HALO

CoMet 2.0 Arctic

Mission Website:

Persons in Charge

Mission-PI

Mission coordinator​

Contact point at DLR-FX for this mission:

HALO Project Management: Andreas Minikin

Postal address:
DLR Oberpfaffenhofen
Flugexperimente (FX)
Projektmanagement
Münchener Str. 20
82234 Weßling
Germany

Office phone:
+49 (0)8153 28-2538

HALO Deployment Base

Time Period

June – September 2022

Mission phaseDates
Preparation, payload integration, EMI testingJun - Aug 2022
Mission execution​06 Aug - 16 Sep 2022
Dismounting of payload19 - 23 Sep 2022

Project description

CoMet 2.0 Arctic aims to learn more about the distribution and temporal variation of the two most important anthropogenicallyinfluenced greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the Arctic. Aircraftbased instruments using both remote sensing and insitu techniques will carry out measurements of these trace gases and tracers related to their emissions. The results will help to better understand the global methane and carbon cycle. This mission makes use of the German research aircraft HALO.

CoMet 2.0 Arctic is the follow-up campaign from CoMet, which took place in 2018. This campaign took place in Europe and targeted compact emission-sources of CO2 and CH4 like coal mines, coal-burning power plants or landfills. With the expericenes gained from this campaign, we target now emission-sources with much weaker gradients, like boreal wetlands and permafrost araes, but also anthropogenic hot spots in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic.

The figure displays the target areas for the CoMet Arctic campaign. These comprise boreal wetlands and permafrost araes, but also anthropogenic sources.

For the CoMet 2.0 mission, HALO will be equipped with a suite of sophisticated instruments measuring the carbon dioxide and methane columns between the aircraft and the ground using remote sensing, as well as insitu instruments that collect air samples at flight level. Furthermore, instruments to provide detailed information about the standard meteorological parameters (pressure, wind, humidity) will also be on board. In order to link those inflight data to profiles,
the launch of small meteorological sondes is foreseen.
The payload is exclusively dedicated to atmospheric measurement.

Partners

    • German Aerospace Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (DLR-IPA)
    • Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC)
    • University of Bremen – Institute for Environmental Physics (IUP)
    • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Meteorological Institute Munich (MIM)
    • German Aerospace Center, Flight Experiments (DLR-FX)

Scientific instruments and payload configuration

The payload of the COMET mission will be extended with the integration of the new MAMAP2D instrument. This 2-dimensional imaging spectrometer system measures CO2 and CH4. It is the successor instrument of MAMAP which was flown on the Cessna 207 during COMET. Including these measurements on the same platform with the other remote sensing (CHARM-F, mini-DOAS) and in situ (JIG, JAS) instruments facilitates further synergies for data analysis. Furthermore, the core payload will be complemented by a quantum cascade laser spectrometer to measure ethane (C2H6), a tracer for emissions from oil and gas emissions.

The following table gives an overview on the instruments onboard the aircraft during CoMet and their measurement parameters:

Scientific
instrument
acronym
DescriptionPrincipal investigatorInstitution
CHARM-FIntegrated path differential absorption lidar (IPDA)Andreas FixDLR-IPA
MAMAPImaging NIR SpectrometerHeinrich BovensmannUniv. Bremen
Mini-DOASUV/VIS/NIR SpectrometerKlaus PfeilstickerUniv. Heidelberg
JIGCavity-Ringdown Spectroscopy (CRDS)Christoph GerbigMPI-BGC
JASAir samplerChristoph GerbigMPI-BGC
MIRACLELaser SpectrometerAnke RoigerDLR-IPA
specMACSHyperspectral ImagingFlorian EwaldDLR-IPA
BAHAMASBasic aircraft measurement systemAndreas GiezDLR-FX
DropsondesMeteorological dropsondesStefan KaufmannDLR-IPA
FOKALFrequency CombAndreas FixDLR-IPA

HALO flights for this mission

Aircraft registrationDateTake off - Landing / UTTotal flight time / hFrom - ToFlight number #
D-ADLR2022-07-2210:06 - 13:053.22EDMO-EDMORF00
D-ADLR2022-08-0409:04 - 15:487.02EDMO-EDMORF01
D-ADLR2022-08-0613:02 - 22:289.72EDMO-CYEGRF02
D-ADLR2022-08-0916:04 - 22:276.62CYEG-CYEGRF03
D-ADLR2022-08-1016:04 - 21:485.98CYEG-CYEGRF04
D-ADLR2022-08-12
2022-08-13
16:13 - 23:46
01:05 - 03:41
7.70
2.88
CYEG-CYEV
CYEV-CYEG
RF05
D-ADLR2022-08-16
2022-08-17
15:34 - 20:53
00:40 - 02:16
5.53
1.80
CYEG-CYZF
CYZF-CYEG
RF06
D-ADLR2022-08-1815:27 - 23:418.42CYEG-CYEGRF07
D-ADLR2022-08-2516:57 - 23:156.53CYEG-CYEGRF08
D-ADLR2022-08-2615:07 - 00:079.20CYEG-CYEGRF09
D-ADLR2022-09-0216:34 - 23:517.52CYEG-CYEGRF10
D-ADLR2022-09-0314:59 - 00:439.97CYEG-CYEGRF11
D-ADLR2022-09-0513:27 - 23:4110.43CYEG-CYEGRF12
D-ADLR2022-09-0713:28 - 22:319.25CYEG-CYEGRF13
D-ADLR2022-09-1016:53 - 22:205.67CYEG-CYEGRF14
D-ADLR2022-09-1112:57 - 22:349.82CYEG-CYEGRF15
D-ADLR2022-09-1408:54 - 12:123.52CYEG-CYEGRF16
D-ADLR2022-09-16CYEG-EDMORF17

More information

Press releases, media etc