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Notes from the Field

Preparing for the Trip North

A new NASA airborne campaign known as ARISE, or the Arctic Radiation – IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment, will take measurements intended to help researchers better understand the role that clouds play in Arctic warming as sea ice conditions change. From Sep. 3 to Oct. 3, researchers flying aboard NASA’s C-130 research aircraft will measure incoming and reflected sunlight, thermal infrared radiation, ice surface elevation and various cloud properties to gain a better understanding of changes to the Arctic climate.

C-130 in hangar
NASA’s C-130 research aircraft sitting in the hangar at Wallops Flight Facility as it is being prepared for the ARISE field campaign. Credit: NASA / Christy Hansen

For the past few weeks, aircraft technicians and instrument experts have been preparing the C-130 for its upcoming trip to the Arctic. A large part of this process was installing and testing the scientific gear that the ARISE team will use to collect data on clouds and ice.

  • Ice Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) – LVIS is a laser altimeter used to measure ice surface elevation. Data from this instrument can tell researchers about surface conditions below the plane.
  • Broadband Radiometer (BBR) and Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) – These instruments measure the strength of incoming and outgoing sunlight and thermal radiation.
  • Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun Tracking Atmospheric Research (4STAR) – 4STAR studies aerosol and cloud properties by measuring sunlight as it passes through the atmosphere.
  • Probes – The C-130 is also equipped with probes to measure properties like cloud water content and droplet size to better understand Arctic clouds.

Instrument equipment inside C-130
Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) instrument and control racks aboard the NASA C-130 research aircraft seen during instrument integration at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. LVIS is a laser altimeter that will be used to measure land and sea ice elevation during NASA’s ARISE campaign.Credit: NASA / David Rabine

Once the instruments are installed and tested on the ground, the ARISE team carried out a pair of check flights – one to make sure the C-130 is flying in peak condition and one to verify that the mission’s various instruments are working properly.

C-130 flying a check flight
A view of NASA’s C-130 research aircraft seen from the T-34 chase plane during the ARISE engineering check flight on August 24, 2014.Credit: NASA / Dennis Rieke and Mark Russell

For the next few weeks, the ARISE team will fly out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to collect data on Arctic ice and clouds.