AIRBORNE

Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E): Airborne Instruments

22 April 2011 - 6 June 2011

Lead Scientist: Michael Poellot

Observatory: AAF, SGP

The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) took place in central Oklahoma during the April–May 2011 period. The experiment is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Ground Validation (GV) program. The field campaign leveraged the unprecedented observing infrastructure currently available in the central United States, combined with an extensive sounding array, remote sensing and in situ aircraft observations, NASA GPM ground validation remote sensors, and new ARM instrumentation purchased with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. The University of North Dakota (UND) Citation provided in situ observations of precipitation-sized particles, ice freezing nuclei, and aerosol concentrations. In support of the UND aircraft mission, the ARM Aerial Facility provided aircraft probes for use during MC3E. The AAF High Volume Precipitation Spectrometer (HVPS-3) and the Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS-A), which allow for a wide range of operating speeds and have high resolution and fast response, were deployed. It was noted from the outset that the Citation would not be able to penetrate the deepest cores of convection associated with spring-time storms in Oklahoma, and thus, the flight plans emphasized sampling in weaker embedded convection and broad stratiform precipitation. As a complement to the UND Citation’s in situ observations, the NASA ER-2 provided a high-altitude satellite simulator platform that enabled remote sensing observations with a Ka/Ku band radar and passive microwave radiometers.