NSF C-130 Mission Summary Report (EPIC)

9 October 2001 - 95W Transect

Mission Summary - The overall weather for this flight featured considerable
rain at the ITCZ (largely south of 8 deg. N) and the remnants of hurricane Iris
near Huatulco, and relatively weak ABL southerlies south of the ITCZ.
The SST front appears to have been weaker than earlier in October.  For
example, the SST between 0.6 and 1 deg. S was 19.4 C, as compared with
18.2 C on 2 October.  The ABL southerlies over the SST front were about
2 m/s weaker than a week earlier.  The ABL southerlies were relatively
atrong in the region of 4-5 N.  There were also relatively weak northerlies
at 5000' over the cold tongue.  There were relatively uniform ABL clouds
north of the equator, and a mix of clear skies and thin stratus over the
coolest water south of the equator.  It was clear above the BL south of
4 deg. N.  The GPS dropsondes at 3 and 6 deg. N, had some substantial
dropouts in the winds.  Extra BT's were deployed over the cold tongue.
Overall, the success rate for these probes was 15/18 for the BT's, 7/9
for the CTD's, and 4/5 for the CP's.

Flight Notes

1439	Takeoff
1454	Lat 14.9, considerable stratiform precip in area
1455	260X probe not working1506	Lat 14.1, wind 035 @ 11-12 m/s, thick Ci, patches of stratiform rain
	in distance
1527	Lat 12.6, wind max at 1000 m on descent (020 @ 20 m/s), whitecaps
1531	Lat 12.4, start of 100', noticeable swell, wind 020 @ 8, SST 30.5,
	TA 31.1, thetae 360, q 191536	Start ascent
1538	Lat 11.9, BT (good), diffuse cloud base between 500-700 m
1541	In precip
1542	Lat 11.6, Start of 5000', CTD (bad), above BL cloud, thetae 348,
	q 13, wind 355 @ 3, AS/Ac/Ci OVHD
1544	BT (good)
1548	SABL indicates clouds @ 3.5 km, with some at 3.2 km
1550	Lat 11.1, active BL Cu
1552	Lat 11.0, Start descent, BT (bad)
1556	Wispy cloud tops near 400 m
1558	Lat 10.6, Start of 100', BT (unknown), wind 310 @ 1-2 m/s, glassy
	sea, SST 29.9, TA 30.4, thetae 363, q 20, SABL shows patchy clouds
	in the 400-700 m layer and a more continuous deck near 3.1 km
1606	Lat 10.1, BL Cu/Sc and As clearing
1610	Lat 9.9, start ascent, mostly blue sky
1614	Lat 9.6, CTD (failed)
1616	Lat 9.5, start of 5000', wind 95 @ 8 m/s, thetae 343, q 13
1618	Lat 9.4, BT (good), hazy with a few patches of BL Cu, As aloft again
1622	Lat 9.1, Cu congestus in distance
1625	Lat 9.0, start descent, CTD (good), isolated but vigorous cells ahead
1629	Variable cloud top heights, some near 800 m but mostly 650-700 m,
	bases 400-500 m
1632	Lat 8.6, start of 100', SST 29.8, TA 30.1, wind 040 @ 2, thetae 359
	q 19, rippled sea
1641	Spotted 8 N buoy
1642	Lat 8.0, start ascent, streaks on ocean, mostly cloud free on ascent
1645	Lat 7.8, BT (good)
1646	In light precip (from aloft)
1649	Lat 7.6, CP (good)
1650	Lat 7.5, CTD (good), moderate chop in rain, Wmax about 8 m/s, Wmin
	about -1 to -2 m/s
1652	Out of rain, wind 060 @ 5-6, thetae 347, q 14
1654	Lat 7.2, Moderate chop, SABL clouds thick below 2 km, multiple layers
	between 2.5 and 6 km
1655	Lat 7.2, start descent, BT (good), in rain near start of descent
1658	Winds increasing near surface, first hint of capping stable layer on BL
1701	Lat 6.8, start of 100', light-moderate chop, wind 205 @ 10, thetae 353
	q 18, whitecaps, light rain, SST 27.8, TA 27.2
1704	Lat 6.6, moderate rain, clouds up to 5 km from SABL
1707	Lat 6.5, start ascent, sky obscured
1709	Lat 6.4, BT (good), in rain, wind max near 300 m
1711	Rain stopped
1712 Lat 6.2, CP(bad), wind 300 @ 3, thetae 348, q 14
1714	Lat 6.1, CTD (good), SABL shows clouds at 4.5 km and another layer
