Posts by Mario Mech
Svalbard is thawing in April, and it’s not supposed to. 2026 ground temperatures at 0.2m depth in Svalbard spiking to 0°C in April, far exceeding the 1998-2025 median and maximum
Thanks to all who made this happen, especially to @awi.de for providing #Polar5 and the crew to us from @unicologne.bsky.social and @unileipzig.bsky.social. A special thanks to the staff at Longyearbyen airport. They made our life easy.
Polar 5 in the sunset on at Longyearbyen airport during the COMPEX campaign. Credits for the picture to Marcus Klingebiel.
Aircraft, crew, and science team have left Longyearbyen and the COMPEX campaign has come to an end. We had an amazing time here on Svalbard with 15 very interesting and successful research flights in one month. Looking forward to the data analysis with this motivated team.
Lizard shaped cloud over Longyearbreen on Svalbard.
Even after five weeks studying clouds in Longyearbyen on Svalbard, there are still interesting surprises in the sky.
It took us almost one week to get the somewhat cursed research flight 13 of #COMPEX done by collecting nice data over #NyAlesund. The weather was just too bad up here in #Svalbard to get #Polar5 airborne. #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
#COMPEX conducted so far ten interesting flights over the #Arctic ocean and sea ice investigatng clouds. For today's flight we hope for clear-sky to look at the up and downstream structure of leeds. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
EarthCARE cross section of radar reflectivity for the segment of collocation with #Polar5. The circle shows the reflectivity signal of the aircraft.
Yesterday was another very good day for #COMPEX. We had a flight fully dedicated to #EarthCARE and a perfect rendez-vous over cumulus with some precipitation in a cold air outbreak.🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard @unicologne.bsky.social
@unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Intended track (green) of #Polar5 from Longyearbyen airport to collocate with #EarthCARE (light orange line). In the background, #ICON model forecast for total cloud cover is shown for 15 UTC, half an hour before the #EarthCARE overflight.
Cross section through the #ICON model forecast for total cloud cover for 15 UTC, half an hour before the #EarthCARE overflight.
It's another day for #EarthCARE during #COMPEX. RF08 will bring us on #Polar5 to the South-West of #Svalbard where we try to collocate with #EarthCARE again.. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard @unicologne.bsky.social
@unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
#Polar5 on #EarthCARE track close to the rendez-vous point.
Cross section of radar reflectivity from #EarthCARE showing #Polar5 aircraft in red circle.
And there we go. We had a perfect match with #EarthCARE. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Polar5 before taxing to start from Longyearbyen airport.
Ready to go! #COMPEX RF06 heading for #NyAlesund and #EArthCARE. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Cloud streets forming over the marginal ice zone as seen by Awadhesh Pant from University of Cologne aboard Polar 5.
Polar 5 on the runway in Longyearbyen aftera successful research flight.
#Polar5 has been out today to the North of Svalbard in the origin region of a cold air outbreak. People aboard could investigate beautiful cloud streets starting in the marginal ice zone. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Unfortunately, we had to cancel the #EarthCARE underflight due to a probability of low visibility at Longyearbyen airport for the arrival time. Up here, you're not flying out on a maybe. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Quicklook from the Ny-Ålesund radar for the day the aircraft was flying above with two radars. Overpass was during the early afternoon.
RF04 was on sublimation processes around #NyAlesnd. Tomorrow, we're heading for our first #EarthCARE collocation of #COMPEX. We hope to find the clouds the models predict for the target region.🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
View from #Polar5 over Frame Strait towards the sun in South on some beautiful precipitating clouds decks.
The approach to LYR at the end of our 3. research flight of #COMPEX reminded us why we do Arctic cloud research. None of the models had the amount of liquid in the clouds we found in the forecast. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
#Polar5 on the runway in Longyearbyen with the crew getting ready for the flight.
It's day 4 of #COMPEX and we already had two successful flights: one to Northwest with clouds over ice and one to Southeast sampling the contrast between clouds over the ocean and ice. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3 #Svalbard
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Yesterday #Polar5 arrived in Longyearbyen on #Svalbard and #COMPEX is ready to start. Tomorrow, we will have research flight one heading West over #NyAlesund towards the sea ice. Clouds, here we come. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
Logo of COMPEX (clouds over complex environment) showing a sketch of an aircraft, satellite, and clouds over sea ice and ocean.
One week from now, #COMPEX will kick off in #Svalbard. #Polar5 from #AWI will be operated to observe clouds over sea ice and around the #AWIPEV research base in #NyAlesund and to perform #EarthCARE underflights. 🧪 #remotesensing #AC3
@unicologne.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @awi.de @esa.int
NERC's sudden decision to cease funding for FAAM by the end of this month is bad news for the EarthCARE satellite - in this letter members of the EarthCARE Quality Working Group (of which I am a member) explain why: www.met.reading.ac.uk/~swrhgnrj/fa...
Excellent statement from RMetS questioning the decision to cease funding for the FAAM aircraft: www.rmets.org/news/stateme...
New study by @hailingjia.bsky.social, collaboration between @sronspace.bsky.social @meteoleipzig.bsky.social and others: how to obtain best satellite info about cloud condensation nuclei to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions: assimilation for vertical resolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I love this view. Looking forward to see it again in three weeks.
Job opportunity! 3.5-year postdoc at the Dept of Meteorology, University of Reading, to improve convective storms in high resolution models using #EarthCARE and other data, including close collaboration with both ECMWF and the Met Office - deadline 27 February: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
The left column shows various EarthCARE measurements of a deep nimbostratus cloud over Ontario. The right column shows comparisons between EarthCARE’s estimates and in situ aircraft measurements. The bottom two rows confirm that the terminal fall speed of snowflakes is fairly constant whereas the vertical motion of the air fluctuates rapidly and can be estimated well from EarthCARE, the first time this has been possible from space.
There have now been 100 aircraft under-flights of #EarthCARE, each providing invaluable information to calibrate and validate the data products. This example shows very good agreement between EarthCARE and aircraft vertical air motion in nimbostratus. Full article here: earth.esa.int/eogateway/su...
Danke für die Erinnerung. Werde wieder schön mit Decke und einer Kanne Tee in den Park gehen.
Well done!
Got it! Sorry, didn't want to weaken or attack this point.
Great stuff! I love both I have. The ones for icy roads, snow, and hiking. And those I use for running. But why always buy on Amazon. Use your local dealer if possible, or some other online option. Beff Jezos has more than enough money, in my opinion.
It took me a while, but finally, I can say: "F*CK off #spotify ! Welcome #qobuz and #antennapod !"
Spannend. @marcuwekling.bsky.social kündigt gerade auf dem #39C3 den DID an, den Digital Independence Day (zu deutsch DUT - Digitaler Unabhängigkeitstag). Start 4. Januar 2026.
Ziel: Wechseln zu unabhängigen Alternativen
Einmal im Monat einen Dienst wechseln. Mehr Infos dann auf www.di.day