MidCiX Workshop, October 2005
On October 17-18th, Jay Mace hosted a MidCiX Workshop in downtown Salt Lake City.
Click here to download the presentations from this workshop. You will need a username
and password to access these files. If you do not have one, email Jay Mace
to request a valid login.
MidCiX Objective
The effect of clouds on the Earth's energy balance is recognized as one of the key sources of
uncertainty in predictions of our changing climate. This uncertainty arises because clouds
can both cool the Earth system by reflecting sunlight back to space and warm the Earth by
trapping infrared radiation or heat that would otherwise escape to space. While we are fairly
certain that clouds act to cool the present climate, if and to what extent this cooling will
change in a climate warmed by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide is unknown. One of
the ways scientists can investigate this question is by observing the properties of clouds
with instrumented aircraft.
NASA and the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program are partnering in a unique
field campaign to measure the properties of high altitude ice clouds known as cirrus. With a
unique suite of instruments, the NASA WB57F aircraft will fly high in the troposphere to
collect information on the mass of condensed water, the sizes of ice crystals, and the effect
the ice crystals have on sunlight. These flights will take place primarily over DOE's ARM
Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains site located in north central Oklahoma. This
facility uses ground-based radars and lasers to probe clouds 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The WB57 Mid Latitude Cirrus Cloud Experiment (WB57 MidCiX) will begin on 12 April
and extend through 7 May 2004. Approximately 60 hours of flight time will be spent studying
cirrus clouds during that time.
Images & Data
Select a date to review images, quicklooks, data, discussions and other supportive information for a given day.
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MidCiX Complete
The WB57 Midlatitude Cirrus Cloud Experiment completed its last flight on May 6, 2004. The following 9 dates yielded successful flights
of the WB57 aircraft. Click on a day link below to view preliminary quicklooks, datasets and files
contributed by mission participants:
Flight Track
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April 17, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Instrument checkout flight. Intercepted a thin layer of cirrus west of the ARM site in north central Oklahoma.
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April 19, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Profile subtropical cirrus over the ARM site. A strong subtropical jet stream cirrus plume extended over the ARM site in a southwesterly flow.
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April 22, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled subtropical cirrus under EOS Terra satellite near Brownsville, Texas into the western Gulf of Mexico.
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April 27, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled cirrus under EOS Terra and Aqua satellites over west Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico.
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April 30, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled optically thin cirrus under EOS Terra satellite from MCC outflow northeast of Memphis.
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May 02, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled cirrus in the subtropical jet stream over the Gulf of Mexico under the Aqua overpass.
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May 03, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled thin cirrus over and near the ARM SGP site.
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May 05, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled mountain wave cirrus over north central Colorado.
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May 06, 2004 - Flight Summary
Objective: Sampled cirrus over the Gulf of Mexico under the Aqua satellite overpass.
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