NRC Convair-580 Aircraft Data, Flight Tracks and Flight Notes. Version 1.0

This dataset includes the National Research Council of Canada's (NRC) Convair-580 research aircraft Data, flight tracks and flight notes for the Storm Studies in the Arctic (STAR) project. This aircraft was used to collect internal storm measurements of cloud microphyusics, thermodynamics, wind and the 4-D dynamic and precipitation structures of storms within a 500 km radius of Iqaluit from November 5-30, 2007. The aircraft enabled STAR to probe storm events as they approached the area, during their passage and departure over the study area. The aircraft also provided the only sensor validation flights for CloudSat overpasses in the Arctic. The aircraft was equipped with meteorological instruments that measured temperature, humidity, 3-Dimensional wind fields, cloud and microphysics (liquid water probes, icing probes, dropsondes), Ka band upward/downward looking radar and a dual wavelength (W and X-band) polarimetric up/down/sideways Doppler radar. The NRC aircraft flew approximately 48 hours during the project. This time was divided over 14 missions, with variable objectives. The first flight was into the remnants of Hurricane Noel, which was the most severe hurricane of 2007 in terms of casualties (> 150) (NOAA, 2007). While in contrast, the final flight had a very local focus, sampling the cloud system directly over Iqaluit for remote sensing validation purposes. Additional flights took the research aircraft into Foxe Basin, Hudson Strait, Ungava Bay, Davis Strait, Cumberland Sound Peninsula and locally in Frobisher Bay. During these missions, a total of 55 dropsondes were deployed.