ML-CIRRUS
Formation, Lifetime, Properties and Radiative Impact of Mid–Latitude Cirrus Clouds
Mission status: Completed
Persons in Charge
Mission-PI
- Christiane Voigt (DLR-IPA)
Contact point at DLR-FX for this mission:
HALO Project Management: Martina Hierle
Postal address:
DLR Oberpfaffenhofen
Flugexperimente (FX)
Münchener Str. 20
82234 Weßling
Germany
HALO Deployment Base
Time Period
Feb – Apr 2014
Project description
Mission overview paper
ML-CIRRUS THE AIRBORNE EXPERIMENT ON NATURAL CIRRUS AND CONTRAIL CIRRUS WITH THE HIGH-ALTITUDE LONG-RANGE RESEARCH AIRCRAFT HALO
Citation:
Voigt, C., and Coauthors, 2017: ML-CIRRUS: The Airborne Experiment on Natural Cirrus and Contrail Cirrus with the High-Altitude Long-Range Research Aircraft HALO. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98, 271–288, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00213.1.
Cirrus clouds, which often occur in the upper troposphere, are very important for the weather, atmospheric chemistry and the climate. Air traffic may form artificial cirrus clouds via condensation trails, which quickly develop into widespread cirrus clouds in ice supersaturated air. However, the detailed mechanism through which ice crystals form is still largely unknown. During the ML-CIRRUS mission (Formation, Lifetime, Properties and Radiative/Chemical Impact of Mid-Latitude Cirrus Clouds), comprehensive instrumentation were used to measure the properties of cirrus clouds.
To do this, HALO was fitted with equipment such as a lidar, a measuring instrument that emits laser pulses and receives the signals backscattered from molecules and particles in the atmosphere. This enables to measure, among other things, the concentration profiles of water vapour, aerosol and cirrus particles below the flight altitude to be surveyed. In order to characterise ice particles in terms of size, number concentration and shape, special measurement probes will be fitted under the wings.
During the mission, the scientists aimed to investigate both the formation processes of natural cirrus clouds and the formation of ice clouds induced by air traffic. Some of the measurement flights took place in the North Atlantic flight corridor, including about 1000 flights per day.
Partners
- German Aerospace Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (DLR-IPA)
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZ Jülich)
- Goethe University Frankfurt
- Heidelberg University
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
- University of Wuppertal
Scientific instruments and payload configuration
List of scientific instruments for the mission:
Cabin and exterior configuration of HALO for the mission
HALO cabin layout for ML-CIRRUS
Schematic HALO PMS wing carrier configuration for ML-CIRRUS
HALO flights for this mission
Flights are listed by
Aircraft registration | Date | Take-off / Landing (UT) | Total flight time (h) | From / To | Mission #
- D-ADLR | 2014-02-07 | 10:50:00 – 12:45:00 | 1.917 | EDMO – EDMO | Flight test
- D-ADLR | 2014-02-10 | 07:30:00 – 08:00:00 | 0.500 | EDMO – EDMO | Flight test
- D-ADLR | 2014-02-10 | 10:50:00 – 12:30:00 | 1.667 | EDMO – EDMO | Flight test
- D-ADLR | 2014-02-11 | 10:30:00 – 11:25:00 | 0.917 | EDMO – EDMO | Flight test
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-19 | 10:20:00 – 12:25:00 | 2.083 | EDMO – EDMO | Flight test
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-21 | 11:55:00 – 14:10:00 | 2.250 | EDMO – EDMO | RF01
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-22 | 08:55:00 – 10:55:00 | 2.000 | EDMO – EDMO | RF02a
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-22 | 11:30:00 – 13:45:00 | 2.250 | EDMO – EDMO | RF02b
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-26 | 05:50:00 – 14:05:00 | 8.250 | EDMO – EDMO | RF03
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-27 | 11:00:00 – 15:30:00 | 4.500 | EDMO – EDMO | RF04
- D-ADLR | 2014-03-29 | 12:35:00 – 19:50:00 | 7.250 | EDMO – EDMO | RF05
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-01 | 09:35:00 – 15:55:00 | 6.333 | EDMO – EDMO | RF06
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-03 | 13:15:00 – 18:15:00 | 5.000 | EDMO – EDMO | RF07
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-04 | 09:05:00 – 15:55:00 | 6.833 | EDMO – LEZL | RF08a
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-04 | 17:05:00 – 19:40:00 | 2.583 | LEZL – EDMO | RF08b
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-07 | 07:00:00 – 12:20:00 | 5.333 | EDMO – EDMO | RF09
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-10 | 13:30:00 – 16:30:00 | 3.000 | EDMO – EDMO | RF10
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-11 | 07:25:00 – 12:20:00 | 4.917 | EDMO – EHRD | RF11a
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-11 | 13:25:00 – 17:40:00 | 4.250 | EHRD – EDMO | RF11b
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-13 | 10:30:00 – 17:45:00 | 7.250 | EDMO – EDMO | RF12
- D-ADLR | 2014-04-15 | 07:50:00 – 10:35:00 | 2.750 | EDMO – EDMO | RF13
More information
Mission overview paper
ML-CIRRUS THE AIRBORNE EXPERIMENT ON NATURAL CIRRUS AND CONTRAIL CIRRUS WITH THE HIGH-ALTITUDE LONG-RANGE RESEARCH AIRCRAFT HALO
Citation:
Voigt, C., and Coauthors, 2017: ML-CIRRUS: The Airborne Experiment on Natural Cirrus and Contrail Cirrus with the High-Altitude Long-Range Research Aircraft HALO. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98, 271–288, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00213.1.
Journal Special issue
Inter-journal special issue in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP) / Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT):
ML-CIRRUS – the airborne experiment on natural cirrus and contrail cirrus in mid-latitudes with the high-altitude long-range research aircraft HALO (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI). Editor(s): C. Voigt, E. Jensen, Baumgardner, U. Schumann, R. S. Gao, and Dr. O. Möhler.
Press releases, media etc.
Initial press release
Ice clouds as a climate factor – research aircraft HALO examines cirrus clouds and vapour trails
Read more.. (in English)