Instruments

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DC-8 Instruments
Name Acronym Principal Investigator Type Description
2D-S (stereo) probe 2D-S (stereo) probe Paul Lawson, Spec Inc.

Cloud particle sizing and imaging

Measures particle size distribution and black and white images. Derives extinction, particle concentration, ice water content and particle shape.

Dual-Frequency Airborne Precipitation Radar

APR-2

Eastwood Im / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

14/35-GHz dual-frequency Doppler radar

Measures:
• Simultaneous HH (co-pol) radar backscatter power profiles at 14 and 35 GHz
• Simultaneous HV (cross-pol) radar backscatter power profiles at 14 and 35 GHz
• Vertical Doppler frequency profiles at 14 and 35 GHz

Derives:
• Simultaneous HH (co-pol) radar reflectivity at 14 and 35 GHz
• Simultaneous Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR) at 14 and 35 GHz
• Vertical Doppler fall velocity at 14 and 35 GHz
• Rainfall rate
• Drop-size distribution parameters
• Surface backscattering coefficients

Cloud Particle Imager CPI Paul Lawson, Spec Inc.

Cloud particle sizing and imaging

Measures particle size distribution and images with 256 gray levels. Derives extinction, particle concentration, ice water content and particle shape.
Cloud Aerosol and Precipitation Spectrometer

CAPS

Andy Heymsfield, NCAR

Optical array imaging probe and scattering spectrometer

Measures particle size distributions 0.5um-6.2mm . Derives Ice water content, extinction, radar reflectivity, fall velocity .
Carbon mOnoxide By Attenuation of Laser Transmission

COBALT

Jim Podolske - NASA Ames Research Center; Co-I's Glenn S. Diskin and Bruce E. Anderson, NASA Langley

in-situ laser absorption spectrometer

Measures carbon monoxide mixing ratio; Derives carbon monoxide mixing ratio profiles
Counterflow Virtual Impactor

CVI

Cynthia Twohy, Oregon State University

In-situ Droplet Impactor

Measures cloud condensed water content (CWC), nuclei composition (by electron microscopy).
Diode Laser Hygrometer

DLH

PI:Glenn Diskin - NASA Langley Research Center

Co-I :Jim Podolske - NASA Ames Research Center

in-situ Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer

Measures water vapor mixing ratio; Derives water vapor partial pressure, relative humidity, water vapor flux
High Altitude Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Sounding Radiometer

HAMSR

Bjorn Lambrigtsen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Microwave radiometer

Measures brightness temperatures in 25 spectral channels & 3 spectral bands. Derives temperature, water vapor & liquid water vertical profiles; precipitation; convective intensity .
Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment

LARGE

Bruce E. Anderson, NASA Langley Research Center; Co-I's: Glenn S. Diskin - NASA Langley and Jim Podolske - NASA Ames Research Center

In situ aerosol sensors including condensation nuclei counters, optical particle spectrometers, an aerodynamic particle sizer, multi-wavelength particle-soot absorption photometers, and integrating nephelometers

Measures: Ultrafine aerosol number density, total and non-volatile aerosol number density, dry aerosol size distribution from 0.01 to 10 mm, total and submicron aerosol absorption coefficients at 470, 535, and 670 nm, total and submicron aerosol scattering coefficients at 550 nm, and total scattering and hemispheric backscattering coefficients at 400, 550 and 700 nm. Derives Aerosol size statistics (mode, number and mass mean diameters, etc.), aerosol surface area and mass loading, aerosol extinction, single scattering albedo, and angstrom coefficients.
Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment

LASE

Edward V. Browell (PI), Syed Ismail (Co-PI) NASA Langley

Lidar

Measures water vapor mixing ratio and aerosol scattering ratio (815 nm) profiles. Derives relative humidity, equivalent potential temperature, virtual potential temperature, precipitable water vapor profiles; also aerosol backscatter, aerosol extinction, aerosol optical thickness profiles (815 nm)
Meteorological Measurement System

MMS

T. Paul Bui, NASA Ames Research Center

In situ DC-8 measurements

Measures aircraft position, velocities, acceleration, and attitudes; air flow with respect to aircraft (angle-of-attack, angle-of-sideslip), total temperature, fuselage pressure, total pressure. Derives atmospheric state variables (static pressure, static temperature, 3-dimensional wind field).
Real Time Mission Monitor

RTMM

Rich Blakeslee

real time data acquisition, visualization, and situational awareness

The NAMMA RTMM integrates satellite and radar imagery, model output data, lightning location observations, aircraft (including balloon) navigation data, overlays (e.g., dropsonde analyses), and other data sets. A key addition and advance during NAMMA will be to provide, for the first time, a local RTMM capability on the DC-8 aircraft itself during the flights, enabling on-board scientists and aircraft operators to have access to imagery and data sets unavailable in prior campaigns.

Research Environment for Vehicle-Embedded Analysis on Linux

REVEAL

Lawrence C. Freudinger

onboard data acquisition, processing, recording systems and communications

In-Field Quick Look Products: Quick looks at vehicle sate, fuel temperature monitoring, various environmental parameters.
Direct Products: vehicle data bus interfaces, vehicle time-space-position information, sun angle calculations, and custom real-time and post-flight data products. Provides real-time data feeds to LIP displays and TCSP Team.

Click on instrument "Name" for more detailed information
Ground Instruments
Name Acronym Principal Investigator Type Description
NASA Polarimetric Radar NPOL John Gerlach and Paul Kucera

Dual polarized S-band Doppler radar

Measures vertical distribution of radar reflectivity, velocity, differential reflectivity, differential phase, correlation coefficient. Derives rainfall estimates and rainfall rates

Radiosonde/ Tethersone

n/a Everette Joseph, PI,  Greg Jenkins, Co-I, Jose Fuentes, Co-I

sonde

Investigate: 1. precipitating systems that may lead to tropical cyclogenesis over the eastern Atlantic Ocean; 2. mesoscale convective systems properties and lifecycle characteristics; 3. surface-atmosphere interactions and its relationship to cloud and precipitation processes; and 4. validation of space-borne products, with an emphasis on TRMM in a coastal environment and quantifying errors associated with the under-sampling (spatial and temporal) of precipitating features on various time-scales (daily, weekly, monthly).

Surface-sensing Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer;

Chemical, Optical, and Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere

SMART-COMMIT

Jack Ji, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland College Park (ESSIC, UMCP)

radiometers, lidar, particle sizers, gas monitors, meteorological sensors, tethered radiosonde

Measures radiances, irradainces, back scatter profile, atmospheric state variables, aerosol scattering/absorbing, particle size distribution, trace gas concentrations, sky image. Derives temperature and water vapor profiles, aerosol scattering/absorbing coefficients, aerosol optical thickness, extinction profile, surface BRDF, cloud and dust properties.
Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Radar 

TOGA

John Gerlach and Robert Cifelli

C-band linear polarized Doppler radar

Measures vertical distribution of radar reflectivity, velocity, differential reflectivity, differential phase, correlation coefficient. Derives: rainfall estimates and rainfall rates
Starnet Network Starnet Vasso Kotroni and Kostas Lagouvardos VLF Sferics Array
Identifies location and polarity of lightning (primarily
cloud-to-ground)
Click on instrument "Name" for more detailed information

 

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