Removing cloudwater collector after flight
After every flight, the cloudwater collector has to be removed from the pod of the C-130 to retrieve the cloudwater we collected during the flight. In this image, Katie is removing CSU/NCAR Cloudwater collector from C-130 and is happy about the successful cloudwater collector operation from our 7th flight.
The water in the second and third bottles in the photograph are the collected cloud water. The amount of water we collect depends on how long we are in the cloud for sampling and the amount of liquid water contents (LWC) in the cloud (expressed as mg/m3). Since there is more cloud water in the second bottle, that cloud either had a higher LWC or we spent more time sampling water in the cloud. Usually, we spend about 10 minutes in a cloud to gather samples. We spend about 30 minutes sampling a cloud when we are sampling pockets of open cells (POCs), since other groups of scientists are also interested in sampling the aerosols (particles) below and above the clouds.
After we completely removed the cloudwater collector from the C-130, we cleaned the system with deionized water to prepare it for the next flight. The collected cloud water will be transferred into several small vials for chemical analysis in the future at Colorado State University. I promise to send another postcard with more about the chemical analysis we are interested and the chemical species we are looking for.
Clouds and Precipitation in the Southeast Pacific
Postcards from the Field: Climate Science from the Southeast Pacific