Co-ordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics - CAST

全球鹰的独特研究能力，以及在对流层上部和平流层下部的超长飞行，为推进大气科学提供了一个重要的新机会。为了响应NERC/STFC/NASA的合作倡议，我们已经组建了一个经验丰富的英国团队，该团队建议执行一项涵盖基础科学和技术发展的研究计划，通过与全球鹰合作，将从根本上提高我们未来的研究能力。热带对流层顶（TTL）是化学/气候相互作用的关键区域。在我们已经在这一领域所做工作的基础上，我们将与美国宇航局的ATTREX计划合作，通过新的测量和分析来研究太平洋和东南亚上空的TTL。我们将讨论与大气成分、辐射和运输有关的基本问题。TTL控制水蒸气的传输，关键的辐射气体，进入平流层;我们将推进对水蒸气过程中亚可见卷云作用的理解。TTL也是寿命很短的卤素物种进入平流层的主要途径，这些卤素物种在未来平流层臭氧演变中具有很大的不确定性。我们将提高对这些气体的预算及其化学转化和通过TTL的运输的知识，包括对流运输到TTL的作用和随后从TTL到平流层下部的运输路线。为了研究这些过程，FAAM BAe-146将于2014年1月/2月在关岛部署。它将与全球鹰协调飞行，全球鹰将在同一时期在西太平洋上空的TTL进行测量。详细参与与ATTREX合作任务的所有阶段将提高英国未来使用全球鹰进行研究的潜力，包括使命规划和复杂实时数据分析方法的先进能力。飞机的测量结果将与地面和气球上对寿命很短的卤素物质和臭氧的测量结果一起加以解释，使用一组互补的区域高分辨率模型、全球成分模型和全球卷云模型，我们将为有效载荷/任务科学家接口开发和测试两种新仪器和新软件，它们非常适合全球鹰的能力。一种新的仪器将允许在TTL中量化亚微米和超微米尺寸粒子的重要物理特性，从而提供有关云和辐射的新信息。我们将开发一种新的短波红外光谱仪，利用对流层上部和平流层下部的长距离飞行，通过遥感测量低层大气中的温室气体（CO2、CH 4和H2O）和其他气体（CO）。这两种仪器都将在CAST进行飞行测试。除了解决这一呼吁的具体问题外，CAST还解决了技术主题的中心愿景：“让NERC社区内外的科学家、技术人员、计算机专家和工程师参与进来，确定在许多情况下，只有通过发展新的合作伙伴关系，才能实现最具挑战性的技术创新”（http：//www.nerc.ac.uk/research/themes/tap/documents/tap-technologies-2009.pdf）。CAST为NERC社区带来了机器学习方面的新技术专长，并加强了NERC科学家与赫特福德郡和天文技术中心的技术团队之间的联系。

The unique research capability of the Global Hawk, with ultra-long flights possible in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, provides a major new opportunity to advance atmospheric science. In response to the NERC/STFC/NASA collaborative initiative, we have assembled an experienced UK team that proposes to execute a research programme covering fundamental science and technology development, which, by working with the Global Hawk, will radically enhance our future research capabilities.The Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) is a crucial region for chemistry/climate interactions. Building on work we have already done in this area , we will collaborate with NASA's ATTREX programme to study the TTL over the Pacific Ocean and South East Asia, with new measurements and analysis. We will address fundamental questions related to atmospheric composition, radiation and transport. The TTL controls the transport of water vapour, the crucial radiative gas, into the stratosphere; we will advance understanding of the role of sub-visible cirrus in water vapour processes. The TTL is also the main route by which very short-lived halogen species, which represent a large uncertainty in future stratospheric ozone evolution, enter the stratosphere. We will improve knowledge of the budgets of these gases and of their chemical transformation and transport through the TTL, including the role of convective transport into the TTL and the subsequent routes for transport from the TTL to the lower stratosphere. Improving representation of these processes in global chemistry/climate models is a key aim.In order to study these processes, The FAAM BAe-146 will be deployed in Guam in Jan/Feb 2014. It will fly coordinated flights with the Global Hawk which will make measurements in the same period in the TTL over the West Pacific. Detailed involvement in all phases of the collaborative missions with ATTREX will enhance the UK potential for future research using the Global Hawk, including advanced capability in mission planning and methodologies for complex, real-time data analysis. The aircraft measurements will be interpreted in conjunction with ground-based and balloon-based measurements of very short-lived halogen species and ozone, using a complementary group of regional high resolution models, global composition models and a global cirrus model.We will develop and test two new instruments and new software for the payload/mission-scientist interface, which are ideally suited for the capabilities of the Global Hawk. One new instrument will allow quantification in the TTL of the important physical properties of sub- and super-micron sized particles, allowing new information about clouds and radiation. We will develop a new short-wave IR spectrometer to measure greenhouse (CO2, CH4, and H2O) and other (CO) gases in the lower atmosphere by remote sensing, taking advantage of the very long flights in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Both instruments will be flight-tested in CAST.As well as addressing the specifics of this call, CAST addresses the central vision of the Technology theme: "to engage scientists, technologists, computer specialists and engineers working both within the NERC community and outside it, identifying that in many cases it will only be through developing new partnerships that the most challenging innovations in technology can be enabled" (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/themes/tap/documents/tap-technologies-2009.pdf). CAST brings new technology expertise in machine learning into the NERC community and strengthens the links between NERC scientists and the technology groups at Hertfordshire and the Astronomy Technology Centre.