The ASTEX/MAGE experiment

The Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment/Marine Aerosol and Gas Exchange (ASTEX/MAGE) was a multinational experiment designed to study the relationship between marine chemistry, aerosols, clouds, and air/sea exchange. Several aircraft, ships, and island sites supported measurements of marine boundary layer chemistry in both pristine and polluted North Atlantic air masses in the vicinity of the Azores in June of 1992. The International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Program's MAGE activity organized the chemical experiments in ASTEX because such experiments are beyond the capabilities of any one platform, discipline, or nation working alone. One highlight of ASTEX/MAGE was the development of a Lagrangian experimental strategy. It offered a unique way of constraining fluxes and reaction rates by observing the effect those processes have on a tagged parcel of air.