Project Details
Projekt
Influence of aerosol composition on cloud formation: in-situ studies by mass spectrometric measurements onboard HALO
Applicants
Professor Dr. Joachim Curtius; Dr. Johannes Schneider
Subject Area
Atmospheric Science
Term
from 2007 to 2015
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 47448743
Many current topics in atmospheric science, especially those related to climate research, are closely connected to the chemical composition of aerosol and cloud particles. Examples are, amongst others, the interactions between aerosol particles and clouds, as well as the radiative and microphysical properties of mixed phase and cirrus clouds. For aircraft based chemical composition measurements of aerosol and cloud particles, a highly time-resolved technique is essential since the spatial variations of aerosol particles can be large, especially in the vicinity of clouds. Such a technique has not been available for aircraft use in the German science community. Therefore, we developed in the first phase of the SPP HALO (SCHN 1138/1-1) a new aircraft based single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (ALABAMA) and adapted a second, existing instrument (C-ToF-AMS) for aircraft use. Both instruments have been successfully operated on different research aircraft in 2008 and 2009 and delivered important data on volcanic aerosol, Arctic pollution plumes and urban megacity emissions. In the upcoming funding period of the SPP, we plan to operate the new instruments during the HALO missions ML-CIRRUS, ACRIDICON, and NARVAL, with emphasis on cirrus cloud residual composition, aerosol chemistry and aerosol-cloud interactions.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
