CoMet 2.0 Arctic

The aim of CoMet 2.0 Arctic was to collect airborne remote sensing and in-situ data to gain new insights into the distribution and temporal changes of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, and their tracers in high northern latitudes. The results of the project will prepare future satellite missions such as MERLIN and contribute to an improved understanding of the global methane and carbon cycle. The aim is to further develop synergistic combinations of active and passive remote sensing methods for greenhouse gas measurements and to support technological advances required for the validation of current satellite missions and for the development of future Earth observation satellites. Four years after the previous mission (CoMet 1.0), the instrumentation developed at that time has now been fully deployed on the HALO research aircraft.

As part of the project, central scientific questions of current greenhouse gas research were investigated. These include the contribution of large Arctic wetlands to the summer greenhouse gas budget in comparison to emissions from natural geological sources, biomass combustion and the extraction of fossil fuels.

CoMet 2.0 - Logo
Logo of the CoMet 2.0 - campaign
Image: 1/3, Credit:
DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
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Measurement flights flown during CoMet 2.0 Arctic
Overview of the target regions of the research flights during the CoMet 2.0 Arctic mission in Canada. The base was located in Edmonton, from where the explorations started. Most of the areas contain natural methane sources from wetlands and lakes, but anthropogenic sources such as coal mines and outgassing from disused gas shafts were also surveyed.
Image: 2/3, Credit:
DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

View out of the window during a CoMet 2.0 Arctic mission flight
The destination for this flight was the Mackenzie River Delta in northern Canada. The wide bifurcation of the river delta creates shallow waters and wetlands, which in turn are a natural source of methane.
Image: 3/3, Credit:
DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

The 6-week flight measurement campaign took place in Canada from 6 August to 16 September 2022. The campaign was based at Edmonton Airport, from where 13 scientific flights were carried out. Canada is an excellent study area because not only are some of the largest Arctic wetlands located here, but antrhopogenic sources such as oil and gas fields, coal mines and landfills also contribute to the greenhouse gas budget.

During the campaign, a subset of the instrumentation already used during CoMet 1.0 was deployed and integrated as an optimised payload on the HALO research aircraft. In addition to continuing the synergistic use of various measuring instruments to record different greenhouse gases, the campaign focussed on quantifying emissions from Arctic wetlands such as the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the Mackenzie Delta and the region around the city of Lloydminster, as well as emissions from diffuse anthropogenic sources from small gas and oil wells or coal mines.

Payload on the HALO research aircraft

Instrument	Messgrößen und Beschreibung
CHARM-F	Integrated Path Differential Absorption Lidar for Measurement of the integrated partial column of CO₂and CH₄ (XCO₂ & XCH₄) between aircraft and ground
MAMAP2DL	Passive imaging spectrometer using solar radiation to measure the integrated partial column of CO₂and CH₄ (XCO₂ & XCH₄) between aircraft and ground
JIG - Jena Instrument for Green- house gas measurements	In-situ measurements of CO₂, CH₄, CO, and H₂O
JAS - Jena Airborne Sampler	Air sampler for monitoring CO₂, CH₄, CO, N₂O, H2, SF6, and thair isotopes ¹³C in CH₄, ²H in CH₄, ¹³C in CO₂and ¹⁸O in CO₂
MIRACLE	In-situ measurements of CO₂, CH₄, C₂H₆, and thair methan isotops D¹³C(CH₄)
specMACS - Hyperspectral imager	Hyperspectral camera in the visible and near infrared spectral range (400 - 2500 nm); polarised wide-angle imager
FOKAL	Monitoring the frequency stability of the CO2online wavelength of CHARM-F
BAHAMAS - BAsic HAlo Measurement And Sensor system	Basic meteorological parameters such as pressure, temperature, 3-D wind vectors and aircraft attitude data
meterological Dropsonds	Relative humidity, temperature and pressure profiles