Persistent EarthCARE underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection (PERCUSION): contribution to EarthCARE validation

Abstract. In May 2024, the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite was launched. For the first time a satellite payload combines two active instruments, i.e., the Atmospheric Lidar and the Cloud Profiling Radar, together with two passive instruments, a multi-spectral imager and a broad-band radiometer, on one single spacecraft platform. EarthCARE is thus the most complex satellite mission to date for collocated aerosol, cloud, radiation and precipitation measurements. To utilize the data collected by the EarthCARE mission to its full extent and to support and quantify the data quality and measurement uncertainty, careful and holistic validation activities are needed. For this purpose, we set up an airborne instrument payload on the German High Altitude and LOng-range research aircraft (HALO), which is similar to the EarthCARE instrumentation. We used this payload during an extensive measurement campaign in summer and fall 2024 in the tropic and mid- to high-latitudes to validate the EarthCARE measurements and data products early in its commissioning phase. Here we aim to give a detailed overview of the PERCUSION (Persistent Earth CARE underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection) mission, and to advertise the use of its data in future more detailed validation studies. We give examples of how to use PERCUSION data to approach the validation of all four instruments of EarthCARE as well as of higher level (i.e. multi-sensor) products, and give first confidence in the quality of EarthCARE data.

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Journal
Atmospheric measurement techniques
Published
2026-06-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3933-2026
Primary Topic
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Persistent EarthCARE underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection (PERCUSION): contribution to EarthCARE validation

Rob Koopman, André Ehrlich, Lea Volkmer, Montserrat Piñol Solé et al.
Atmospheric measurement techniques
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
article

Persistent EarthCARE underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection (PERCUSION): contribution to EarthCARE validation

Rob Koopman, André Ehrlich, Lea Volkmer, Montserrat Piñol Solé, Florian Ewald, Vassilis Amiridis, Jonas Von Bismark, Björn Stevens, Silke Groß, Konstantin Krüger, Sophie Rosenburg, Martin Wirth, Dimitra Kouklaki, Anna Luebke, Markus Rapp, Lutz Hirsch, Manfred Wendisch, Eleni Marinou, Bernhard Mayer, Georgios Dekoutsidis, Takuji Kubota, Julia Windmiller
article en

Abstract

Abstract. In May 2024, the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite was launched. For the first time a satellite payload combines two active instruments, i.e., the Atmospheric Lidar and the Cloud Profiling Radar, together with two passive instruments, a multi-spectral imager and a broad-band radiometer, on one single spacecraft platform. EarthCARE is thus the most complex satellite mission to date for collocated aerosol, cloud, radiation and precipitation measurements. To utilize the data collected by the EarthCARE mission to its full extent and to support and quantify the data quality and measurement uncertainty, careful and holistic validation activities are needed. For this purpose, we set up an airborne instrument payload on the German High Altitude and LOng-range research aircraft (HALO), which is similar to the EarthCARE instrumentation. We used this payload during an extensive measurement campaign in summer and fall 2024 in the tropic and mid- to high-latitudes to validate the EarthCARE measurements and data products early in its commissioning phase. Here we aim to give a detailed overview of the PERCUSION (Persistent Earth CARE underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection) mission, and to advertise the use of its data in future more detailed validation studies. We give examples of how to use PERCUSION data to approach the validation of all four instruments of EarthCARE as well as of higher level (i.e. multi-sensor) products, and give first confidence in the quality of EarthCARE data.

Atmospheric measurement techniquesVol. 19(11)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JP), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) (DE), National Observatory of Athens (GR), Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (DE), European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE), Leipzig University (DE)
European Space Agency, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, HORIZON EUROPE Climate, Energy and Mobility
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
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