THE NASA ATMOSPHERIC TOMOGRAPHY (ATom) MISSION: Imaging the Chemistry of the Global Atmosphere ...

• Main Authors: Thompson, Chelsea R., Wofsy, Steven C., Prather, Michael J., Newman, Paul A., Bian, Huisheng, Hannun, Reem, Clair, Jason St., Et Al
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: AMS 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Pacific; Hannah; Correa; Lacey; Bourgeois; Brune; Climate change
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.13016/m2yvmk-rri6; https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/25243

Authors: Chelsea R. Thompson, Steven C. Wofsy, Michael J. Prather, Paul A. Newman, Thomas F. Hanisco, Thomas B. Ryerson, David W. Fahey, Eric C. Apel, Charles A. Brock, William H. Brune, Karl Froyd, Joseph M. Katich, Julie M. Nicely, Jeff Peischl, Eric Ray, Patrick R. Veres, Siyuan Wang, Hannah M. Allen, Elizabeth Asher, Huisheng Bian, Donald Blake, Ilann Bourgeois, John Budney, T. Paul Bui, Amy Butler, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Cecilia Chang, Mian Chin, Róisín Commane, Gus Correa, John D. Crounse, Bruce Daube, Jack E. Dibb, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Maximilian Dollner, James W. Elkins, Arlene M. Fiore, Clare M. Flynn, Hao Guo, Samuel R. Hall, Reem A. Hannun, Alan Hills, Eric J. Hintsa, Alma Hodzic, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, L. Greg Huey, Jose L. Jimenez, Ralph F. Keeling, Michelle J. Kim, Agnieszka Kupc, Forrest Lacey, Leslie R. Lait, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Junhua Liu, Kathryn McKain, Simone Meinardi, David O. Miller, Stephen A. Montzka, Fred L. Moore, Eric J. Morgan, Daniel M. Murphy, Lee T. Murray, ... : This article provides an overview of the NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission and a summary of selected scientific findings to date. ATom was an airborne measurements and modeling campaign aimed at characterizing the composition and chemistry of the troposphere over the most remote regions of the Pacific, Southern, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans, and examining the impact of anthropogenic and natural emissions on a global scale. These remote regions dominate global chemical reactivity and are exceptionally important for global air quality and climate. ATom data provide the in situ measurements needed to understand the range of chemical species and their reactions, and to test satellite remote sensing observations and global models over large regions of the remote atmosphere. Lack of data in these regions, particularly over the oceans, has limited our understanding of how atmospheric composition is changing in response to shifting anthropogenic emissions and physical climate change. ATom was designed as a ...