Winter 2006-2007
Canadian CALIPSO/CloudSat Validation Project (C3VP) - Clouds play a key role in the Earth's energy balance or "radiation budget," the amount of radiation that enters and leaves the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists know certain clouds reflect some of the sun's energy back into space and cool the atmosphere, while others trap radiation, leading to a warming effect on the climate system. Still, significant questions remain about what drives changes in the overall radiation budget. C3VP will analyze new information on the radiation budget provided by the CALIPSO/CloudSat satellites launched by NASA in April 2006. Ultimately, these data will be fed into computer models to help scientists improve forecasts in the future.
[Project Summary]

August-September 2006
NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activies (NAMMA 2006) - Tropical cyclones pose a serious, imminent, and ongoing hazard to citizens of the United States. In recent years, NASA has investigated these storms using airborne sensors, numerical models and satellite data. NAMMA-2006 continues these efforts and will provide new insight into the processes that govern hurricane growth and evolution. It is a component of African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA), an international project aimed at improving knowledge and understanding of the West African Monsoon and its variability.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2006
Forest Monitoring in Norway with NASA Airborne Lidar - Using results from two recent field studies, researchers hope to gain new insight into the use of NASA airborne laser data to monitor land cover changes in forests.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2006
CALIPSO and CloudSat Validation Project (CC-VEx) - The Intercontinental Chemical Transport The lack of detailed knowledge about cloud processes remains one of the greatest hurdles in improving our understanding of Earth's climate system. CC-VEx helped overcome these shortcomings by examining the accuracy of unprecedented cloud data provided by NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and CloudSat satellites.
[Project Summary]

Spring 2006
International Chemical Transport Experiment - The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B) is the second of a two-phase project that aims to understand the transport and transformation of ga ses and aerosols on intercontinental scales and to assess their impact on air qu ality and climate.
[Project Summary]

March 2006
Arctic 2006 Field Campaign - The Arctic 2006 field campaign will be the second Alaskan Arctic field campaign in support of the validation of satellite data from the EOS Aqua Advanced Microw ave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E), including standard sea ice products, sea ice c oncentration, sea ice temperature, and snow depth.
[Project Summary]

January - February 2006
Costa Rica Aura Validation Experiment - The Costa Rica Aura Validation Experiment (CR-AVE) is the third in a series of similar NASA-led science missions to acquire high quality measurements of the tropical atmosphere to validate data from NASAs Aura satellite
[Project Summary]

June 2005
Aura Validation Experiment - Through a series of experiments, AVE helps scientists understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the lower atmosphere (or troposphere) and their exchange with the lower stratosphere.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2005
Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes - The Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) experiment is the fifth in a series of field research investigations, known as the Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX), sponsored by NASA's Science Mission Directorate to study hurricanes and tropical rain systems.
[Project Summary]

January 24 - February 9, 2005
2005 Polar Aura Validation Experiment - The Polar Aura Validation Experiment (PAVE) is a NASA-led international science mission to acquire high quality measurements of the arctic region's atmosphere to validate data from NASA's Aura satellite (launched July 15, 2004). PAVE is the third in a series of Aura validation missions to help understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the lower atmosphere (or troposphere) and their exchange with the lower stratosphere.
[Project Summary]

October - November 2004
Aura Validation Experiment - AVE was the second in a series of Aura validation missions to help understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the lower atmosphere (or troposphere) and their exchange with the lower stratosphere.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2004
United Arab Emirates Unified Aerosol Experiment - Researchers from the United Arab Emirates Department of Water Resources Studies (DWRS) and others from 20 U.S., European and South African research laboratories will work to understand the complex processes controlling the areas climate.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2004
Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment North America (INTEX-NA) - The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-NA) is a NASA-organized atmospheric chemistry field experiment to quantify North American export and import of ozone, aerosols, and long-lived greenhouse gases.
[Project Summary]

Summer 2004
North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) - The North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) is dedicated to learning more about the impact of surface boundary conditions in the initiation and maintenance of the North American Monsoon System (NAMS), which impacts vital summer precipitation over large potions of the interior North American continent.
[Project Summary]

September 2004
Antarctic AMSR-E Sea Ice - AASI is a flight experiment dedicated to using microwave remote sensing over the Antarctic to gather much needed data on the seasonal and inter-annual changes in Antarctic sea ice.
[Project Summary]

February-March 2004
Winter Icing and Storms Project (WISP) - WISP is a multi-investigator program, including atmospheric scientists from NASA Langley Research Center, dedicated to the investigation of meteorological conditions that produce hazardous icing to aircraft.
[Project Summary]

March 2004
AIRSAR Study - The Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) is an all-weather imaging tool able to penetrate through clouds and collect data at night, developed and managed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
[Project Summary]

January - February 2004
Pre-Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) - The Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) is a NASA science campaign to understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the tropical troposphere and their exchange with the lower stratosphere to better model global scale air quality and climate change.
[Project Summary]

January - February 2004
Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) - The Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) is a NASA science campaign to understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the tropical troposphere and their exchange with the lower stratosphere to better model global scale air quality and climate change.
[Project Summary]

February 2002-February 2004 (Western U.S.)
Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) - This is a 2 year ground and airborne mission whose purpose is to gain a better understanding of how snow processes work: More than 60 researchers will be sampling snow packs to measure water content and determine how snow changes with time; including how it melts and how long it takes to melt. This will help with snowmelt prediction, flood forecasting, avalanche forecasting, and agricultural applications. Cold-season intensive field campaigns are scheduled for mid-February and late-March of 2002 and 2003.
[Project Summary]

Nov 2003
Water Vapor Profling - This mission involved use of different water vapor profiling radiosondes and Raman lidar systems for acquisition of measurements during AIRS overpasses.
[Project Summary]

