How does the atmosphere’s washing machine work?
A German aircraft flying out of Cairns is measuring the chemistry of the clouds above Australia and the Pacific.
FEBRUARY 23, 2024: This week, a German research aircraft is sampling air up to 15 km above Australia and the Pacific Ocean. The CAFE-Pacific Mission aims to better understand:
- how the tropical atmosphere deals with air pollution;
- how clouds form over oceans;
- how to refine weather and climate models, leading to better forecasts and projections; and, fundamentally
- to better understand the chemistry of climate.
Flying out of Cairns in the northeast of Australia, the Chemistry of the Atmosphere: Field Experiment (CAFE) team are tracking weather events and taking atmospheric measurements to better understand the atmospheric chemistry occurring above the clouds.
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