AIRHSRL

Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP): Airborne HSRL and RSP Measurements

1 July 2012 - 31 July 2012

Lead Scientist: Chris Hostetler

Observatory: AMF, PVC

The deployment of the NASA Langley High Spectral Resolution LIDAR (HSRL) and the NASA GISS Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) on the NASA Langley King Air aircraft will be conducted in conjunction with the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) aerial campaign for 3 weeks in July 2012. A second deployment is tentatively scheduled for 3 weeks in February 2013. The scientific focus of this project is to relate observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and related measurements made from multiple platforms with in situ observations of particle size, composition, and optical properties. Two sets of AOD (and related) measurements would be made from aircraft for this campaign. One aircraft (the DOE G-1) will fly near the surface measuring AOD with an upward-looking instrument and a second aircraft (the NASA aircraft to be supported through this proposal) will fly at an altitude of approximately 8 km deploying the downward-looking HSRL and RSP instruments that will also measure AOD. Planned flight periods: 2012-07-06 to 2012-07-30 and 2013-02-04 to 2013-02-28.