SANAT

(Spatial distribution of ANtarctic Aerosol and Trace gases)

The SANAT airborne campaign takes place in January and February 2026 near Neumayer III Station in Antarctica. We investigate aerosol physical and chemical properties, as well as turbulence (i.e., turbulent fluxes) in the Antarctic boundary layer and lower free troposphere with emphasis on their spatial distribution. Our geographical regions of interest include the Antarctic coastal area, close to Neumayer III, and the inland ice cap, nearby the Antarctic summer station Kohnen. The measurements will be carried out utilizing the Polar 6 aircraft, together with the towed vehicle T-Bird, i.e. a cylindrical, aerodynamically shaped body towed by the aircraft at variable altitudes. With this newly available and unique measurement setup, we are able to perform both aerosol and turbulence measurements at two different altitudes simultaneously, including altitudes down to 10m above sea/ice level which is only possible with the T-Bird. Next to the low-altitude flights, measurements up to above the low-level cloud layer should also be carried out to identify the potential differences in the aerosol and other properties below, at and above the cloud layer. The Antarctic radiative budget is strongly influenced by the microphysics of the prevailing aerosols and clouds, where the phase of the cloud hydrometeors is of particular importance. Although the formation of the clouds heavily depends on the physical and chemical properties of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles (INP), the corresponding data from Antarctica and its surroundings are sparse. This is the case in particular for cloud level altitudes, where turbulence and the relevant fluxes also need to be specified in order to constrain model simulations.

---

Instruments: ALABAMA, SP2

Peoplve involved: H.-C. Clemen, P. Joppe, S, Borrmann, X. Pan, Y. Cheng

---

Project Partners:

A. Herber, Z. Juranyi (AWI Bremerhaven)

F. Stratmann, S. Henning (TROPOS Leipzig)