Microplastics are transported over large distances in the atmosphere, but the shape-dependence of their atmospheric transport lacks investigation. We conducted laboratory experiments and atmospheric transport simulations to study the settling of commercially sold microplastics. We found that films settle up to 74 % slower and travel up to ~ 4x further than volume-equivalent spheres. Our work emphasizes the role of the atmosphere as a transport medium for commercial microplastics such as glitter.

This work presents an innovative way of sampling and analyzing volcanic clouds using an unoccupied aircraft system (UAS). The UAS can reach hazardous environments to sample volcanic particles and measure in situ key parameters, such as the atmospheric concentration of volcanic aerosols and gases. Acquired data bridge the gap between the existing approaches of ground sampling and remote sensing, thereby contributing to the understanding of volcanic cloud dispersion and impact.

This manuscript presents datasets collected during the Pallas Cloud Experiment in northern Finland during the autumn of 2022. We provide an overview of the payload that measured meteorological, cloud, and aerosol properties, and was deployed on tethered balloon systems across 21 flights. Additionally, we describe the datasets obtained, including details of the instruments on the payload.

During the Pallas Cloud Experiment (PaCE) in Finland (Sept. 19–26, 2022), the Advanced Max Planck CloudKite instrument (MPCK⁺) gathered turbulence, wind shear, and cloud data from 0–1200 m. Flights lasted 1.5–3 hours, capturing droplet concentrations and size distributions at high resolution (<10 m spacing). The dataset aids studies of Arctic boundary layer clouds above freezing temperatures. This paper details the data collection, structure, and user guidelines.

The rate at which energy is dissipated in a turbulent flow is an extremely important quantity. In the atmosphere, it is usually measured by recording a velocity time at a specific location. Our goal is to understand how best to estimate the dissipation rate from such data based on various available methods. Our reference for evaluating the performance of the different methods is data generated with direct numerical simulations and in highly controlled laboratory setups.