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Faculty of Mathematics and Natural SciencesInstitute of Geophysics and Meteorology

Airborne activities in the Arctic

Our airborne activities in the Arctic focus on studies of low- and mid-level mixed-phase clouds over the open ocean, marginal sea ice zone, and the sea ice. For this we operate instruments like the Microwave Radar and radiometer for Arctic Clouds (MiRAC, Mech et al., 2019), a Humidity And Temperature PROfiler (HATPRO; Rose et al., 2005) and the Airborne Mobile Aerosol Lidar (AMALi; property of the Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zerntrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung) onboard the Polar 5 research aircraft during airborne campaigns. In recent years we joined this instrument set several campaigns over the Arctic ocean around Svalbard. In Particular these were:

  • ACLOUD (Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day; Wendisch et al., 2018 and Ehrlich et al., 2019)
  • AFLUX (Airborne measurements of radiative and turbulent FLUXes of energy and momentum in the Arctic boundary layer)
  • MOSAiC-ACA (MOSAiC Airborne observations in the Central Arctic)

In spring 2022 we will be part of the HALO-AC3 campaign focussing on the transport of air masses in the Arctic by cold air outbreaks and warm air intrusions. Here we will not only be a central part of the activities in Svalbard with the two Polar aircraft Polar 5 and Polar 6, but as well design the flights and operate High Altitude and LOng range (HALO) research aircraft Microwave Package (HAMP; Mech et al., 2014) in Kiruna.

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  • measurements with the MiRAC radar and radiometer and the AMALi lidar on Polar 5 and the derivation of mixed-phase cloud properties from Imke Schirmacher
  • derivation of sea ice emmissivties in the microwave region from airborne measurements from Nils Risse

High Altitude and LOng range research aircraft HALO

On the High Altitude and LOng range research aircraft (HALO) we do our science based on the HALO Microwave Package (HAMP; Mech et al., 2014), in which we have been involved from beginning: idea, concept, design, and operation. The instrument is part of the NARVAL configuration.

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Relevant publications

  • Jacob, M., P. Kollias, F. Ament, V. Schemann, and S. Crewell, 2020: Multi-layer Cloud Conditions in Trade Wind Shallow Cumulus – Confronting Models with Airborne Observations, Geoscientific Model Development, 13, 5757–5777, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5757-2020
  • Mech, M., M. Maahn, S. Kneifel, D. Ori, E. Orlandi, P. Kollias, V. Schemann, and S. Crewell, 2020: PAMTRA 1.0: A Passive and Active Microwave radiative TRAnsfer tool for simulating radiometer and radar measurements of the cloudy atmosphere, Geoscientific Model Development, 13, 4229-4251, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4229-2020
  • Ruiz-Donoso, E., A. Ehrlich, M. Schäfer, E. Jäkel, V. Schemann, S. Crewell, M. Mech, B.S. Kulla, L.-L. Kliesch, R. Neuber, and M. Wendisch, 2020: Small-scale structure of thermodynamic phase in Arctic mixed-phase clouds observed by airborne remote sensing during a cold air outbreak and a warm air advection event, Atmospheric Measurement Technology, 20, 5487–5511, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5487-2020
  • Wolf, K., A. Ehrlich, M. Mech, R. J. Hogan, and M. Wendisch, 2020: Evaluation of ECMWF Radiation Scheme Using Aircraft Observations of Spectral Irradiance above Clouds, Journal of Atmospheric Science, 77(8), 2665-2685, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-19-0333.1
  • Jacob, M., F. Ament, M. Gutleben, H. Konow, M. Mech, M. Wirth, and S. Crewell, 2019: Investigating the liquid water path over the tropical Atlantic with synergistic airborne measurements, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12, 3237-3254, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3237-2019
  • Konow, H., M. Jacob, F. Ament, S. Crewell, F Ewald, M. Hagen, L. Hirsch, F. Jansen, M. Mech, and B. Stevens, 2019: A unified data set of airborne cloud remote sensing using the HALO Microwave Package (HAMP), Earth System Science Data, 11, 921-934, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-921-2019
  • Mech, M., L.-L. Kliesch, A. Anhäuser, T. Rose, P. Kollias and S. Crewell, 2019: Microwave Radar/radiometer for Arctic Clouds MiRAC: first insights from the ACLOUD campaign, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12, 5019–5037, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5019-2019.
  • Schnitt, S., E. Orlandi, M. Mech, A. Ehrlich, and S. Crewell, 2017: Characterisation of Water Vapor and Clouds during the Next-Generation Aircraft Remote-sensing for Validation (NARVAL)-South studies, IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Earth Observation and Remote Sensing (JSTARS), Vol. 10, No. 7, doi:10.1109/JSTARS.2017.2687943.
  • Mech, M., E. Orlandi, S. Crewell, F. Ament, L. Hirsch, M. Hagen, G. Peters, and B. Stevens, 2014: HAMP - the microwave package on the High Altitude and LOng range research aircraft HALO, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 7, 4623-4657, doi:10.5194/amt-7-4539-2014.