2B Tech instruments are in used in a wide range of applications throughout the world.  Below are a few  examples of unique applications and research projects utilizing 2B Tech instruments.  Click on the links below for more details.

O-Buoy, Network of Artic Ocean Chemical Sensors: In this joint research project involving six research groups in the US and Canada, a custom Model 205 Ozone Monitor measures ozone from ocean buoys in the Arctic. O-buoy 4 started measuring the concentrations of ozone, carbon dioxide and bromine monoxide in the air over the ice of the Arctic Ocean at latitude 88.15°N and longitude 157.49°W on September 5, 2011. The ozone instruments were modified with rotary vane pumps and a lamp heater for this cold weather application. Another modification allows periodic zero measurements and span checks. O-buoy 4 collected data on air composition, meteorological variables, the ice drift and the ice conditions through its 355 day long journey across the high Arctic. Daily updated measurements were posted on this public web site: http://obuoy.datatransport.org/monitor The instrument package recorded ozone and carbon dioxide concentrations over the ice of the Arctic Ocean throughout all four seasons. It recorded data as close to the North Pole as 89.515°N.

Field Testing of New-Technology Ambient Air Ozone Monitors: In this paper by Will Ollison, Walt Crow and Chester Spicer, the new 2B Tech Model 211 Scrubberless Ozone Monitor and new Teledyne-API Model 265E Ozone Monitor based on chemiluminescece are compared with a conventional Thermo Scientific Model 49C Ozone Monitor in both laboratory and field tests. The field studies were carried out over a three-month period at HRM Site 3 in an indusrial area near the Houston Ship channel. Those studies showed that the Model 49C measurements exceeded those of the new 2B Tech and TAPI instruments during high ozone episodes by up to several ppb. In particular, the four highest daily maximum 8-hour O3 averages reported by the Thermo Model 49C were higher than both the 2B Tech and API instruments. In a laboratory study, the three ozone monitors were simultaneously exposed to a mix of VOCs. Although the Model 49C showed a large positive excursion when first exposed followed by a large negative excursion when the VOCs were removed, the 2B Tech Model 211 and the TAPI Model 265E showed no bias. See: W.M. Ollison, W. Crow and C.W. Spicer, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, in press, 2013.

NOAA/NASA Measurements of Ozone on the Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft: Joint NOAA, NASA flights of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, and the Arctic Ocean were first carried out during summer 2010 from the NASA Dryden flight center, California. The primary purposes of these missions were to validate Aura satellite measurement of trace gases, aerosols and radiation, and to perform capability tests of this UAS that can operate at altitudes as high as 65,000 ft. with a range of 11,000 miles. For these missions, Global Hawk operates on a preprogrammed flight path stored on the plane’s computers. Pilots on the ground can change the direction and altitude of the plane by entering new waypoints on a flight path via a satellite link. The Global Hawk carries a modified 2B Tech Model 205 Ozone Monitor for ozone measurements.

Portable Ozone Monitoring Systems (POMS) in the National Park Service:   2B Tech Ozone Monitors provide continuous measurements at the Grand Canyon, Isle Royale and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks and Lake Mead and Big South Fork National Recreation Areas.  In addition, 2B Tech Ozone Monitors have been used at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for studies of ozone injury to coneflowers, at Yosemite National Park to study spatial and vertical elevation distributions of ozone and in Joshua Tree National Park in an ozone gradient study. The POMS packages include measurements of ambient ozone, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, ambient temperature, rainfall, and with an optional CastNet-protocol filter pack measurements of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, nitric acid and sulfur dioxide are made. Data is transmitted from the system using a data transfer module by phone or over a satellite link. Power can be provided by either a normal ac power connection or by solar panels. Real time data from the National Park Service is posted here.

