Experiments in Planetary Atmospheres

该研究计划的目标包括行星探测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，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的凤凰号（Phoenix）火星任务中使用了激光雷达（LIDAR）仪器。将研制一种新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影响在火星极地地区地表以下发现的大量水冰的过程。该仪器将以激光遥感技术为基础，采用拉曼光谱技术区分霜沉积、土壤颗粒吸附和盐水溶液。环境室将用于模拟火星表面的条件进行实验。以地球为基础的大气成分研究将包括测量影响空气质量的工业来源的大气排放。飞机大气研究将与加拿大环境部合作进行，作为政府计划测量油砂工业大气排放的一部分。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，以便评估对下风空气质量的影响程度。这项研究的目的是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.