ARIM Instrumentation

HARP

The HIAPER Airborne Radiation Package (HARP) instrumentation is a comprehensive atmospheric radiation suite to measure spectrally resolved actinic flux and horizontally stabilized irradiance. HARP was developed in a collaborative effort between NCAR, the University of Colorado, the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research, Metcon, Inc and Enviscope GmbH. The package is part of the HIAPER Aircraft Instrumentation Solicitation (HAIS), funded by NSF. Aircraft deployments include the NSF/NCAR GV and C-130 aircraft.

HARP-Actinic Flux

The actinic flux instruments were recently upgraded to allow for faster time response, noise reduction, improved reliability and long-term stability. The upgrades included improved spectrometers, modern electronics, temperature control, a compact NUC computer, and updated data acquisition and control software.

HARP-Irradiance

The irradiance instruments are operated as a collaboration between the ARIM group and Dr. Sebastian Schmidt at the University of Colorado. The ARIM group is responsible for the instrumentation and field measurements. This includes maintenance, calibration, deployment and calculation of down- and up-welling irradiance. The CU team then processes the calibrated irradiance for products related to the Earth’s energy budget including net irradiance, spectral absorption, aerosol and surface characteristics, and albedo.

CAFS

The Charged-coupled device Actinic Flux Spectroradiometers (CAFS) instruments were designed and developed in the ARIM laboratory for aircraft and ground-based operations. The instruments measure spectrally resolved down- and up-welling in situ ultraviolet and visible actinic flux from approximately 280-650 nm. Aircraft deployments include the NASA DC-8 and WB-57 aircraft. Previous scanning instruments also flew on the NASA P-3B and NOAA WP-3D aircraft.

Figure 1. CAFS zenith and nadir (downwelling and upwelling) optics on the NASA DC-8 aircraft in Broomfield, CO during the ATom campaign.

Figure 2. HARP zenith (downwelling) optics on the NSF/NCAR GV aircraft in Salina, KS during the NSF DC3 campaign.

Figure 3. CAFS zenith and nadir (downwelling and upwelling) optics on the NASA WB-57 aircraft in Houston, TX during the AVE-Houston campaign.

Figure 4. Downwelling optics in Utqiaġvik, Alaska during the OASIS campaign.