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 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

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