EOL Seminar: Patrick Veres - NCAR EOL/RAF

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Seminar Series Webpage:
https://www.eol.ucar.edu/news-events/...

TITLE: Innovation of Instrumentation as a Key Driver of Discovery from Laboratory Investigations to Airborne In-Situ Deployments

SPEAKER: Patrick Veres - NCAR/EOL

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ABSTRACT: Chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) has become a widely available and
commonly used tool for atmospheric laboratory and field investigations. With recent
advancements in commercially available time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers and
the development of flexible ion sources, the TOF-CIMS has become an increasingly
powerful tool providing detection capabilities for a large range of target molecules.
Modern TOF-CIMS instruments are now capable of providing sensitive and selective in-
situ measurements with fast time response (>1Hz) and limits of detection on the order of
tens of parts-per-trillion (ppt) and lower. My own research has long focused on the
adaptation and innovation of CIMS technology, with a particular focus on the
development of airborne deployable instrumentation. This talk will focus on the
challenges faced, technological improvements, and advancements in CIMS
methodology. This research and development process has produced some of the most
accurate and precise airborne in-situ CIMS observations of trace gases available, which
we continue to leverage to yield new discoveries. In this talk I will discuss a recent
example, the identification of a previously unobserved dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oxidation
product hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF). Additionally, I will present on the
development and deployment of a semi-autonomous TOF-CIMS capable of operating in
extreme conditions present in the Stratosphere that has been providing a clearer picture
of chemistry in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS). Through these
examples I will emphasize the continued need for support in instrument development, a
key driver of discovery in the field of atmospheric research.