NOAA/ESRL/GMD Tropospheric Aircraft Ozone Measurement Program:  The NOAA/ESRL Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases (CCGG) Group's Aircraft Program is dedicated to collecting air samples in vertical profiles over North America. The Ozone and Water Vapor Group began sampling with the aircraft program in 2004, and now fifteen sites include ozone measurements. Vertical profiling at each site using light aircraft occurs at a frequency ranging from 2-3 times per week to once per month. For each flight, the pilot loads equipment into the aircraft, flies to the designated latitude and longitude and then ascends to the desired altitude (usually 26,000 feet or about 7.8 km). Ozone, temperature and relative humidity are recorded at 10-s intervals during ascent and descent. The pilot descends to multiple altitudes where flasks are flushed and filled for a period of two minutes each. Custom Model 205 Ozone Monitors housed in rugged Pelican cases are used for the ozone measurements. Flasks are returned to NOAA labs for analysis for CO2 and other greenhouse gases. NOAA also has compared 2B Tech Ozone Monitors with ozonesondes and flown test flights on UAVs well into the stratosphere. See: Ozonesonde Comparison and UAV Flight

Understanding Ozone Distribution Inside Stator Core and Measurements Inside Air-Cooled Generators to Assess Partial Discharges:  This paper by Louis Lépine et al. of the Institut de Recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ)demonstrates the use of ozone measurements to detect electrical discharges inside electrical generators of hydroelectric plants. High energy electrons of corona discharges are known to form ozone in air, and thus ozone measurements provide a good proxy for the presence of electrical breakdown inside large electrical generators and motors. Ozone levels as high as 40 ppm (40,000 ppb) have been measured inside the generator rooms of hydroelectric dams, posing a serious health threat to workers and further damaging materials such as electrical insulation. Monitoring of changes in ozone levels produced by electrical generators over time provides information that can be used for cost savings through preventive maintenance. You can download a brochure the application of the Model 202 Ozone Monitor to detection of partial discharges here.

Airline Cabin Environment Research (ACER):  2B Tech Ozone Monitors were used by the research groups of William Nazaroff and Beverly Coleman of the University of California, Berkeley and Charlie Weschler of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in studies of ozone exposure to passengers on commercial airliners. Commercial aircraft frequently cruise near the tropopause where high ozone levels may be encountered due to intrusions from the stratosphere. To study the exposure of passengers to ozone in commercial aircraft, 2B Tech Ozone Monitors built into Pelican cases were carried as luggage aboard a large number of domestic and international flights. See: S. Bhangar, S. Cowlin, B. Singer, R. Sextro and W. Nazaroff, Environmental Science and Technology 42, 3938-3943 (2008).

Development of a Portable Nitric Oxide Calibration Source:  Poster presented by Peter Andersen of 2B Technologies, Inc. at the National Air Quality Conference, sponsored by the EPA and the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) in Portland Oregon, April 6-9, 2008.  This is the first disclosure of our new Model 408 Ozone Calibration Source™. Calibrated concentrations are produced in the range 0-1,000 ppb by photolysis of N2O supplied by either a lecture bottle or a "Whippit" cartridge (consumer produced used for production of whipped cream). This highly portable source of NO avoids the use of high pressure cylinders containing toxic NO gas. The NO Cal Source may be used as a transfer standard to calibrate the Model 410 Nitric Oxide Monitor or any other NO such as those based on chemiluminescence. A single output concentration may be selected, or for multipoint calibrations the instrument may be programmed to output a series of up to 10 concentration steps. The output concentration is independent of ambient pressure, temperature and relative humidity. For more details, see: Model 408

Comparison of Ground Level Ozone Measurements with Forecasts:  Poster presented by Donovan Rafferty of Washington State Department of Ecology at the National Air Quality Conference, sponsored by the EPA and the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) in Portland Oregon, April 6-9, 2008. A van carrying a Model 202 Ozone Monitor and meteorological equipment was used to verify the AIRPACT and NOAA forecasts of ozone events in an area southeast of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Several predetermined locations were selected as Designated Targets within the perimeter equidistant from current monitoring stations southeast of Seattle and Tacoma. The Air Indicator Report for Public Awareness and Community Tracking (AIRPACT) with NOAA's National Weather Service Experimental Ozone Air Quality Forecast Guidance provided 72 hour advance notice of an ozone event. Once updated forecast surveillance confirmed that an event of greater than 75 ppb was predicted, the van was dispatched for measurements for comparison to forecasts. In many cases the forecasts proved to be highly accurate.

New Ozone Measurement Systems for Autonomous Operation on Ocean Buoys and Towers:   Research paper by Eric Hintsa et al. of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution demonstrates the unattended use of 2B Tech Ozone Monitors on a tower. This paper describes one of the early uses of 2B Tech ozone monitors with comparison to other instruments. See: E.J. Hintsa et al., Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 21, 1007-1016 (2004).

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