The T-Bird – a new aircraft-towed instrument platform to measure aerosol properties and turbulence close to the surface: introduction to the aerosol measurement system

Jurányi, Zsófia; Lüpkes, Christof; Stratmann, Frank; Hartmann, Jörg; Schaefer, Jonas; Jörss, Anna-Marie; Schulz, Alexander; Wetzel, Bruno; Simon, David; Gebhard, Eduard; Stöhr, Maximilian; Hofmann, Paula; Kalmbach, Dirk; Grawe, Sarah; Wendisch, Manfred; Herber, Andreas

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3477-2025

Articles | Volume 18, issue 14

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3477-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3477-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 14

Research article

|

28 Jul 2025

Research article |

| 28 Jul 2025

The T-Bird – a new aircraft-towed instrument platform to measure aerosol properties and turbulence close to the surface: introduction to the aerosol measurement system

Zsófia Jurányi, Christof Lüpkes, Frank Stratmann, Jörg Hartmann, Jonas Schaefer, Anna-Marie Jörss, Alexander Schulz, Bruno Wetzel, David Simon, Eduard Gebhard, Maximilian Stöhr, Paula Hofmann, Dirk Kalmbach, Sarah Grawe, Manfred Wendisch, and Andreas Herber

Data sets

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210050301 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 151 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958872

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210060401 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 167 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958873

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210090501 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 97 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958874

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210110601 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 86 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958875

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210130701 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 171 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958876

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210140801 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 35 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958877

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210150901 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 169 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958878

Master track from POLAR 6 flight P6_237_BACSAM_2022_2210030201 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 64 kBytes) Andreas Herber et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.958870

Short summary

Understanding the lowest layers of the atmosphere is crucial for climate research, especially in the Arctic. Our study introduces the T-Bird, an aircraft-towed platform designed to measure turbulence and aerosol properties at extremely low altitudes. Traditional aircraft cannot access this region, making the T-Bird a breakthrough for capturing critical atmospheric data. Its first deployment over the Arctic demonstrated its potential to improve our understanding of polar processes.