The use of combined airborne and satellite active remote sensing in preparation for future EarthCARE mission

• Main Authors: Gross, Silke, Ewald, Florian, Wirth, Martin, Delanoë, Julien, Cazenave, Quitterie, Schäfler, Andreas, Hirsch, Lutz, Hagen, Martin
• Other Authors: DLR Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre = DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Oberpfaffenhofen-Wessling (DLR), SPACE - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie (MPI-M), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology; North Atlantic; narval
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-04437650

International audience Once launched the ESA/JAXA EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol Radiation Explorer) will be the largest and most complex Earth Explorer mission. Its core instruments the high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) at 355 nm and the Doppler cloud radar at 95 GHz will be the most advanced cloud instruments in space providing simultaneous profiles of aerosol and clouds. To fully exploit the capability of this future satellite mission great effort was undertaken within the last years to scientifically prepare and develop methods dedicated to EarthCARE's unique payload. Especially airborne measurements with similar instruments as the future satellite greatly help in preparing for EarthCARE as they provide real data sets to test and further develop algorithms for future satellite application. Additionally underpasses below NASA's A-Train satellite constellation provide information crucial for investigating the benefit and limitations that can be expected from future EarthCARE measurements. With its so called NARVAL (Next-generation aircraft remote sensing for validation studies) payload the German research aircraft HALO (High Altitude and Long-range) is equipped with an EarthCARE-like payload. Active remote sensing measurements of simultaneous aerosol and cloud profiles are provided by the combined differential absorption and high spectral resolution lidar (532 nm) system WALES and a METEK cloud radar (35 GHz). Additional passive remote sensing instruments complement the active remote sensing measurements. This payload was employed during the NARVAL-I mission over the tropical and extra-tropical North Atlantic region in December 2013 and January 2014 and again during the NARVAL-II over the tropical North Atlantic in August 2016 and NAWDEX (North Atlantic Waveguide and Downstream Experiment) in the extra-tropical North Atlantic region in September/October 2016. During all these flight experiments a major focus was set on underpasses below NASA's CALIPSO (Cloud Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Observation) ...