Mobile Laboratory

What: Studies using a Mobile Laboratory

How: Mobile Lab-based instruments

Who: Researchers from NOAA CSL, formerly the NOAA ESRL Chemical Sciences Division, and the University of Colorado Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).


The CSL mobile laboratory is a modified, full-sized passenger van with a set of both standard (e.g., CO, CO2, CH4, meteorology) and custom (varies by deployment) equipment. It is a versatile platform well-suited to regional air quality studies in instances where aircraft are either not feasible or not available.

The mobile laboratory was developed to study agricultural emissions in the summer of 2014 in conjunction with the NSF FRAPPÉ and NASA DISCOVER-AQ projects. Since then, the mobile lab has been used to study seasonal changes in agricultural emissions, emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, on-road emissions, and ozone transport.

The mobile lab deployed in New York to investigate emissions and chemistry of volatile chemical products, locally in Colorado to investigate agricultural emissions, and to Las Vegas to ascertain exceptional events contributing to regional ozone in Clark County, Nevada. Projects include:

mobile lab
The CSL Mobile Lab departs NOAA Boulder for the SUNVEx field campaign. Researchers deploy instruments to Las Vegas and Los Angeles to investigate air pollutants and ozone production impacting air quality. Photo: Steve Brown, NOAA