A New Generation of Atmospheric Tracers - The Biological Connection
Abstract
The use of atmospheric tracers can provide information on air flow features that cannot be directly observed by meteorological instrumentation systems. Even in the special situations where remote sensing systems can operate, sufficient aerosol-hydrometer backscatter is required before relatively short-range volume scans of the velocity field are possible. However, all measurement systems (standard or research) are deficient in being able to directly measure the Lagrangian features of the atmosphere. Tracers, on the other hand, can be designed and used to specifically document many of the actual flow characteristics (transport/diffusion) of the atmosphere. A prototype atmospheric tracer system (ABS-1) has been developed that utilizes insect pheromones as the tracer and a live insect as the atmospheric biosensor (ABS-1). The laboratory experiments indicate that not only the presence of the pheromone tracer can be detected, but also an estimate can be made of the tracer concentration. Thus, atmospheric transport and diffusion estimates should now be possible with the ABS-1. Keywords: Biosensors; Atmospheric physics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 07, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA212285
Entities
People
- Louis B. Bjostad
- Peter C. Sinclair
Organizations
- Colorado State University