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The Polar Night Experiment (PONEX) Aircraft Campaign for the Atmospheric Observing System Satellite Mission

PONEX is a surface and aircraft campaign designed to explore atmospheric physics and chemistry in the Canadian Arctic in polar night and polar sunrise conditions. The campaign will conduct satellite calibration/validation experiments for two satellite missions and improve Canadian numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. This is the first experiment of its kind.


PONEX is designed to serve the AOS-HAWC (launch: ~2033) Sub-Orbital component. PONEX also serves the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE mission (launched May 2024) with regard to calibration/validation of the satellite’s sensors. The entire campaign is funded by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) with contributions from ESA.

Background:

Image 1

Rapid Arctic warming weakens the polar vortex, allowing cold air to move south and warm air to shift north.

Image 2

Cold air gradients fuel intense winter storms and severe weather.

Image 3

How do natural and human-made aerosols, including sulfuric acid and newly formed particles, influence the formation and composition of OTICs during polar night?

Image 4

Radiative properties and formation mechanisms of OTIC during polar night remain poorly understood.


Example Image 1

ACME-V

ARCPAC

ARISE

BASE

FIRE.ACE

ISDAC

M-PACE

NETCARE

PACEPAC

SHEBA (ship)

VERDI

NETCARE

ARCSIX

ACCACIA

ACLOUD

ASCOS (ship)

AMISA

ASTAR

NETCARE

SoRPIC

ARCTAC flight tracks

MOSAIC (ship)


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