Cirrus and Anvils: European Satellite and Airborne Radiation measurements project (CAESAR) and Microwave investigation of Mixed Phase Cloud (MICROMIX)

Aircraft flights took place over Chilbolton Observatory during November and December 2005 for both the CAESAR and MICROMIX campaigns.

CAESAR is a field campaign designed to understand the radiative properties of cirrus cloud over a wide range of wavelengths in combination with airborne in situ measurements of cirrus microphysical properties.

Flights using the FAAM BAe-146 measured frontal and anvil cirrus, co-incident with the CloudSat Aqua-train, SEVERI and AATSR satellites over the Chilbolton cloud radars and lidars as well as ocean/sea surrounding the UK. Aircraft measurements were used to obtain vertical profiles of ice crystal size, shape and IWC and observe how these quantities vary in the horizontal direction so that a good statistical sampling is obtained representative of the cirrus microphysical state. Measurements will be made at different times of the year to observe the different types of cirrus clouds.

MICROMIX is a campaign whose objectives are to investigate processes within mixed phase clouds in order to validate and develop fast forward models for assimilation schemes.