The Advanced Ceramics Research (ACR) company will build and provide field support for six (three flying and three backups) automated unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAVs) for the Maldives AUAV Campaign (MAC), scheduled for February 15 - March 31 2006. See also NSF grant, Ramanathan, UCSD, SIO, ATM 0542531.
One of the fundamental challenges of observing how aerosols modulate cloud microphysics and cloud albedo is the need to observe the same cloud element simultaneously from below, above, and inside the cloud; i.e., to measure how much aerosol is being transported to the cloud from below and from above; to measure how the cloud drop number density as a function of drop radius is changing in response to the injection of aerosols; and, finally, to observe how the cloud albedo, in-cloud solar absorption, and the transmission of solar radiation through the cloud to the cloud base is responding to the change in cloud microphysical properties. Such a synchronized view of clouds has not been accomplished thus far.
The particular emphasis of MAC is to demonstrate that lightweight AUAVs can fill an important and vital gap in our measurement capability by simultaneously sampling cloudy layers from all sides. The fundamental science objective of MAC is to provide new insights into how aerosols and clouds regulate the planetary albedo, with particular emphasis on how anthropogenic aerosols are modifying the albedo of cloudy skies (the so-called "indirect effect"). MAC also will be able to estimate solar absorption by clouds and to measure the dependence of that absorption on the amount of absorbing aerosols. MAC will provide direct measurements of cloud and aerosol microphysical properties and radiation fluxes by using coordinated flights of three AUAVs.
Broader impacts. If successful, MAC will demonstrate that AUAVs are a relatively inexpensive, reliable instrument platform for observing synchronously, fast interactive processes, e.g., cloud and aerosol microphysics and feedbacks, in multi-dimensional space. MAC will provide climate scientists with a valuable data set for studying what is considered to be a major area of uncertainty in climate change research and projections. A student will be trained in field campaign operations and research.
NOAA and NASA are co-supporting MAC, which is a project coordinated through the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
