The overarching goal of ACTIVATE is to robustly characterize aerosol-cloud-meteorology interactions using extensive, systematic, and simultaneous in situ and remote sensing airborne measurements with two aircraft and a hierarchy of models. ACTIVATE focuses on marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds that span the continuum of stratiform and cumulus clouds and include post-frontal conditions. Together, these clouds cover more than 45% of the ocean surface and exert a large net cooling effect.
ACTIVATE has four fundamental science goals:
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Improved understanding and model representations of relationships between number concentrations of aerosol (Na), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and cloud droplets (Nd) and the relationships between cloud micro/macro-physical properties
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A unique dataset for international model intercomparison and process-based studies
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An evaluation of current remote sensing retrievals and prototypes for future satellite missions
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The development of improved satellite-based Nd retrievals and CCN proxies
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