Airborne sulfur trace species intercomparison campaign: Sulfur dioxide, dimethylsulfide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, and carbonyl sulfide

Results from an airborne intercomparison of techniques to measure tropospheric levels of sulfur trace gases are presented. The intercomparison was part of the NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) and was conducted during the summer of 1989. The intercomparisons were conducted on the Wallops Electra aircraft during flights from Wallops Island, Virginia, and Natal, Brazil. Sulfur measurements intercompared included sulfur dioxide (SO2), dimethylsulfide (DMS), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon disulfide (CS2), and carbonyl sulfide (OCS). Measurement techniques ranged from filter collection systems with post-flight analyses to mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph systems employing various methods for measuring and identifying the sulfur gases during flight. Sampling schedules for the techniques ranged from integrated collections over periods as long as 50 minutes to one- to three-minute samples every ten or fifteen minutes. Several of the techniques provided measurements of more than one sulfur gas. Instruments employing different detection principles were involved in each of the sulfur intercomparisons. Also included in the intercomparison measurement scenario were a host of supporting measurements (i.e., ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, total sulfur, aerosols, etc.) for purposes of: (1) interpreting results (i.e., correlation of any noted instrument disagreement with the chemical composition of the measurement environment); and (2) providing supporting chemical data to meet CITE-3 science objectives of studying ozone/sulfur photochemistry, diurnal cycles, etc. The results of the intercomparison study are briefly discussed