SBIR-STTR Award

Ambient aerosol particles play a significant role in adversely affecting human health, in altering the chemistry and the radiative balance of the Earth’s atmosphere, and in reducing visibility. However, there are significant uncertainties in the sources and chemical transformations of particulate matter and how they relate to climate forcing. Organic aerosol is a key component, often accounting for half or more of the total mass, and is thought to play an important role in the climate effects of particulate matter. The characterization of sources and fates of organic aerosol in the atmosphere is crucial to our understanding of the relationship between anthropogenic activity and global climate. How is this problem being addressed? Over the past fifteen years, aerosol mass spectrometers and, more recently, aerosol chemical speciation monitors, which measure the chemical composition of non-refractory particulate matter, have become important tools for understanding the sources, sinks, and atmospheric chemistry of ambient particulate matter. This project will build on these advances by developing a robust and autonomous instrument for chemical composition measurements, including organic and inorganic components, enabling wide-spread, long-term measurements to inform our understanding of the atmosphere. Phase I Project: Specific Phase I tasks include developing an automated calibration system and developing automated quality assurance/quality control software for the aerosol chemical speciation monitor. Commercial Applications and Other

Benefits:
We expect that the instrument developed in this program will yield a significant level of direct commercial sales and contract field measurements. The initial market for this instrument will be atmospheric research groups at universities and national laboratories with research programs focusing on atmospheric chemistry. Local and national environmental monitoring programs constitute a potentially much larger market.

Clouds play leading role in the Earth's global energy and solar radiation balance. Improving cloud models requires information on the cloud microphysical properties, such as particle size distribution and concentration, cloud composition (droplets, ice particles) and also information on ice crystal shapes (habits). New lightweight and low power instruments for characterization of mixed-phase clouds, suitable for sampling from UAS, tethered balloons, or kite platforms, are needed. This SBIR project continues the development of the Mesa Photonics' in situ optical imaging technology and extends its applicability to mixed-phase cloud characterization. The proposed innovations result in an improved sensitivity and added capability of discriminating between ice particles and water droplets, as well as sizing of droplets in mixed-phase clouds. In addition, the proposed high-resolution hydrometeor imager provides direct complementary information on size and habit of ice particles. The ultimate goal is to develop a technology that is compact, lightweight, low power and inexpensive to make it compatible with small aerial platforms. The Phase I study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed technical approach, which includes: (1) constructing and characterizing a laboratory prototype of the polarization resolved imaging system capable of discriminating between non-spherical particles and water droplets; (2) demonstrating its performance using a variety of aerosols including salt, ice and dry ice particles as well as mono- and poly-disperse water droplets; (3) building and characterizing a laboratory prototype of a high-resolution imager that provides direct complementary information on the size and shape of non-spherical particles; and (4) identifying the engineering challenges of adapting the technology to small aerial platform and designing flight-ready prototype instrumentation in Phase II. In Phase II, prototypes of the in situ polarization resolved imaging system and the high resolution imager for hydrometeors in mixed phase clouds will be designed, built and characterized. The prototypes will undergo extensive laboratory and field testing, including flight testing on a tethered balloon platform. The successful completion of this Phase I/II program will lead to development of a mixed cloud characterization technology primarily designed for use on small unmanned aerial platforms. When carried over into Phase III and beyond, this project will be of great benefit to the public and the Federal Government. Precise and extensive cloud characterization data will lead to better understanding of the contribution of atmospheric clouds to Earth’s radiative budget and their effect on the global climate. Flexibility and low cost of the proposed technology will make it compatible with a variety of airborne- and ground-based platforms and suitable for other applications such as characterization of atmospheric aerosols and volcanic ash plumes.