The HD(CP)² Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) was a fundamental part of the first project phase. It was performed as a major 2-month field experiment in Jülich (Germany) in April and May 2013, followed by a smaller campaign in Melpitz (Germany) in September 2013. HOPE was designed to provide an observational dataset for a critical evaluation at the scale of the model simulations of ICON-LEM as it it used in HD(CP)². Moreover, HOPE provides information on land-surface–atmospheric boundary layer exchange, cloud and precipitation processes, as well as sub-grid variability and microphysical properties that are subject to parameterizations. HOPE focused on the onset of clouds and precipitation in the convective atmospheric boundary layer. The HOPE-Melpitz campaign combined ground-based remote sensing of aerosols and clouds with helicopter- and balloon-based in situ observations in the atmospheric column and at the surface.
The overview paper on this campaign can be found here and a special issue of the Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics regarding the HOPE campaign here.

HOPE provides an unprecedented collection of atmospheric dynamical, thermodynamical, and micro- and macro- physical properties of aerosols, clouds, and precipitation with high spatial and temporal resolution within a cube of approximately 10×10×10 km³.

In the second funding phase, HOPE data is extensively used as it contributes to the understanding of boundary layer dynamics and the formation of clouds and precipitation. The different data sets are available through the project own data portal SAMD.

This shows a map of the region where the HOPE experiment took place.

Related links   |   Larger Map   |   Prof. Dr. Andreas Macke    |