Campaign diary on 29 August 2008

Thanks to Christian Lemmerz at DLR, Bessho-san and Japanese fast delivery by motor cycle, the the broken scanner control card could be obtained from Tokyo and changed within a day. In addition, modifications of some of the laser temperatures and currents suggested by Lockheed Martin seemed to significantly improve the laser signal and there is at least some hope that it could work on the flight tomorrow. An interesting mission is scheduled for tomorrow, a week ET event with strong water vapour export from the tropics to the extra tropics. In addition cloud cover appears to be low in the forecasts, which hopefully leads to good water vapour DIAL observations. Japan has been on the leading edge of a mid-latitude trough for nearly a week now (and no end in sight) that is causing incredible amounts of rain and impressibe thunderstorms, a weather situation that is iquite untypical for the season. But even more untypical is that not a single typhoon approached Japan in August, the climatological peak season for that.

Author: Martin W.