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Centre for Atmospheric Science

Rooftop Labs

Instruments on the Mason Centre roof
Instruments on the Mason Centre roof including sonic anemometers, a present weather sensor and a quantum cascade laser adsorption system.

The laboratory suite in the Simon Engineering Building includes a small rooftop platform accessed from the second floor of the building. This platform is used primarily for instrument testing. Its location is such that it is not ideally suited for measurement use, being somewhat sheltered in certain wind directions by other parts of the building. The Centre for Atmospheric Science is a partner in the newley opened Mason Center for Environmental Research (jointly with the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering). The Mason Center includes a new rooftop measurement facility on the Pariser Building, for long term measurements of particles and gases in the urban environment. A number of instruments are continuously deployed at the Mason Centre measuring meteorological parameters and UV radiation, including a sonic anemometer, sodar, temperature sensors, radiometers, and the FGAM Brewer Spectrophotometer. The Mason Centre roof has also been used for additional equipment during the Cityflux series of projects. Additionally the Centre for Atmospheric Science still operates a meteorological monitoring station on the Sackville Street Building which has been operating for a number of years. Data from this station has been made available to external organisations for assessing the viability of small and medium scale wind generation projects, it has also been used in support of urban air quality studies.