ASDC | MACPEX_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data

MACPEX Level 2

Entry Title: MACPEX WB-57 Aircraft In-situ Cloud Data

Entry ID: MACPEX_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data_1

Clouds

Description

MACPEX_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data is the in-situ cloud data collection during the Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX). Data was collected by the Small Ice Detector (SID), Video Ice Particle Sampler (VIPS), High Volume Precipitation Spectrometer (HVPS), and the 2D-S Stereo Probe (2DS). Data collection for this product is complete.

The MACPEX mission was an airborne field campaign that deployed from March 18th to April 26th, 2011. MACPEX sought to investigate cirrus cloud properties and the processes that affect their impact on radiation. The campaign conducted science flights using the NASA WB-57 aircraft based out of Ellington Airfield, Texas. Science flights were focused on the central North America vicinity, with an emphasis over the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory (established by the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility) site in Oklahoma. MACPEX was a joint effort between NASA, the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and several U.S. universities.

The WB-57 contained a comprehensive instrument payload for detailed in-situ measurements that were targeted to answer MACPEX’s four major science questions. The first science question that MACPEX explored was how prevalent the smaller crystals are in cirrus clouds, and how important they are for extinction, radiative forcing, and radiative heating. MACPEX also sought to understand how cirrus microphysical properties (particle size distribution, ice crystal habit, extinction, ice water content) are related to the dynamical forcing driving cloud formation. Researchers also investigated how cirrus microphysical properties are related to aerosol loading and composition, including the abundance of heterogeneous ice nuclei. Lastly, this campaign examined how cirrus microphysical properties evolve through the lifecycles of the clouds, and the role radiatively driven dynamical motions play.

In addition to the in-situ measurements, four flights were coordinated to validate the NASA EOS/A-Train satellite observations. NOAA also launched balloon sondes and ozonesondes, which were used to acquire data about the frost point and water vapor in the atmosphere. The balloon sondes and ozonesondes also acquired pressure, temperature, and humidity data, as well as measurements regarding the ozone in the atmosphere.

DOI

10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/MACPEX_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data_1

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MACPEX Project Home Page

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GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

MACPEX Science Flight Information

PUBLICATIONS

AGU Article, Evaluation of UT/LS hygrometer accuracy by intercomparison during the NASA MACPEX mission

BAMS Article, Ice Particle Mass–Dimensional Relationship Retrieval and Uncertainty Evaluation Using the Optimal Estimation Methodology Applied to the MACPEX Data

BAMS Article, The Microphysical Properties of Small Ice Particles Measured by the Small Ice Detector-3 Probe during the MACPEX Field Campaign

MACPEX Q&A on nasa.gov

From GCMD Science Keywords:

CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZE > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
CLOUD LIQUID WATER/ICE > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

ICARTT

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (S: 15, N: 45), (W: -107, E: -80)
Spatial Coverage Type: Horizontal Vertical
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TEXAS OKLAHOMA NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WESTERN HEMISPHERE MID-LATITUDE TROPOSPHERE STRATOSPHERE

Temporal Information

Temporal Coverage: 2011-03-18 - 2011-04-27

Platforms

Jet

NASA WB-57F

HVPS

High Volume Particle Sampler

2DS

2D-STEREO PARTICLE PROBE (2DS)

SID

Small Ice Detector

VIPS

Video Ice Particle Sampler

Metadata Dates

Created on 2021-12-07

Last updated on 2024-09-09