Oct - Nov 2003
GLAS Validation - Scientists from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew several missions to provide calibration and validation for the GLAS lidar channels.
[Project Summary]

May - June 2003 (California, U.S.)
DC-8 Inlet/Instrument Characterization Experiment (DICE) - As wind blows along the California coast, across dry deserts, and through traffic-clogged city streets, aerosols fill the air and provide an ideal environment for a new NASA field experiment. NASA scientists and their university partners are sampling atmospheric aerosols such as sea salt, dust and urban pollution over California until mid-June.
[Project Summary]

May - June 2003 (Greenland)
Mapping Snowfall and Ice Thickness in Greenland - In May and June 2003, scientists are in Greenland to take a "snapshot" of large areas of the glaciers, which ahve shown some dramatic changes in recent years.
[Project Summary]

May - June 2003
COBRA (CO2 Budget and Regional Airborne Study) - Researchers plan to measure the concentrations of a variety of gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur hexafluoride, over a major portion of North America, from late May through June 2003.
[Project Summary]

January-February 2003
SOLVE II - SOLVE II is an international field campaign designed to measure ozone and other atmospheric gases in the Arctic using aircraft, large and small balloons, ground-based instruments and satellites. The instruments will examine the processes controlling ozone levels at mid- to high latitudes.
[Project Summary]

July 2002 (Florida)
The Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) is a measurement campaign designed to investigate tropical cirrus cloud physical properties and formation processes. Understanding the production of upper tropospheric cirrus clouds is essential for the successful modeling of the Earth's climate.
[Project Summary] [Project Home Page]

May-June 2002 (Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas)
The IHOP2002 (International H20 Project) Field Campaign - One of the largest weather-related studies in U.S. history will track the nearly invisible swaths of moisture that fuel heavy rain across the southern Great Plains from Texas to Kansas. Scientists hope that analyzing water vapor will be the key to better predictions of when and where summertime storms will form and how intense they will be.
[Project Summary]

Aug.-Sept. 2001 (The Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean)
Hurricane Study - As part of CAMEX-4 (The Convection And Moisture EXperiment), researchers used NASA's high altitude ER-2 aircraft to take radar measurements of clouds and drop sensors into Hurricanes Erin and Humberto to measure temperature and wind. "These were the most comprehensive measurements of the structure of the hurricane ever recorded," NASA Goddard Space Flight Center researcher and a mission scientist for Camex-4, Gerry Heymsfield said. The results will further understanding of what makes hurricanes intensify and could lead to better forecasting in the future. The CAMEX-4 mission is a joint effort between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a number of universities.

July-Aug. 2001 (U.S. East Coast)
Air Quality and Climate - A combined airborne and satellite campaign off the coast of Virginia will make detailed measurements of aerosols, the atmosphere, and ocean characteristics.

Mar.-Apr. 2001 (Western Pacific)
Air Quality and Climate - An airborne campaign to study the impact of the major industrial revolution in eastern Asia on the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

Aug.-Oct. 2000 (Pacific Rim)
The Pacific Rim 2000 Mission (PacRim) involves airborne and ground data for coastal analysis and oceanography, forestry, geology, hydrology and archaeology.
[Project Summary]

Aug.-Sept. 2000 (Southern Africa)
Air Pollution & Ecosystems - The Southern Africa Fire-Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI) 2000 field campaign will study the impacts of air pollution and biomass burning on the ecosystems in this region. The international campaign involves ground, air, and space-based measurements.
[Project Summary] [SAFARI Web Site]
[Media Guide]

Summer 2000 (Brazil)
Amazon Rainforest & Global Change - A new field research facility in the Amazon rainforest is part of an experiment to study the region's impact on global change and develop sustainable management solutions.
[Project Summary]

June 2000 (Western North America)
Helicopter Land Cover - Scientists are testing a radio-controlled helicopter sensor package over desert, grasslands, and forest as a new tool to check remote-sensing data on global vegetation from NASA's Terra satellite.
[Project Summary]

May-June 2000 (Canadian Arctic)
Ice Caps & Climate Change - An airborne campaign in the Canadian Arctic will map for the first time large-scale changes in the thickness of ice caps in this region.
[Project Summary]

Feb.-March 2000 (U.S. Midwest)
Clouds & Climate - The Wisconsin Snow and Cloud-Terra 2000 (WISC-T2000) experiment takes to the air Feb. 25 - March 13 to study the role of clouds in climate. Using NASA's high-altitude ER-2 research aircraft, the project will also help validate new observations by NASA's Terra spacecraft.
[Project Summary] [WISC-T2000 Web Site]

Nov. 1999-March 2000 (Sweden)
Arctic Ozone - The SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) brings together international scientists in the largest field campaign ever conducted to measure ozone in the Arctic stratosphere. The campaign is based in Kiruna, Sweden.
[Project Summary] [SOLVE Media Guide] [SOLVE Web Site]

Sept.-Oct. 1999 (United States)
Vegetation Canopy Lidar Airborne Campaign - The VCL science team conducted forest mapping flights over the U.S. east and west coasts. Flights were based at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., and Yosemite International Airport, Fresno, Calif.
[Project Summary] [VCL Web Site]

April & July 1998 (Arctic Ocean)
FIRE Arctic Cloud Experiment - An international team of scientists went to the Arctic to study a variety of cloud systems under spring and summer conditions. The FIRE Arctic Cloud Experiment studied the impact of Arctic clouds on radiation exchange between surface, atmosphere, and space, and the influence of surface characteristics of sea ice, leads, and ice melt ponds on these clouds.
[Project Summary] [FIRE ACE Web Site]