MAESTRO_2024_Cloud_Insitu_Dataset

During the MAESTRO campaign, the French ATR42 aircraft was equipped with multiple cloud sampling instruments. The available light scattering sensor was the FCDP (Fast Cloud Droplet Probe), which samples liquid particles ranging from 1 to 50 µm. Two optical array probes were mounted beneath the same wing of the aircraft: a 2-DS (Two-Dimensional Stereo Spectrometer) and an HVPS (High Volume Precipitation Spectrometer), measuring the size and shape of hydrometeors in the ranges of 10 to 1280 µm and 150 µm to 1.9 mm, respectively. Each of these instruments enables the retrieval of a Particle Size Distribution (PSD). The PSD computed from the 2-DS is separated into spherical particles, considered as liquid, and non-spherical particles, considered as ice, using circularity as defined by Crosier et al. (2011). Using these PSDs, a composition law is applied to merge the overlapping size ranges of measurements, resulting in a single composite PSD spanning from 1 µm to 1.9 mm. Particles below 50 µm cannot be distinguished by phase and are therefore all considered liquid. Derived parameters such as total concentration, water content, extinction, mass median diameter, and others are computed from the composite PSD and provided in the dataset. Position and thermodynamic parameters (longitude, latitude, altitude, temperature, and pressure) are also available in the dataset. Quality flags are included in the dataset and should be used to ensure data reliability.