	with tops to 2 km, in light precip again
1719	Light-moderate chop near cloud top
1720	Lat 5.7, start descent, BT (good), SABL shows patches of cloud at 2,
	2.3, and 4.5-4.8 km
1727	Lat 5.3, start of 100', substantial whitecaps, 200 @ 12 m/s, SST 27.6
	TA 26.5, thetae 347, q 17, a few CLR spots OVHD, SABL clouds include
	scud 300-500 m, main deck 0.8-1.6 km, a few at 4.8 km
1732	Lat 5.0, start ascent
1735	Lat 4.9, BT (good), clouds between 1-1.5 km
1737	Lat 4.7, 5000', wimd 300 @ 2, thetae 347, q 14
1738	Lat 4.7, CP (good)
1740	Lat 4.6, CTD (good), a few wisps of cloud at and above flight-level
	also a deck at 4.5 km
1743	Lat 4.4, fairly uniform tops to undercast but some organization
	(streaks) visible
1745	Lat 4.2, start descent, BT (good), mostly CLR above, cloud top
	1000-1050 m, nice example of cumulus feeding stratus (400-800 and
	1000-1200 m, respectively)
1752	Lat 3.9, start of 100', SST 27.3, TA 26.2, thetae 341, q 14-15,
	light chop, wind 190 @ 10, whitecaps
1753	ABL Sc now with BKN coverage
1758	Lat 3.6, start ascent, main cloud base near 400 m, tops near 1100 m
1800	Lat 3.4, BT (good), weak BL cap near 1000 m
1804	Lat 3.2, 5000', CP (good), wind 105 @ 6, thetae 343, q 13
1805	Lat 3.1, CTD (good)
1808	Lat 3.0, quite uniform undercast, CLR above
1812	Lat 2.8, start descent, BT (good), BL cloud tops 900-850 m, bases 500 m
1818	Lat 2.4, start 100', wind 190 @ 8 m/s, SST 26.2, TA 23.9, some OCNL
	small whitecaps, undulations in cloud bases, thetae 335, q 13,
	SABL shows cloud layers 500-700 and 900-1100 m
1825	Lat 2.1, start ascent, bases 450-500 m, top 1100-1150 m, 5 deg. C
	TWI over a shallow layer
1828	Lat 1.9, BT (good), CLR above ABL Sc
1832	Lat 1.7, start of 5000', CP (good), wind 075 @ 4-5, thetae 343, q 12
1834	Lat 1.6, CTD (good)
1841	Lat 1.2, start descent, BT (bad), cloud top near 1150 m
1844	Lat 1.0, replacement BT (good to 150 m), enhanced turbulence near
	cloud top, cloud bases 400-450 m
1847	Lat 0.9, start of 100', SST 23.6, TA 22.1, thetae 329, q 13, wind
	185 @ 8, minor whitecaps, light chop, a few small breaks in OVC,
	diffuse cloud bases
1855	Lat 0.5 N, start of 100' E-W leg, SST 21.0, TA 21.2, wind 175 @ 6
	SABL shows two cloud decks (intermittent at 300-500 m, solid 700-900 m
1858	Lat 0.5, start ascent, main cloud deck 600-800 m, some 300-500 m
1902	Lat 0.4, BT (good)
1906	Lat 0.1, CTD (good), CLR OVHD
1908	Lat 0.0., 5000', wind 085 @ 2 m/s, thetae 339, q 11
1909	Near south edge of primary cloud mass, but some clouds to SW
1912	Lat -0.2, start descent, BT (good), largely CLR below but some
	thin stratus, inversion still prominent near 1000 m even though
	no clouds, some sheets of thin stratus between 600-700 m (also
	indicated by SABL)
1918	Lat -0.6, start of 100' N-S leg, SST 19.4, TA 21.1, thetae 327
	q 12, wind 170 @ 5 m/s, stratus OVHD
1922	Lat -0.7, thin spots and breaks in OVC, haze near 300 m
1925	Lat -0.9, CLR OVHD
1927	Lat -1.0, start of 100' E-W leg, SST 19.3, TA 20.9, thetae 328,
	q 13, wind 205 @ 4-5 m/s, thin and patchy stratus 700-800 m, thicker
	stratus near end of E-W leg
1931	Start of ascent for inbound ferry
1933	Lat -0.9, BT (good), cloud tops near 800 m, wind max near 600 m
	(160 @ 8 m/s)
1955	Equator dropsonde good, lat 0.6 flgiht-level wind 260 @ 6 m/s
2101	Lat 5.7, flight-level wind 060 @ 2 m/s
2111	Lat 6.5, sondes at 3 and 6 N (especially former) with lots of wind
	dropouts, flight level wind 100 @ 4 m/s
2201	Lat 10.2, passed by growing Cb, wind 090 @ 8 m/s
2308	Lots of whitecaps near shore, flight-level winds (3000 m) 055 @ 20 m/s
2325	Landed