TONe Integrated Cloud Observatory (ICO)
The coupling between clouds and aerosols and their role in the radiative balance is an important factor in the warming of Antarctica. Albedo is the ratio of reflected to incoming solar radiation, and both clouds and aerosols affect this balance. The radiative effects of clouds and aerosols are two of the largest uncertainties in global climate models.
By establishing a completely new integrated cloud observatory at Troll, NP, together with international partners, will contribute to a better understanding of these processes. The instrumentation consists of a number of passive and active remote sensing instruments to measure temperature and humidity profiles and cloud and aerosol properties, and includes instrumentation for in-situ validation of the remote sensing instruments and a radiosonde system for daily balloon releases. This will be one of the few stations with such a measurement program in Antarctica.
TrollObsNetwork (Twitter)
TONe-ICO (blog)