The Global Hawk Whole Air Sampler, or GWAS instrument compresses samples of high-altitude air in canisters to analyze the trace gas composition of each collection sample. GWAS Principal Investigator Elliot Atlas, with the University of Miami in Florida, describes how the instrument was used on a Global Hawk aircraft for NASA’s Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment, or ATTREX mission. Up to 90 samples were taken during each flight to provide an accurate measurement of the wide range of compounds in each sample. Trace gases can travel into the stratosphere and deplete the ozone layer, thus are of great interest to the ATTREX research team.
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NASA ID
ARC-20151204-AAV3510-Looking-for-Trace-Gases-at-High-Altitude
Date Created
December 4, 2015
Center
ARC
Media Type
video
Location
Guam
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