CALWATER

Calwater Field Campaign

1 February 2011 - 7 March 2011

Lead Scientist: Kimberly Prather

Observatory: AAF, MCC

The goal of this project involved determining how aerosols impact clouds and precipitation patterns in California. Specifically flights were conducted through precipitating and non-precipitating clouds to determine whether there were chemical or physical differences in the cloud nuclei forming the clouds. The sources of the key cloud seeds were determined using single particle mass spectrometry. Cloud physics and chemistry were probed in addition to high level meteorological data. Met data were acquired during flights as well as at several sampling ground level sampling sites. The goal was to unravel the key parameters leading to high levels of rain and snow in California versus sustained cloud cover with very little precipitation.