MAGIC Operating Areas: North Sea gas fields, Sodankyla, Abisko, Pallas, Svalbard

Science Objectives:

MAGIC will conduct a series of aircraft measurements from 50N to 80N in the Arctic region. Each mission will aim to conduct a series of deep vertical profiles in the region between southern Finland and Svalbard. The profiles will extend into the stratosphere at the northern end of the sectors. Up to 5 missions will be conducted, covering the period from early spring when Arctic haze remains prevalent, through to late summer when Arctic wetland thaw is at its maximum. Each mission, lasting 3 days, will include measurements of in situ methane and nitrous oxide concentrations using a combination of cavity ring down (CRDS), continuous wave quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (CW-QCLAS) instruments and whole air samples for post analysis by colleagues at RHUL and UEA.
In collaboration with the UK Met Office we will use high altitude flights to measure atmospheric methane columns using the ARIES radiometer. These can be directly compared with those derived by IASI/SCIAMACHY satellite column measurements and validated by the situ measured methane profiles.
Source studies of changing isotopic signature will be carried out to investigate advected sources from Scandinavia and Russia
Flask sampling will be carried out on airborne campaigns for isotopic analysis of CO2 and CH4
Process studies of CH4, CO2 and N2O using eddy covariance and chambers over contrasting sites will be made within the flight path of aircraft missions. (2x6 week campaigns to validate the aircraft measurements and to investigate the relative importance of the key processes responsible for the methane flux during the study period (i.e. water table, temperature, plant transport, ebullition, wind, soil properties)).