ACE : Aerosol - Cloud - Ecosystems
ACE will help to answer emerging fundamental science questions associated with aerosols, clouds, air quality and global ocean ecosystems.
For cloud systems and processes, ACE measures species of hydrometeors , including cloud droplets, ice crystals, rain, snow, etc. The properties and behaviors of these hydrometeors are known to change in the presence of aerosols. The surface and microscopic ecosystem of Earth's ocean is a crucial link in the global carbon cycle. ACE will be able to make more accurate measurements and distinguish those ocean ecosystem components that actively take up and/or store carbon dioxide from those that don't.
Mission objectives:
- Cloud and aerosol height
- Organic material in surface ocean layers
- Aerosol and cloud types and properties
- Improved climate models
- Prediction of local climate change
- Measure ocean productivity and health
- Air-quality models and forecasts
Orbit:
Instruments:
- Backscatter Lidar
- Multi-angle Polarimeter Doppler Radar
Resources:
