Results of the DFG Major Instrumentation Initiative “HALO-Instruments – the Expansion of the Scientific Instrumentation of the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft HALO”
Within a Major Instrumentation Initiative, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) funds novel advanced scientific instruments to be installed aboard the Research Aircraft HALO. These instruments are for dedicated use in future research missions such as those addressed e.g. in the calls for the Priority Programme “Atmospheric and Earth System Research with the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO)” (SPP 1294). HALO en-ables earth system science at the forefront and allows for innovative atmospheric measurements with a high-ceiling altitude of up to 15 km and a range of about 10,000 km. HALO-based research is supposed to help understand the interaction of processes within the earth system and human activities. For satellite missions, HALO provides unique possibilities to combine and validate spaceborne data with measurements of the atmosphere that were performed in situ and near the ground.