Experiments in Planetary Atmospheres

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The goals of the research program involve basic knowledge generation in planetary exploration and also applied research in studies of air pollution. The common thread is the development and application of laser remote sensing technology.**** Research concerning planet Mars will follow from the accomplishments associated with the contribution of a LIDAR (laser radar) instrument to the NASA Phoenix Mars mission in 2008. A new instrument will be developed to study the interaction between the surface and atmosphere on Mars. The questions to be addressed in this experiment concern the processes that affect the vast amount of water ice that has been found below the surface in the polar regions of Mars. The instrument will be based on laser remote sensing technology and the technique of Raman spectroscopy will be applied to differentiate between frost deposition, adsorption on soil grains, and aqueous salt solution. An environmental chamber will be used to simulate the conditions on the surface of Mars for the experiments. **** Earth based studies of atmospheric composition will involve measurements of atmospheric emissions from industrial sources that impact the quality of air. Aircraft based atmospheric research will be carried out in collaboration with Environment Canada as part of the government plan for measurements of atmospheric emissions from the oil sands industry. A Twin Otter aircraft will carry a LIDAR instrument for measurements of ozone and particulate matter. This will provide a two dimensional cross-section of the pollution plume in order to assess the scale of the effect on downwind air quality. The research will aim to place the oil sands atmospheric emissions on a comparison with the impact of pollution from other major sources, such as cities.****