Today the Sun rose above the horizon for the first time in many months! There was not sunlight long enough for measurements,
but there was enough time to align optics. The temperature has been around -38 °C, but winds made it feel closer to -42 °C.
PEARL has been warmer, reaching -30 °C.
Today in PEARL's IR lab, Joseph conducted an HCl cell test to check the Bruker's instrument line shape (ILS), which checks the Bruker's ability to measure high resolution solar spectra.
His analysis of the test results showed the Bruker is ready to take measurements as soon as we have enough sunlight! Once the testing was complete, Joseph showed Dan how to setup the sun tracker.
The intensity of the Sun was too low for measurements, so they helped Debora set up the PARIS pick off mirror so that it directs part of the light from the Bruker sun tracker into PARIS.
Afterwards, Dan went up to the roof to shovel more snow, and later worked on the website.
Since the stand that PARIS used last year hasn't been found, Debora considered other options for precisely orienting PARIS for measurements. Some creative thinking with Pierre and Volodya
resulted in a new arrangement that keeps PARIS level and at the exact height needed to capture the light from the pick off mirror (without interfering with the Bruker). Debora also did background
and HBr cell measurements to check the calibration of PARIS. Everything worked well and PARIS is ready to perform sunlight observations.
Today in the UV/Vis lab, Xiaoyi reassembled the PEARL-GBS and realigned its CCD. He has noticed a possible issue with the filter wheel, and plans to examine this closely tomorrow.
Xiaoyi has also been working hard to get the SAOZ instrument up and running. He attached a new cable (the last one broke); however, SAOZ is not yet operational. Xiaoyi continues to
investigate possible causes, and has been consulting with Pierre, Volodya and scientists in France who are in charge of it. To his delight, UT-GBS is working normally.
Emily had a great day in the CRL lab! She had no problem opening the hatch, and both the Visible and the UV lasers continue to operate without any leaks.
She and her colleague Chris (who communicated with her from Dalhousie University) tested the lasers successfully. Emily even took a great photograph of the CRL laser firing
into the sky this evening (check it out on our photo page). Chris will be running the lidar remotely overnight to collect the first series of data.
Volodya finished unpacking the SPS, MAESTRO and their sun tracker and tested everything inside. All is good to go on the roof tomorrow.
Brewer #021 continued to work well today after yesterday's adjustment. Brewer #069 is operating normally, but the Sun is too low to perform observations.
The Polar Vortex is still distant from Eureka, and is centered above the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
As mentioned in yesterday's report, ozonesonde flights for ACE start February 28.
The team had a busy day today, and accomplished quite a bit. The Sun made its first appearance, and we all anticipate taking measurements very soon!