History of chemically and radiatively important atmospheric gases from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE)

In the ALE/GAGE/AGAGE global network program, continuous high frequency gas chromatographic measurements of four biogenic/anthropogenic gases (methane, CH4; nitrous oxide, N2O; hydrogen, H; and carbon monoxide, CO) and several anthropogenic gases that contribute to stratospheric ozone destruction and/or to the greenhouse effect have been carried out at five globally distributed sites for several years. The program, which began in 1978, is divided into three parts associated with three changes in instrumentation: the Atmospheric Lifetime Experiment (ALE), which used Hewlett Packard HP5840 gas chromatographs; the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (GAGE), which used HP5880 gas chromatographs; and the present Advanced GAGE (AGAGE). AGAGE uses two types of instruments: a gas chromatograph with multiple detectors (GC-MD), and a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric analysis (GC-MS). Beginning in January 2004, an improved cryogenic preconcentration system (Medusa) replaced the absorption-desorption module in the GC-MS systems at Mace Head and Cape Grim; this provided improved capability to measure a broader range of volatile perfluorocarbons with high global warming potentials. More information may be found at the AGAGE home page: https://agage.mit.edu/instruments. To access the older version of AGAGE data package see: http://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/ndps/alegage.html

在ALE/GAGE/AGAGE全球联网观测项目中，研究团队已在全球5个分布式观测站点开展了长达数年的连续高频气相色谱测量，涵盖4种生源/人为源气体（甲烷（methane, CH₄）、一氧化二氮（nitrous oxide, N₂O）、氢气（hydrogen, H）、一氧化碳（carbon monoxide, CO）），以及若干种会造成平流层臭氧破坏和/或温室效应的人为源气体。
该项目始于1978年，根据仪器设备的三次迭代升级分为三个阶段：分别为使用惠普（Hewlett Packard）HP5840气相色谱仪的大气寿命实验（Atmospheric Lifetime Experiment, ALE）、使用惠普HP5880气相色谱仪的全球大气气体实验（Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment, GAGE），以及当前的先进全球大气气体实验（Advanced GAGE, AGAGE）。
当前的AGAGE项目采用两类仪器设备：多检测器气相色谱仪（gas chromatograph with multiple detectors, GC-MD），以及质谱分析型气相色谱仪（gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric analysis, GC-MS）。2004年1月起，一套改良的低温预浓缩系统（Medusa）取代了梅西海德（Mace Head）和格雷姆角（Cape Grim）站点GC-MS系统中的吸收-解吸模块，这一升级提升了对更多类具有高全球变暖潜势的挥发性全氟碳化物的测量能力。
更多详细信息可访问AGAGE官方主页：https://agage.mit.edu/instruments。
如需获取旧版AGAGE数据集，请访问：http://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/ndps/alegage.html