Identification

Title

Aircraft testing of the new Blunt-body Aerosol Sampler (BASE)

Abstract

There is limited understanding of the role of aerosols in the formation and modification of clouds, partly due to inadequate data on such systems. Aircraft-based aerosol measurements in the presence of cloud particles have proven to be challenging because of the problem of cloud droplet/ice particle shatter and the generation of secondary artifact particles that contaminate aerosol samples. Recently, the design of a new aircraft inlet, called the Blunt-body Aerosol Sampler (BASE), which enables sampling of interstitial aerosol particles, was introduced. Numerical modeling results and laboratory test data suggested that the BASE inlet should sample interstitial particles with minimal shatter particle contamination. Here, the sampling performance of the inlet is established from aircraft-based measurements. Initial aircraft test results obtained during the PLOWS (Profiling of Winter Storms) campaign indicated two problems with the original BASE design: separated flows around the BASE at high altitudes and a significant shatter problem when sampling in drizzle. The test data were used to improve the accuracy of flow and particle trajectory modeling around the inlet, and the results from the improved flow model were used to guide design modifications of the BASE to overcome the problems identified in its initial deployment. The performance of the modified BASE was tested during the ICE-T (Ice in Clouds Experiment - Tropics) campaign, and the inlet was seen to provide near shatter-free measurements in a wide range of cloud conditions. The initial aircraft test results, design modifications, and the performance characteristics of the BASE relative to another interstitial inlet, the submicron aerosol inlet (SMAI), are presented.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d79g5nt8

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

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Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2014-09-23T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact