The Stratospheric Photochemistry Aerosols and Dynamics Experiment (SPADE)

In November 1992 and April-May 1993, the NASA ER-2 aircraft was flown out of NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, to examine photochemical reactions affecting ozone loss. This was the SPADE mission.

SPADE was a part of the Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft (AESA) program under the NASA High Speed Research Program (HSRP), and was staged to deal especially with possible effects of a projected fleet of supersonic aircraft, quantifying some of the key chemical reaction rates affecting ozone production and loss.

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The Official NASA web page for the SPADE experiment is maintained by the Earth Science Division Project Office at NASA Ames Research Center.

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SPADE Investigators

• Project Leadership
  • S. Wofsy (Harvard): Project Scientist
• ER-2 instruments
  • K. Boering (Harvard): High-sensitivity fast-response CO2 analyzer
  • J. Anderson (Harvard): High-altitude OH experiment (HOx)
  • K.R. Chan NASA Ames): ER-2 meteorological measurement system
  • J. Elkins (NOAA Climate Monitoring & Diagnostics Lab) and D. Fahey (NOAA Aeronomy Lab): Fast Response CFC-11 and CFC-113: Airborne Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (ACATS)
  • D. Fahey (NOAA Aeronomy Lab): Reactive nitrogen
  • G. Ferry (NASA Ames) and J. C. Wilson (U. Denver): Focussed Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer
  • G. Ferry (NASA Ames): FSSP-3000 Aerosol Spectrometer
  • K. Kelly (NOAA Aeronomy Lab): Lyman alpha hygrometer
  • M. Lowenstein (NASA Ames): Airborne tunable laser absorption spectrometer
  • C.T. McElroy (Atmospheric Environmental Service, Environment Canada): Composition and photodissociative flux measurement
  • M. Proffitt (NOAA Aeronomy Lab): Dual-beam UV-absorption ozone photometer
  • R. Stimpfle (Harvard): Multiple axis resonance fluorescence chemical conversion detector for ClO and BrO
  • C. Webster (NASA JPL): Aircraft laser infrared absorption spectrometer
  • J. C. Wilson (U. Denver): Condensation nucleus counter and electrical aerosol sampler
• Theory team
  • M. Prather (U C Irvine): GUMBO chemical trajectory model
  • A. Douglass and R. Rood (NASA Goddard): Modeling and analysis for SPADE
  • P. Hamill (San Jose State U): Modeling of heterogeneous processes
  • J. Rodriguez, M. Ko, and Nien Dak Sze (AER, Inc.): Photochemical modeling
  • P. Sheridan (CIRES): Electron Microscope analyses for SPADE
  • G. Visconti (Universita degli Studi - L'Aquila, Italy): Photodissociation coefficient calculation
  • G. Yue (NASA Langley): Ancillary measurements and mission support for SPADE
• Meteorological support and telescience
  • P. Newman (NASA Goddard): Meteorological analyses for SPADE
  • L. Pfister and S Wegener (NASA Ames): Meteorological support and telescience

What this mission accomplished

The SPADE mission was the first time in situ measurements were made of radicals and reservoir species from all important stratospheric families. Measurements were made flying into sunrise and sunset, which yielded important information on determining photochemical reaction rates. The ER-2 also managed to fly through its own exhaust, making possible comparisons between models of engine exhaust products and actual data from flights at altitude.

An end of mission statement was written by the mission scientists.

The SPADE results were published in a special issue of the Geophysical Research Letters: volume 21, number 23, November 15, 1994.