Overview on TROCCINOX and results form the 2004 mission

The EU project TROCCINOX (Tropical Convection, Cirrus, and Nitrogen Oxides Experiment), http://www.pa.op.dlr.de/troccinox/, is being performed in 2002-2005 in cooperation with the Brazilian pro-ject TROCCIBRAS and in coordination with the EU-project HIBISCUS. The project investigates the contri-butions of tropical continental deep convection to lightning-produced nitrogen oxides (NOx) and to other trace gases (including water vapour) and particles (ice crystal and aerosols). A first field campaign has been performed with the DLR Falcon aircraft during February and March 2004. Eight transfer flights between Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany) and Gaviao Peixoto (S. P. , Brazil) and 14 local flights have been performed. The aircraft was instrumented with in-situ sensors for NO, NOy, O3, CO, H2O, T, NO2 photolysis rate, and various aerosols. A differential absorption Lidar measures aerosol properties and H2O profiles above or below the aircraft (see Flentje et al., this workshop). A second field experiment is now being performed in Brazil between mid-January and end of February 2005 including measurements with the Falcon and the high-flying (up to 21 km altitude) Geophysica aircraft