Experiments in Planetary Atmospheres

研究计划的目标包括行星探索的基础知识生成以及空气污染研究的应用研究。共同的主线是激光遥感技术的发展和应用。 2008年，美国航天局凤凰号火星使命的激光雷达仪器的贡献所取得的成就将是对火星行星的研究的基础。将研制一种新的仪器来研究火星表面和大气之间的相互作用。在这个实验中要解决的问题涉及的过程，影响了大量的水冰已被发现在火星极地地区的表面以下。该仪器将以激光遥感技术为基础，并将应用拉曼光谱技术来区分霜沉积、土壤颗粒吸附和盐水溶液。一个环境室将用于模拟火星表面的实验条件。 基于地球的大气成分研究将涉及对影响空气质量的工业源大气排放物的测量。将与加拿大环境部合作开展基于飞机的大气研究，作为政府测量油砂工业大气排放计划的一部分。一架双水獭飞机将携带一台激光雷达仪器，用于测量臭氧和颗粒物。这将提供污染羽流的二维横截面，以评估对顺风空气质量的影响程度。该研究旨在将油砂的大气排放与其他主要污染源（如城市）的污染影响进行比较。

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.