Paul Lawson — SPEC, Inc.
Christoph A Roden — SPEC, Inc.
Colin Gurganus — Stratton Park Engineering Company.
Sebastian Schmidt — University of Colorado, Boulder
Category
High-latitude clouds and aerosols
Description
Mixed-phase clouds predominate from spring through early winter in the Arctic and exhibit a particularly strong nonlinear influence on the surface energy budget in the Arctic. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and tethered balloon systems (TBS) offer significant advantages over conventional research aircraft. SPEC Inc. has designed and fabricated a unique sensor that combines three optical cloud particle probes in a small, lightweight (3 kg) instrument that can be installed on small UAVs and TBS. The miniature combination optical particle probe measures the size distribution of cloud particles from 2 microns to several millimeters and records high-definition images that distinguish ice particles from water drops, which is essential in mixed-phase clouds. The combination optical probe will be installed along with miniature instruments to measure aerosols, cloud condensation nuclei, ice nuclei, position, and atmospheric state parameters on a TBS and a Penguin UAV that will participate in a pilot project in the Arctic in spring, 2018. These miniature sensors can also be installed on the DOE mid-size TigerShark UAV. Data collected in the Arctic will be placed in the DOE ARM Archive and analyzed by company scientists and university subcontractors. Anticipated results include improved radiative transfer retrievals and models.
