Scientists from around the world will meet in Darwin, Australia, next January to study cirrus clouds associated with tropical convection.

This coming winter (or summer “Down Under”), ARM scientists are joining a host of international colleagues in Darwin, Australia, to conduct the Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment. An article written by scientists involved in the experiment recently appeared in Eos (Vol 86, No 31, 2 Aug. 2005), a weekly newspaper published by the American Geophysical Union. The article provides a brief overview of the experiment, its science objectives, and the collaborators involved.

Taking place in January and February 2006, the experiment will focus on cirrus clouds associated with tropical convection, and is timed to coincide with maximum rainfall during monsoon season across northern Australia. The month-long field campaign involves a fleet of instrumented research aircraft, a ship off the coast, and a network of ground-based observation stations to collect atmospheric measurements in a 250-km area centered at the ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) site in Darwin. Data from the experiment will be used to improve cloud retrievals from remote sensors at the ACRF site and to validate and improve cloud and global models used for climate research.

The article is also available online at http://www.agu.org/pubs/eos/eo0531.shtml with a valid AGU membership. For more information about AGU publications, subscriptions, and submissions, see http://www.agu.org/pubs/pubs.html.