The Sky is the Limit with MICHELL Instruments

Technology from Michell Instruments is playing a major role in the UK URGENT scientific project run by the University of Manchester (UMIST), called Pollution of the Urban Midlands Atmosphere or PUMA. The Project, using a Michell Instruments S3000 dewpoint monitor to verify the water vapour levels in order to gauge the boundary level of the aerosol and trace gases in the atmosphere is funded by the Natural Environment Research Centre (NERC).

The project measures pollutant on the ground but also in the vertical, checking for traces of ozone, carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Over the past eight months 16 flights have taken place in a specially adapted Cessna light aircraft. The flights have been extended to the city of Manchester and there are now plans to investigate the fate of anthropogenic aerosols downwind of the city of Edinburgh as part of another URGENT project called SASUA organised by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

The rear two seats of the aircraft have been removed to make way for an extensive equipment pannier and the Michell Instruments S3000 which is permanently fixed inside the aircraft.

The dewpoint monitor was installed in the 1980's. Dr. Martin Gallagher runs the project and is highly delighted with Michell Instruments contribution to the research. "The monitor is highly reliable and plays a vital role in our work and measurements. Although this particular device has served us well, we hope to upgrade to the latest Dewmet in order to make use of the automated features offered by the latest version. This will be possible using funds recently obtained from the UK NERC UWERN Joint Infrastructure Fund."

Based on proven cooled mirror technology, the new Michell Instruments Dewmet range is capable of operating at temperatures ranging from -40°C to +90°C, in a dewpoint range of -50°C to +85°C. The instruments feature zero drift, giving highly accurate measurements of ±0.2°C dewpoint and ±0.1°C gas temperature. In addition, response time is fast, at 1°C per second.

All Dewmet cooled mirror dewpoint meters feature Michell Instruments' unique automatic balance compensation system (ABC), to ensure optimum performance in contaminated environments. The system operates periodically to drive condensation off the mirror, while at the same time providing automatic electronic compensation for any reduction in signal, which would be created by a decrease in the reflected light intensity from the mirror surface should contamination build up.

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