compounds. The
role played by halogen species (bromine and chlorine) in the marine environment as well as in
the upper atmosphere was also investigated using a variety of techniques.
* Portions of above text is taken from a Press Release written by Dr. Winston Luke, NOAA ARL.
UTSI Atmospheric Mercury Flight Campaign
The UTSI Piper Navajo airborne science research aircraft (N11UT) was used in the study to
measure mercury and other pollutants at altitudes ranging from the surface to 15,500 feet in the
Gulf of Mexico region, in partnership with NOAA/ARL and the University of Miami. The aircraft
was based at Trent‐Lott International Airport, Pascagoula, MS during the study.
To support the aircraft measurements, NOAA/ARL scientists launched weather balloons from the
NERR to measure the profiles of temperature, humidity, pressure, winds, and ozone
concentrations from the surface to altitudes as high as 100,000 feet. Grand Bay NERR, Florida
A&M University, and NOAA NCCOS scientists also measured mercury concentrations in biota and
in water and sediment samples at various locations within the reserve.
* Portions of above text is taken from a Press Release written by Dr. Winston Luke, NOAA ARL.
More About the Atmospheric Mercury Study
The study is intended to address key issues in atmospheric mercury research including the
importance of transport from the middle atmosphere to the surface; the role of halogen
compounds in mercury transformations; the specific chemical identities of individual mercury
species;
i the
th relative
l ti contributions
t ib ti
off natural
t l and
d anthropogenic
th
i (man‐made)
(
d ) emissions
i i
sources;
and the relationship between mercury concentrations in the air and in rainfall to the prevalence
of mercury in the NERR ecosystem, including fish and other wildlife.
In most locations,
locations mercury
merc r in aquatic
aq atic ecosystems
ecos stems results
res lts from deposition from the atmosphere,
atmosphere
but the mercury in the atmosphere arises from both natural and man‐made sources. Data show
that the Gulf of Mexico region is plagued by persistently high total mercury in precipitation. Once
in the watershed, this mercury can enter the local food chain. Human exposure to mercury is
primarily from the consumption of contaminated fish and other aquatic organisms.
organisms Fish
consumption in coastal areas is typically much higher than the national average, and every state
along the Gulf of Mexico has widespread fish consumption advisories for mercury.
This study will allow the scientists to better understand what is unique about the region and to
address questions, such as: Are mercury concentrations high because of halogens in the marine
boundary layer? Or, are mercury concentrations high because frequent and widespread
convective activity and rainfall continually scrub the middle and upper troposphere of reactive
gaseous mercury,
mercury which may arise from halogen chemistry in the troposphere and the
stratosphere? What role is played by local and regional anthropogenic mercury sources?
* Above text is taken from a Press Release written by Dr. Winston Luke, NOAA ARL.
The Grand Bay
National Estuarine
E
Research
R
Reserve
R
(NERR)
( ERR)
Moss Point, MS
The NERR is a modern, state-of-the-art science and education facility.
NERR Ground-Based Data Collection
Inside the NOAA ARL mercury
instrumentation trailer
Florida State U. aerosol and
precipitation collectors
“On the Road” to Mississippi
Mechanic Shane Porter and grad student Joe Young drove to Mississippi in the
UTSI van, carrying much of our needed equipment… and Prof. Muratore’s luggage!
Tullahoma, TN to Pascagoula,
g
MS
We fferriedd th
W
the UTSI Navajo airborne
b
science researchh aircraft
ft ffrom
Tullahoma Airport to Trent-Lott International Airport on 31 July 2010.
Ready for (Scientific)Action!
Tucked away in its new temporary hangar home at Trent-Lott Airport,
the UTSI Navajo is ready for atmospheric mercury flights.
UTSI Piper Navajo Airborne Science Aircraft
Our “little”
little Navajo was packed with scientific instruments
instruments, including
mercury denuders, a TekRan mercury analyzer, ozone and sulphur
dioxide detectors, a hygrometer, digital video, and a laser altimeter.
Air Inlet Tubes
Three air inlet tubes were mounted through the right-side cabin window. The
large, forward-facing tube was for mercury and the two smaller, aft-facing tubes
were for ozone and sulphur dioxide. Keeping these tubes “sterile” on the ground
was very important for getting good quality airborne
b
data. TThe mercury tube
b
was continuously flushed with nitrogen gas on the ground.
The mercury air inlet tube fed a system of denuders – glass tubes that collected aerosol
pparticles – mounted in the box at the topp off the rack. There were 8 denuders loaded into
the box and the Scientist opened valves allowing air to enter each denuder. At the end of
each flight, the denuder tubes were carefully removed and analyzed at the NERR.
Flying Backwards
The view from the Scientist seat (left) and Flight Test Engineer seat (right) in the
aircraft main cabin. Both of these seats face backwards, so these folks had to have
strong stomachs… if you’ve ever ridden backwards, you’ll know what we mean!
