In July-August 2024, a series of measurements were conducted at the Arctic Space Centre in Sodankylä, focusing on atmospheric water vapor isotopologues and greenhouse gases. The primary objective of this research was to accurately measure atmospheric profiles and columns of water vapor isotopologues during the boreal summer, develop and test novel instrumentation, and compare these results with satellite observations and model simulations.
The water cycle is one of Earth’s most significant processes, and understanding it is crucial in the context of climate change, as water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas. Observations of water vapor isotopologues provide key insights into the hydrological cycle. However, measurements of these isotopologues are still relatively rare. While satellite observations offer global coverage, ground-based reference data are essential for validating these space-borne measurements.
During the two-week experimental campaign in July-August 2024, the focus was on measuring stratospheric and tropospheric water vapor isotopologues and greenhouse gases. The data were collected using balloon- and drone-borne instruments, along with a ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The FTIR data were processed using the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) retrieval algorithm. These measurements will be analyzed in conjunction with water isotope models for atmospheric transport from ETH Zürich and the University of Bern.
Contributing Institutes of the observations taken in Sodankylä in late July-early August 2024 were the University of Bern and ETH Zürich in Switzerland; the University of Bergen in Norway; Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy; the Utrecht University in the Netherlands; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
The field campaign at the Pallas-Sodankylä research site was supported by the EU ATMO-ACCESS, ESA WIFVOS project and by the participating organizations.
More information
Dr. Rigel Kivi, Senior Research Scientist, Finnish Meteorological Institute, rigel.kivi@fmi.fi
Prof. Dr. Markus Leuenberger, University of Bern, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Antti Hyvärinen, Principal Scientist, Head of Unit: Atmospheric Composition, Finnish Meteorological Institute, antti.hyvarinen@fmi.fi
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