70 years of Atmospheric research flying timeline ... - Met Office

CAESAR was designed to study and understand the radiative properties of cirrus cloudcover, and spanned many years making measurements when conditions wereappropriate. Cirrus clouds cover approximately 30% of the globe at any one time. Andthey have a significant impact on weather and climate through their influence on theEarth’s energy balance. Cirrus clouds are spatially very inhomogeneous (variable) andthe ice crystals that form them are complex in shape.The best way to study these clouds is to fly a research aircraft in to them as was doneduring CAESAR. Before the start of this project the MRF C-130 Hercules carried outextensive research over the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s. Research aircraft are able tocarry cloud probes that count and image the complex ice particles allowing us to developmodels of their evolution. The MRF C-130 and now the FAAM BAe-146 are unique inthat they measure the cloud microphysics as well as their radiative properties across avery wide region of the electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to the microwave.This capability has allowed Met Office scientists to play a world leading role in theunderstanding and modelling of cirrus clouds. We are the only operational NWP centreto have a cloud microphysical scheme that provides the cirrus particle size and shapeinformation necessary to allow a physically consistent simulation of electromagneticscattering and absorption over the visible, IR, microwave and radar portions of thespectrum. This gives us a self consistent treatment of the evolution of the cirrus cloudsand their impact on the radiative transfer something we hope is a significant step incorrectly predicting the impact of these clouds on weather and climate in to the future.2005Following a major explosion at the Buncefield oil depot, the FAAM aircraft sampled thesmoke plume, providing the only in-situ observations of the chemical constituents of thesmoke.Link (Buncefield_Summary.pdf)© Crown copyright 201232