Co-Principal Investigators:    Laura Pan (NCAR), Paul Newman (NASA)
Co-Investigators:    Elliot Atlas (Univ. Miami), William Randel (NCAR), Brian Toon (CU), Troy Thornberry (NOAA)
Members of Scientific Steering Committee: Ru-shan Gao (NOAA), Michelle Santee (JPL), Stephan Borrmann (MPI), Markus Rex (AWI), Masatomo Fujiwara (Japan), Eric Jensen (NCAR), Karen Rosenlof (NOAA)

Location: Western Pacific (Flight Operations from Japan)
Dates: July 15 – August 31, 2020

Project Goals, Objectives & Hypotheses

Primary Goal:  To investigate the impacts of Asian gas and aerosol emissions on global chemistry and climate via the linkage of Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) convection and associated large-scale dynamics.

Scientific Objectives: Obtain a comprehensive suite of dynamical, chemical and microphysical measurements in the region of ASM anticyclone to address:

1. the transport pathways (vertical range, intensity, and time-scale) of the ASM uplifted air from inside of the anticyclone to the global upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS)
2. the chemical content of air processed in the ASM for UTLS ozone chemistry, and short-lived climate forcers
3. the information on aerosol size, mass and chemical composition for determining the radiative impact
4. the water vapor distribution associated with the monsoon dynamical structure

Hypotheses:

1. The western Pacific region is a major path of ASM UTLS outflow
2. The ASM outflow has a distinct chemical signature of trace gases that reflects the combination of surface sources, convective pumping and subsequent photochemical processing.
3. Air masses associated with the ASM anticyclone will have enhanced aerosol loadings with increased organic carbon and sulfate concentrations
4. The ASM anticyclone provides a pathway for air with higher moisture to enter stratosphere, bypassing the cold tropical tropopause