When it comes to clouds, the region in the far south of New Zealand (Aotearoa) is unique in the world: it is one of the most pristine, cleanest but yet accessible regions on the planet. An international consortium with participation of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and the University of Leipzig will therefore study the clouds in this region in detail for one and a half years during the "goSouth-2" campaign.
Embedded in goSouth-2, the Project ACADIA, funded by the German Research Community, will investigate in particular the influence of small changes in air quality on cloud formation. The remote sensing observations from the ground are an important link between the "HALO-South" aircraft mission of the German research aircraft HALO in September-October 2025 and the expeditions of the German research vessels Sonne and Polarstern planned for 2027/28, all of which will investigate the atmosphere of the Southern Ocean at the edge of Antarctica.
New Zealand’s MetService and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch (Ōtautahi) are also significantly involved in the projects.
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