KA-20250928a

KA-20250928a#

ec_under cirrus

Crew#

Job

Name

PI

Robert Oscar David

Instrument operator

Sorin Ghemulet

Instrument operator

Alex Vlad

EarthCARE target scenarios

Cirrus: Cirrus clouds over land.

Flight summary

During the research flight on 28th September 2025, we targeted cirrus clouds between 7.0 and 8.0 km altitude underneath EarthCARE (orbit #7587C). We combined the northbound EC leg with a southbound leg further East, potentially catching the cirrus clouds downwind of the EC orbit (strong westerly winds at that altitude during EC overpass).

Track#

../_images/KA-20250928a_7587C.png

Flight track for KA-20250928a.#

Flight path (dashed line) superimposed on the MSI-RGR-1C product on 28th September 2025. The ATLID ground track is shown in yellow, while the EC leg (for correlative observations) is shown as a continuous line.

Conditions#

Complicated cirrus scene during EC overpass with several layers. The majority of the cirrus was sampled before EC meet at altitudes between 7.0 and 7.9 km, only limited cirrus after EC meet. During the southbound (post-EC) leg we sampled cirrus and very thin layers of mixed-phase cloud with liquid droplets sampled down to -24°C.

Flight video#

Video cutting and editing in progress…

Events#

Time (UTC)

Comment

12:37

Takeoff Kiruna

13:24

Start ec_leg

13:39

EarthCARE overpass (orbit #7587C)

13:51

Stop ec_leg

15:20

Landing Kiruna

Execution#

  • Takeoff KRN: 12:37 UTC (14:37 LT)

  • 12:41 UTC: headed to WP1

  • 13:16 UTC: heading to WP1 to start leg to WP2

  • 13:23 UTC: FL260 entering track, lots of B-Rs

  • 13:24 UTC: start EC leg

  • 13:28 UTC: WPB

  • 13:32 UTC: WPC

  • 13:35 UTC: WPD

  • 13:40 UTC: asking for descent

  • 13:42 UTC: descending to cloud

  • 13:51 UTC: WP2

  • 13:53 UTC: climbing towards FL260

  • 14:01 UTC: heading towards WP3

  • 14:12 UTC: descending towards cloud

  • 14:18 UTC: ascending towards FL240

  • 14:28 UTC: ascending towards FL260

  • 14:34 UTC: descending towards FL230

  • 14:37 UTC: ascending towards FL260 again

  • 14:45 UTC: WP3

  • 14:58 UTC: start descending

  • 15:00 UTC: mission over, only clear sky ahead

  • Landing KRN: 15:20 UTC (17:20 LT)

Impressions#

  • 12:49 UTC: GoPros set

  • 12:53 UTC: TAS190, -12°C, FL180

  • 12:56 UTC: TAS200, -18°C, FL200, particles

  • 13:00 UTC: in cloud a bit, some ice on 2DS-V and -H, nothing on FCDP

  • 13:00 UTC: TAS206, -22°C, FL230

  • 13:02 UTC: TAS209, -23°C, FL240

  • 13:03 UTC: in cloud, TAS215, -25°C, FL250

  • 13:07 UTC: in cloud hole, TAS233, -28°C, FL260

  • 13:09 UTC: TAS228, -27°C, FL260, in cloud and then out again

  • 13:13 UTC: TAS225, -28°C, FL260, some bullet rosettes

  • 13:16 UTC: -28°C, FL260

  • 13:24 UTC: TAS218, -28°C, FL260

  • 13:26 UTC: TAS218, -28°C, FL260

  • 13:28 UTC: TAS220, -29°C, FL260, a bit of a cloud hole now, but heading for a thicker cloud deck

  • 13:31 UTC: in cloud again, TAS219, -28°C, FL260

  • 13:32 UTC: in cloud

  • 13:35 UTC: in cloud, TAS223, -28°C, FL260

  • 13:39 UTC: TAS221, -28°C, FL260, little bit of cloud, glory on the right, liquid cloud below

  • 13:42 UTC: TAS245, -26°C, FL250

  • 13:44 UTC: TAS239, -22°C, FL239, rimed particles but very few

  • 13:47 UTC: TAS221, -22°C, FL230

  • 13:49 UTC: TAS213, -23°C, FL230

  • 13:51 UTC: TAS213, -23°C, FL230, small ice

  • 13:53 UTC: TAS210, -24°C, F238

  • 13:55 UTC: TAS201, -26°C, FL248, some ice

  • 13:58 UTC: not much, in a cloud hole

  • 14:01 UTC: TAS220, -26°C, FL250

  • 14:05 UTC: TAS220, -26°C, FL250

  • 14:07 UTC: FL250, see a halo/sundog

  • 14:10 UTC: FL250, sundog and some rimed particles on probe, very few ice

  • 14:12 UTC: TAS235, -24°C, FL240

  • 14:13 UTC: TAS235, -24°C, FL237, in liquid cloud

  • 14:20 UTC: TAS219, -23°C, FL240, approaching cloud (see halo)

  • 14:22 UTC: some small ice, B-Rs

  • 14:24 UTC: mixed-phase cloud, liquid and a lot of ice, TAS220, -24°C, FL240

  • 14:25 UTC: liquid layer just below us

  • 14:28 UTC: in soup of sorts, starting to profile, a bit of ice on probes, TAS212, -24°C, FL242

  • 14:30 UTC: TAS210, -26°C, FL250

  • 14:33 UTC: TAS218, -28°C, FL260, lots of ice, halo towards the sun

  • 14:34 UTC: FL260

  • 14:36 UTC: TAS228, -25°C, FL250

  • 14:37 UTC: TAS224, -25°C, FL245

  • 14:39 UTC: TAS212, -26°C, FL250

  • 14:42 UTC: TAS223, -28°C, FL260, in cloud a bit

  • 14:45 UTC: TAS225, -28°C, FL260

  • 14:47 UTC: we have lots of ice @FL260, B-Rs, tri-ice, TAS210, -28°C

  • 14:55 UTC: TAS225, -28°C, FL260, still in cloud soup, not allowed to profile, very thick OD cloud, disk not really visible

  • 14:58 UTC: TAS246, -25°C, FL260, lots of water on FCDP for a bit now below cloud @FL240

Instrument status & quicklooks#

Instrument

Operational

Comment

FCDP

✅

None

2D-S

✅

None

CPI

❌

camera connection issue

CAS-DPOL

❌

CAPS computer failure

CIP

❌

CAPS computer failure

LWC Hotwire

❌

CAPS computer failure

Gopros

✅

None

Quicklook live-view from 2DS at 13:04 UTC: sampling large ice crystals.

Quicklook live-view from 2DS at 13:26 UTC (on EC leg): sampling bullet rosettes.

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