ALICE - Airborne tool for methane isotopic composition and polar meteorological experiments

ALICE项目的目标是--实现具有气象有效载荷的四轴飞行器和空气探测系统--冬季在南极沿海考察站附近的海冰和海水上部署该系统--通过甲烷同位素分析调查大气边界层的小尺度结构和可变性，以及极地甲烷排放的来源。在第一个项目年，将实现、测试具有气象和空气采样有效载荷的四轴飞行器的概念，并使其有资格在严酷的南极条件下部署，并在实验室接受关于空气悬浮系统的处理和空气样本的处理的广泛测试，从玻璃瓶的排空到最终使用质谱仪进行分析。典型的飞行模式包括上升到1000米的高度，利用实时数据下行链路观测温度和湿度参数以及地表温度，然后确定在下降期间在靠近地面、接近逆温层和逆温层以上的不同高度使用空气探测器的高度。在第二个项目年，将在南半球冬季(4月至9月)从南极沿海站(可能是智利基地主席爱德华多·弗雷·蒙塔尔瓦、日本西奥瓦基地或英国基地哈雷)频繁上升来调查大气边界层，根据来自卫星的数据，预计南极海洋的甲烷浓度会增加。在大气观测和空气采样的同时，国际合作伙伴监测大气和海洋甲烷浓度，并对海水和海冰的探测器进行采样，以便在实验室进行甲烷同位素分析。对高分辨率数据进行质量检查，并将其嵌入本地气象测量，特别是无线电探空数据。在第三个项目年中，对获得的气象数据集进行了分析。这种跨学科的评估有助于理解海洋、海冰和大气的相互作用，特别是极地地区的甲烷循环。高分辨率剖面提供了关于不同天气尺度和海冰条件下的大气层化和小尺度时空变异性的信息。这些数据将用于验证一个大气模型，该模型是为调查沿海波尼亚附近的小规模过程而设计的。数据解释将与合作伙伴密切合作，采用跨学科方法，将观测到的大气属性与生物地球化学甲烷循环联系起来，通过同位素分析确定甲烷浓度升高的原因。气象数据将为遥感甲烷观测提供一个验证工具。

The goals of the project ALICE are - the realization of a quadrocopter with meteorological payload and an air probing system- the deployment of the system above sea ice and ocean water near a coastal Antarctic research station in winter- the investigation of the small-scale structure and variability of the atmospheric boundary layer, and the origin of polar methane emissions by analysis of methane isotopesDuring the first project year, the concept of the quadrocopter with meteorological and air sampling payload will be realized, tested and qualified for deployment in the harsh Antarctic conditions, and undergo extensive testing concerning the handling of the airborne system and the treatment of the air samples from evacuation of the glass bottles to the final analysis with a mass spectrometer in the laboratory. A typical flight pattern includes the ascent up to an altitude of 1000 m, observing the parameters temperature and humidity, as well as the surface temperature, with the real-time data downlink, and then deciding the altitudes for taking air probes at various altitudes close to the surface, near the inversion, and above the inversion during the descent.During the second project year, the atmospheric boundary layer will be investigated with frequent ascents from a coastal Antarctic station (possibly the Chilean Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, the Japanese base Syowa or the British base Halley) in austral winter (April to September), when an enhanced methane concentration is expected in the South Polar Ocean based on satellite-derived data. Parallel to the atmospheric observations and the air sampling, the atmospheric and oceanic methane concentration is monitored by international collaboration partners, and probes of ocean water and sea ice are sampled for analysis concerning methane isotopes in the laboratory. The high resolution data are quality checked and embedded in the context of the local meteorological measurements and especially the radiosonde data.During the third project year, the obtained meteorological data set is analysed. The interdisciplinary evaluation contributes to the understanding of the interactions of ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, especially the methane cycle in the polar regions. The high-resolution profiles provide information about the atmospheric stratification and small-scale spatial and temporal variability under different synoptic-scale and sea ice conditions. The data will be used for the validation of an atmospheric model which is designed for investigating small-scale processes near a coastal polynya. The data interpretation will be performed in close cooperation with the partners in an interdisciplinary approach to link the observed atmospheric properties to the biogeochemical methane cycle, to determine the origin of the enhanced methane concentration via isotopic analyses. The meteorological data will serve to provide a validation tool for remote sensing methane observations.