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Field Campaigns


UMBS-PROPHET 2012, 2016

We have made measurements of nitrogen oxide mixing ratios and fluxes in two summer campaigns at the University of Michigan Biological Station’s Program for Research on Oxidants: PHotochemistry, Emissions, and Transport (PROPHET) tower. During the summer of 2016, we were part of a large collaborative effort to study oxidants in a biogenic-rich environment. Sarah Kavassalis is collaborating with Allison Steiner (University of Michigan) to perform 1D modelling of the canopy turbulence and chemistry.

UBWOS 2014

The Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS) campaign took place in January-February of 2014. Angela Hong brought our 2-channel NOx/NOy chemiluminescence analyzer to Horse Pool Utah to study vertical profiles of nitrogen oxides and ozone in the snowpack. The data will be analyzed to better understand the roles of the snowpack in the recycling of nitrogen oxides and radicals in the region. Angela wrote a more detailed description of her experience in an Environmental Chemistry blog.

NETCARE


The Network on Climate and Aerosols (NETCARE) is large collaborative project (PI Jon Abbatt) aimed at addressing key uncertainties related to aerosols in remote Canadian environments, funded by the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research program at NSERC.  In the summer of 2014, the Murphy group operated the AIM-IC onboard the CCGS Amundsen while the vessel sailed through the Canadian Arctic. We measured high levels of gas phase ammonia that we were able to associate with biomass burning and emissions from migratory seabird colonies. In the summer of 2016, we brought the AIM-IC to Alert, and our QC-TILDAS instrument on board the Amundsen to learn more about water-soluble particles and gases in the Arctic.

FOSSILS 2013


The Fort McMurray Oil Sands Strategic Investigation of Local Sources (FOSSILS) campaign took place in August-September of 2013. The Murphy group was involved in measurements from the AMS 13 ground site, located near Fort McKay. We operated the AIM-IC instrument to make measurements of water-soluble PM2.5 and gas phase NH3, HNO3, and SO2. We also assisted Environment Canada with the operation of a PTR-TOF-MS for the measurement of volatile organic compounds. The data have been analyzed to better understand the sources and fates of emissions from Oil Sands industrial activity.


Haliburton Forest 2008-2013

Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve is a privately-owned mixed hardwoord forest located 200 km northeast of Toronto. We have been making flux measurements from a 32 m tower located in Haliburton Forest since 2009. Our primary interests are the greenhouse gas and reactive nitrogen budgets of the forest.
In the summer of 2011, we made intensive measurements of the canopy-scale fluxes of methanenitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Our analysis of the carbon dioxide fluxes between 2009 and 2013 indicate that the area around the tower is a negligible sink of carbon, and that a short heatwave in the spring of 2010 led to persistent loss of carbon throughout that summer.

CalNex 2010


The California Nexus (CalNex) campaign took place in California in the summer of 2010, with the objective of understanding issues that relate air quality and climate change. The Murphy group was involved in measurements of gas phase NH3 at the Pasadena ground site, and water-soluble PM2.5 and precursor gases at the Bakersfield ground site. Check out our publications page to see how these data have been used to better understand gas-particle partitioning and particle formation in southern and central California.

BAQS-Met 2007


The Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study (BAQS-Met) took place in June-July 2007, with the objective of understanding the impacts of transboundary transport and local emissions on air quality in southwestern Ontario. The Murphy group was involved in measurements of gas phase NH3 and water-soluble PM2.5 at the Harrow ground site. Many of the results from this study have been published in a special issue of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.