Cirrus Particle Distribution Study

Cirrus particle distribution data are presented for a flight that was made by the AFGL instrumented MC-130E aircraft near Denver, Colorado on 29 October 1977. The data were gathered in support of an Air Force Weapons Laboratory project. The report briefly describes some previous cirrus research and also outlines the basic cloud physics instrumentation aboard the aircraft, particularly the PMS 1-D and 2-D spectrometer equipment. Data averages are given for consecutive 30-sec periods during a 27-min flight through varying thicknesses of cirrus clouds. Besides tabular data, graphs are presented that show the temporal variations of liquid water content and particle concentration as a function of size. The 2-D data indicated most of the cirrus particles were not recognizable according to any standard classification system, although many were bullet rosettes. (Author).