Dr. Phil Swartzendruber,
U. of Miami atmospheric mercury
scientist,
t t flflew with
th us on all
ll off our
science missions.
Long Hours and Late Nights in the Mississippi Heat
Everyone workedd day
E
d andd night
h as required,
d 7 ddays a week.
The heat index in the daytime and into the night was often over 100 degrees!
Science Mission Flight Planning
This aeronautical map gives you some idea of the flight paths (in red) that we flew around
the Gulf region. It took quite a bit of planning and coordination with Air Traffic Control.
Earlyy Morningg Flight
g Prepp
We started our days
y veryy earlyy to help beat the heat and to avoid the typical
y
afternoon build-up of thunderstorms. We usually started our flight preparations
at around 6 a.m. and tried to take-off by about 8:30 a.m.
Mark Cohen, NOAA ARL, provided the team with a huge amount of
atmospheric data on a daily basis to help us determine where to fly.
Balloon Launch
NOAA scientists
i ti t P
Paull K
Kelly
ll andd Wi
Winston
t L
Luke
k llaunched
hd
high altitude balloons from the NERR to gather atmospheric
data on flight days. The balloons would transmit data to the
ground from up to over 100,000
100 000 ft altitude.
altitude
Research Professors and Aviators John Muratore and Borja Martos
before a Mercury flight
Mechanic Shane Porter assists Prof. John
J
Muratore
prior to boarding for a flight.
Engine
g Start
Our aircraft mechanics, Shane Porter (left) and Greg Heatherlyy (right), did
an incredible job keeping us flying, despite propeller governor and engine
ignition problems that required a lot of “extra effort” on their part to fix.
Taxi ffor Takeoffff
UTSI Piper Navajo 11UT taxiing for takeoff with Trent-Lott tower in the background.
W received
We
i d many comments
t ffrom the
th Air
Ai Traffic
T ffi C
Controllers
t ll about
b t our “UT”
UT airplane,
i l
many ending their radio transmissions to us with the words, “Roll Tide!”… seems there
are a few Alabama fans down there! Of course, we responded, “Go Vols!”
Takeoff…
ff in Search off Mercury!
y
“Sniffing” for Mercury Along the Gulf Coast
Note the mercury air sampling tube on the right.
View of the Beautiful Gulf Coast Shoreline
Looking to the East
View of the Gulf Coast
View to the South into the Gulf of Mexico
Flying Over the Gulf of Mexico
Note the oil slicks in the water. We saw many vessels in support of the oil spill recovery.
We flew as low as 500 ft above the water taking measurements in the marine boundary layer.
One of the Barrier Islands off the Gulf Coast
Since we were beyond gliding distance to the shore if our engines quit at low
altitude, we wore personal floatation gear and had a life raft on board.
High
g Altitude Flight
g
We flew as high as about 16,000 ft, measuring significant atmospheric mercury in
the clean, high air. These types of airborne mercury measurements are quite unique,
having been made onlyy once or twice in the past. We think we mayy have even
sampled airborne dust that came all the way from the African continent.
Dark Skies on the Horizon
Flying around the Gulf Coast in the late Summer, there was the constant
threat of violent thunderstorms. Careful flight planning and excellent
aircraft avionics equipment kept us safe.
Landingg After
f a Science Flight
F g
The flights were about 3 hours long and although we were pretty hot and tired
when we got back, we were always excited to discuss our scientific findings.
Headingg Home
Departing the Gulf Coast as a tropical storm approaches.
The UTSI Av Systems
Atmospheric Mercury Flight Campaign Team
Chief Mechanic
Greg Heatherlyy
G
and
Mechanic
Sh
Shane
P
Porter
t
Research Professor and Flight Test Engineer
JJohn Muratore
Grad Student and Flight Test Engineer
Joe Young
Research Professor and Pilot
B j M
Borja
Martos
t
Associate Professor and Pilot
Stephen Corda
This Was a Team Effort!
Unfortunately, we don’t have pictures of all the Av Systems folks that made this a
success andd off course, we could
ld not take everyone withh us to the
h Gulf
G lf off Mexico, but
b
the following folks were nonetheless a significant part of our team:
Prof. Peter Solies, Prof. Richard Ranaudo, and Admin. Asst. Brenda Brown
G d Students
Grad
St d t Will M
Moonan, JJonathan
th K
Kolwyck,
l k andd S
Sammy Willi
Williams
We know that we’ve left out all of the other UTSI folks that are not in Av Systems
that helped us to be successful… Thanks to all of you too!
What’s Next for Airborne Mercury?
The atmospheric
Th
t
h
mercury flight
fl ht campaign was very successful
f l with
th over 17 hhours
of airborne data collected. We will be busy over the next few months supporting
the analysis and publication of the airborne science data.
We will be returning to the Gulf of Mexico, as NOAA has already asked us to
support another atmospheric mercury flight campaign in April 2011.