SON-145022-24-0025 (2).pdf

Statement of Need - 145022-24-0025

1. Background and Purpose To support the Greenhouse Gas program and AIRMAPS 2025 field campaign to measure urban emissions that impact air quality and climate, the NOAA Air Resources Lab (ARL) will deploy a fully instrumented research aircraft in the Baltimore- Washington and southwest Marcellus shale regions in 2024-2025. An airborne instrument package will measure short-lived air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted from Baltimore/Washington as well as the southwest Marcellus shale.

Data from the research flights will be used to characterize the meteorology and chemistry leading to air pollution events and emissions of GHGs from these areas. The Greenhouse Gas program and AIRMAPS 2025 field campaign will provide the scientific basis for effective air quality and climate policies.

2. Scope and Objectives

NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) requires a vendor to conduct scientific research flights in the Baltimore-Washington and southwest Marcellus shale regions in 2024-2025 to measure concentrations of short- and long-lived trace pollutants and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, with important scientific objectives including:

• To characterize spatial and temporal patterns of ozone and precursors during ozone exceedance events along with pre-exceedance conditions with a tie to key monitoring sites.

• To characterize spatial and temporal patterns of meteorological conditions (e.g., low-level jets, land-sea breeze, mixing heights, etc.) during ozone events.

• To investigate emission of NOx, CO, CH4, and VOCs from these areas and compare these measurements to emission inventories.

3. Tasks to be performed and Deliverables

The Greenhouse Gas program and AIRMAPS 2025 field campaign study should require ~50 hours and approximately 13 science flights. We will choose flight plans in coordination with other participating partners. The measurements from these flights will augment data from other ground monitoring sites along Baltimore-Washington, DC and southwest Marcellus. Each flight will last 3 to 4 hours, and we expect to fly about 2-3 missions out of WV and PA. Emissions of air pollutants and GHGs can be calculated based on the mass balance approach as well as enhancements ratios among the air pollutants.

The successful vendor must be capable of supplying an aircraft with a minimum instrument payload of approximately 500 pounds, an effective range of approximately 600 nm, and an endurance of approximately 3-4 hours, with one pilot and one scientist (a non-federal employee, e.g., a scientist from University of Maryland) aboard. Federal employees from NOAA ARL may help with the pre-flight preparation and post-flight tasks while the aircraft is on ground. The vendor must measure and report all relevant wind, meteorological, and aircraft attitude (roll, pitch, yaw, altitude, true airspeed, ground speed, position) parameters. Position, attitude, and velocity measurements should be made with differential GPS techniques. ARL staff will be responsible for integrating the instrument payload into the aircraft, with technical and engineering support from the vendor, as needed. To the extent practicable, all measurements should be calibrated with NIST-traceable instruments and techniques.

Most significantly, the successful vendor must supply an inlet system, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to direct ambient air to the chemical measurement systems via manifold tubing, or similar. The preferred location of this inlet is at and well ahead of the nose of the aircraft, to allow the sampling of air parcels uninfluenced by turbulence or aircraft engine exhaust.

4. Period of performance (for services): From July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, with an option year from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 (note: option year subject to availability of funds and programmatic needs)