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An overview of the 2012 Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP)

 
Poster PDF

Authors

Connor J. Flynn — University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology
Richard A. Ferrare — NASA - Langley Research Center
Evgueni Kassianov — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Brian Cairns — Columbia University
Carl M. Berkowitz — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Phil Russell — NASA - Ames Research Center
Philip Rasch — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Larry Berg — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Chris A. Hostetler — NASA Langley Research Center
Alla Zelenyuk-Imre — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Daniel James Cziczo — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rahul Zaveri — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Jerome D Fast — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Barbara Ervens — NOAA/Coop. Instit. for Research in Environmental Studies

Category

Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Interactions

Description

Schematic of proposed flight plan showing stair-step profiles over the two columns of air and sampling strategy during transit between the columns. Each horizontal arrow represents 10 minutes of flight time.
The 2012 Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) will deploy the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) and the Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) on Cape Cod (Massachusetts) for a 12-month period starting in the summer of 2012 in order to quantify aerosol properties, radiation, and cloud characteristics at a location subject to both clear and cloudy conditions and clean and polluted conditions. These observations would be supplemented by two aircraft intensive observation periods (IOPS), one in the summer and a second in the winter. The aircraft will be equipped with a suite of in situ instrumentation to provide measurements of aerosol optical properties, particle composition (sampled through both an isokinetic and counterflow virtual impactor inlets), and direct-beam irradiance. Each mission will consist of making measurements within two columns of air. One column will be located over the AMF/MAOS Cape Cod site, while a second column would be located a few hundred kilometers east of Cape Cod. The aircraft will make a series of stair-step profiles within the first column followed by sampling within and above the marine boundary layer as it transits to the second, more remote column for a second set of stair-step profiles. Measurements will be used to address four broad scientific objectives:
  1. Perform a local radiation closure study and a chemical closure study of cloud condensation nuclei, both of which make use of collocated airborne and surface measurements (three projects).
  2. Evaluate a new retrieval algorithm to evaluate aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the presence of clouds using passive remote sensing.
  3. Document cloud microphysical properties in terms of aerosol loading, chemistry, and cloud dynamics related to aerosol indirect effects.
  4. Use the observations and the results of the analyses from the above to evaluate the performance of both a regional-scale model and a global circulation model (two projects).
    5. It is our strong desire that these measurements also serve the interests of the Aerosol Life Cycle, Cloud Life Cycle, and Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Interactions working groups of the DOE’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program and the broader climate research community.

    Supporting URL

    http://www.arm.gov/news/features/post/10708