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MID-LATITUDE AIRBORNE CIRRUS PROPERTIES EXPERIMENT (MACPEX)
Background
The NASA Earth Science Division supports scientific investigations within the Atmospheric Composition focus area that contribute to the understanding of the sources, transformation, and transport of trace species in the Earth’s atmosphere. The research strategy in atmospheric composition encompasses an end-to-end approach for instrument design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and prognostic studies. NASA expects to provide the necessary monitoring and evaluation tools to assess the effects of climate change, and air quality forecasts that take into account the feedbacks between local, regional and global air quality and global climate change. Drawing on global observations from space, augmented by suborbital and ground-based measurements, NASA is uniquely poised to address these issues. This integrated observational strategy is furthered via modeling studies that together with this suite of observations allow us to test our understanding of atmospheric processes.
Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment
Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) is an airborne field campaign to investigate the properties of mid-latitude cirrus cloud, the processes affecting these properties and their impact on radiation. The campaign will take place during the summer of 2010 over central North America with special emphasis in the vicinity of the DoE ARM SGP site in Oklahoma. In addition, flight planning will emphasize coordination with EOS/A-Train satellite observations (e.g., Aqua, Aura, CALIPSO, CloudSat, Glory, PARASOL, OCO, and Terra) for the purposes of scientific utilization of satellite and in-situ data sets as well as satellite validation.
The major science questions to be addressed by MACPEX include:
• How prevalent are small (D < 50 μm) crystals in cirrus, and how important are these small crystals for cirrus extinction, radiative forcing, and radiative heating?
• How are cirrus microphysical properties (particle size distribution, ice crystal habit, extinction, ice water content) related to the dynamical forcing driving cloud formation?
• How are cirrus microphysical properties related to aerosol loading and composition, including the abundance of heterogeneous ice nuclei?
• How do cirrus microphysical properties evolve through the lifecycles of the clouds, and what role do radiatively driven dynamical motions play?
In addition, the field measurements should provide the cirrus microphysical information needed for improvement and evaluation of remote-sensing retrievals and for climate model cloud parameterizations:
•For improvement of remote-sensing retrievals, we need to determine cirrus ice crystal size distributions and habits over the full size range (1 μm -- 1cm) for cirrus forced by a variety of dynamical phenomena (orographic waves, frontal systems, aircraft contrails, deep convection, etc.).
•For evaluation of remote-sensing retrievals, we need to measure cirrus properties coordinated in time and space with ground-based and satellite observations.
•For improvement and evaluation of GCM cirrus parameterizations, we need to measure cirrus bulk properties (ice water content, extinction, effective radius) for a variety of cirrus types and cirrus ages.
The measurements required to address the science questions and objectives
Ice crystal size distribution 1 μm – 1 cm Legacy and open-path
Ice water content 0.2 mg m−3 – 5 g m−3
Cloud extinction 0.01 km−1 – 100 km−1
Ice crystal habit 50 μm – 1 cm
Aerosol size distribution 3 nm – 3 μm
Aerosol composition Single particles
Ice nuclei
Water vapor w/Redundancy
Water isotopic composition
Temperature
Vertical winds
Horizontal winds
Chemical tracers e.g., CO, CO2, O3
NASA’s WB-57F aircraft will be deployed from its home base in Houston, TX, which will fulfill the requirements to make in situ measurements of cirrus clouds in the vicinity of the ARM SGP site, as well as the necessary range of cirrus clouds.

ESPO News:

ICESCAPE News

OIB Arctic Mar-May 2012

HS3 Aug-Sep 2012

OIB Antarctic, Oct-Nov 2011

HS3, Aug-Sep 2011

ATTREX Jan-Feb 2013


SEAC4RS Aug-Sep 2012

Seagrass Apr-May, Nov 2012 & Jan 2013

Impacts of Climate on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) was a multi-year NASA shipborne project. The bulk of the research took place in the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea’s in the summers of 2010 and 2011. Although the mission has been complete for some time, there are now two new news articles on the subject. CNN and Latin Times
Dates: Apr-May, Nov 2012 and Jan 2013
Aircraft: SIERRA
Location(s): Cedar Key, FL, Key West, FL and Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Science Goals: High Resolution Assessment of Carbon Dynamics in Seagrass and Coral Reef Biomes; Science objectives are to image sea grass and coral for understanding carbon dynamics in addition to improving methodologies for calibrating orbital imagery in the littoral zone.
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO is providing logistic support - Quincy Allison and Marshal Chaidez
Dates: Mar 12 - May 25 2012
Aircraft: NASA WFF P-3, LaRC HU-25 Falcon
Location(s): Thule and Kangerlussuaq Greenland, Fairbanks AK
Science Goals: Ongoing investigation of the thinning and movement of Antarctic Sea and Land Ice. Data collected during IceBridge will help scientists bridge the gap in polar observations between NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) -- in orbit since 2003 -- and ICESat-2, planned for late 2015. ICESat stopped collecting science data in 2009, making IceBridge critical for ensuring a continuous series of observations. IceBridge will use airborne instruments to map Arctic and Antarctic areas once a year.
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO providing Deployment Management - Kent Shiffer (DM), Jhony Zavaleta (Deputy DM).
Others: Jhony Zavaleta returned once again to Thule Greenland at the end of May to complete wrap up the mission details with the Thule Air Base operations.
Accomplishments this past month: Operation IceBridge is now complete. The LaRC falcon has completed all of its expected flight lines and has returned to Langley. The WFF P-3 has also completed an unprecedented Cryospheric campaign and returned to the US on May 25th.. Flying over 328 total hours including 252 science hours at an estimated distance of 82,815 nautical miles over the arctic and island of Greenland. All P-3 and Falcon flight reports can be viewed on the ESPO OIB web site at: Web Site
Dates: October 5 - November 22, 2011
Aircraft: NASA DC-8, NSF G-V
Location(s): Punta Arenas, Chile
Science Goals: Ongoing investigation of the thinning and movement of Antarctic Sea and Land Ice. Data collected during IceBridge will help scientists bridge the gap in polar observations between NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) -- in orbit since 2003 -- and ICESat-2, planned for late 2015. ICESat stopped collecting science data in 2009, making IceBridge critical for ensuring a continuous series of observations. IceBridge will use airborne instruments to map Arctic and Antarctic areas once a year.
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO providing Deployment Management - Kent Shiffer (DM), Jhony Zavaleta (Deputy DM).
Other details: This is the first time the NSF G-V has joined the OIB team and will fly the LVIS instrument at high altitude. (Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor).
Web Site
Dates: Aug 1 - Oct 14, 2012
Aircraft: 2 Global Hawks (AV-1 and AV-6)
Location(s): WFF (Wallops)
Science Goals: To investigate the processes that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change in the Atlantic Ocean basin.
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO providing Project Management - Marilyn Vasques (PM), Bernie Luna (Deputy PM)
Other details: This will be the first deployment of the GH to a remote location and the first use of its 2nd ground set. It will also be the first time NASA will fly 2 GHs on the same mission. Both GHs will not fly a storm at the same time but shortly after one returns to base, the other can take off. The Payload Mobile Operations Facility (PMOF) is expected to transit to WFF July 6. More info at HS3Web site
Current plan
Integration begins: July 1
GH 872 (AV-6) transits to WFF: Aug 29
Science flights begin Sept 1
GH 871 (AV-1) transits to WFF Sept 7
Science flight complete Oct 5
Accomplishments this past month: Science team telecon conducted May 23rd. Preparations for integration and deployment continue. Science, operations, safety and E/PO telecons continue and operations, safety and budget documentation is in work. During a flight of the ongoing KQX/DARPA tests, the Global Hawk flew within 40 feet of each other. Although this is not a requirement for HS3, it is a major milestone for KQX. After a few weeks of analysis, they will fly again and attempt to connect the aircraft for air-to-air refueling. The two GHs were to be turned over to HS3 June 30. HS3 just got a request to explain the impact of giving KQX 2 more weeks. The impact will be severe and the justification will be presented by HS3 June 12.
Dates: Jan-Feb, 2013
Aircraft: Global Hawk AV-6
Location(s): DFRC
Science Goals: Further investigate the water vapor physics and the chemistry of the tropical tropopause
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO providing Project Management - Dave Jordan (PM), Jhony Zavaleta (Deputy PM).
Other details: Web Site
Dates: August-September 2012 (exact dates not yet set)
Aircraft: NASA ER-2, DC-8, NSF G-V
Location(s): Utapao Thailand
Science Goals: This scientific experiment will address key science questions regarding the influence of Asian emissions on clouds, climate, and air quality as well as fundamental satellite observability of the system. SEAC4RS will facilitate progress in understanding and improving predictive capability for changes in the ozone layer, climate forcing, and air quality associated with changes in atmospheric composition.
ESPO Role/Lead: ESPO providing Project Management - Kent Shiffer (PM), Jhony Zavaleta (Deputy PM).
Other details: Other aircraft may join the SEAC4RS team including the Royal Thai Rainmaking operation. SEAC4RS Web Site
Accomplishments this past month: The DC3 NSF/NASA mission, (preliminary mission to SEAC4RS) is currently deployed with the NASA DC-8 and NSF G-V aircraft in Salina KS. ESPO team members Kent Shiffer and Sue Tolley are planning to visit Thailand again to finalize deployment site particulars on June 16th. They will be joined by an ER-2 pilot and will review the facilities and provide a safety briefing to the airport.
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File last changed: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:42:58 -0800