NSF C-130 Mission Summary Report (EPIC)

Research Flight 7
ITCZ Flight 5
New pattern today for the C-130. Methodology will be to approach the research area at 3000 m and look for areas of cloud development. Once an area of interest is selected, the aircraft will start cloud penetrations near cloud top flying butterfly patterns and moving down in altitude.

143000	Take Off
152900	Photo 1 Looking at cloud line at north end of research area. We will be penetrating this cloud
153330	Cloud Pass
153700	Photo 2 looking at new cloud development and new cell we are going to penetrate
153910	Cloud Penetration
154900	Cloud Penetration
155000	lightning strike on aircraft
155500	We have been running along a line of clouds NE-SW
160530	Entering line of clouds again
162145	Cloud Photo 3
162210	Cloud Penetration
162500	Descending to 2500 m
162921	Cloud Photo 4
163300	Cloud Penetration
164615	Cloud penetration. Drizzle on one side, updraft, 500 cm-3, 2 gm-3 on other side
165430	Cloud Penetration
170300	Cloud base pass
170900	Descending to 30 m
175830	Cloud Photo 5 - New Cloud line that we'll be working
180500	Cloud penetration
181400	Cloud penetration
181505	Cloud
182000	Cloud
182300	Descending to 4000 m
182800	Cloud photo 6 - Along the cloud line headed Southwest
183050	Cloud
183300	Cloud
	Very good cloud pass. Little drizzle, high droplet concentration
184230	Cloud, 
184600	Descending to 2500 m
185000	Cloud
185810	Cloud - New growth
	Another very good pass down the line of clouds going southwest, very little drizzle good
	updrafts and liquid water
199400	Descending to 1000 m
190630	Going NE at 1000 m.
195200	Going NE at 300 m. A little below cloud base
195700	Headed SW at 30 m
203500	Headed home at 4000 m, CN > 800, PCASP > 50, FSSP300=0
Mission Summary
Today we worked to cloud lines of developing CU. Both lines oriented in a NE-SW direction.
The first cloud line was located in the NW corner of the research area, the second line developed in the N-central area. Both lines were worked in the same flight pattern. The first pass through the lines was across the line at 6000 m, followed by a double left turn, 135 and 135 degrees to come back along the line at 6000 m. At the end of the line of convection, a 90-270 turn was made while descending to 4000 m and proceeded back along the cloud line. These maneuvers were repeated stepping down to 2500 m, 1000 m, cloud base then 30 m.

Both cloud lines displayed a variety of clouds in different stages of development, however, the second cloud line is probably of greater interest because of the number of new, growing cells that were sampled at multiple levels where there were strong updrafts, as high as 16 m/s, high droplet concentrations, as high as 500 cm-3, and liquid water contents greater than 2 gm-3. These high droplet concentrations are particularly surprising as they are much higher than would be expected from marine clouds. The high updrafts imply high supersaturations. Many of the clouds also showed significant increases in temperature in the updraft regions as measured with the Ophir probe.

Generally, this can be considered an excellent cloud microphysics and dynamics study.