DOCIMS: Drizzle and Open Cells in Marine Stratocumulus (a G-V Progressive Science subcomponent)

Summary

From November 22 to December 23, five projects were conducted under the umbrella of the HIAPER Progressive Science Mission: START (Stratosphere-Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport), CHAPS (Characterization of the HIAPER Aircraft in Progressive Science), NPF (New Particle Formation), DOCIMS (Drizzle and Open Cells in Marine Stratocumulus), and GV Static Pressure Correction. Valuable measurements were made on these 13 research flights, and the flights also provided opportunities to study the performance of the aircraft and its instrumentation. A climatologically important question to emerge from the recent DYCOMS-II and EPIC 2001 field programs is the relationship between pockets of open cells (POCs) and drizzle. Because they so often coincide, it has been hypothesized that drizzle helps to maintain an open cellular structure in marine stratocumulus (MS). A related question whether broader regions of open cells are similar in structure to the POCs. This has potential implications for modifying MS by changes in aerosol, estimating global albedo, and predicting the occurrence of drizzle from satellite images. The G-V (HIAPER) was flown out to regions of MS when POCs or broader regions of open cellular convection are observed to test the hypothesis that drizzle and open cells are associated.