An international field research campaign led by Airbus and NASA has gathered a wealth of data on icing conditions in convective weather, especially on ice crystals that cause engine icing. The eight-week effort ended in March in Darwin, Australia, and the researchers expect to publish their report early next year. The partners in the project hope to gain a better understanding of icing conditions that will allow them to devise mathematical models for equipment manufacturers to use when designing detection systems. The research should also help civil aviation authorities shape more suitable certification standards.
The field effort involved researchers from two programs: high-altitude ice crystals (HAIC) and high ice water content (HIWC), funded by the European Union and NASA, respectively. A modified Dassault Falcon 20 carried the project’s various sensors aloft, among them a NASA-supplied probe that measured the total water content of clouds carrying high concentrations of ice crystals in the vicinity of oceanic and continental thunderstorms. Another sensor was a multibeam Doppler radar, which provided 3-D characterization of the dynamic and microphysical properties of ice clouds. A camera took photos of the crystals. In fact, the Falcon could not carry all the sensors simultaneously.
