The goal of this study is to sample as much of the atmosphere in the Pacific Basin as possible. Sampling from the North Pole down to the South Pole will give scientists a fantastic longitudinal snapshot of the Earth's atmosphere.
This easily lends itself for comparison studies of the atmospheric gases in the northern hemisphere to those in the southern hemisphere. Additionally, the three-year window of this study will allow for sampling in every season in both hemispheres giving researched a complete and comprehensive picture of our atmosphere.
Britt Stephens, an NCAR scientist and HIPPO co-principal investigator, describes the field project's flight path and how the flights will help researchers determine carbon dioxide's influence in different regions of the globe.
Phase V Flight Plan
The HIPPO V mission is broken down into 13 Research Flights (RF) over a one month period. The flight plan is as follows:
- RF01 :: Local Research Flight
- RF02 :: Local Research Flight
- RF03 :: Boulder, Colorado to Anchorage, Alaska
- RF04 :: Anchorage, Alaska to Northern Polar Region #1, return to Anchorage
- RF05 :: Anchorage, Alaska to Kona, Hawaii
- RF06 :: Kona, Hawaii to Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- RF07 :: Rarotonga, Cook Islands to Christchurch, New Zealand
- RF08 :: Christchurch, New Zealand to Southern Polar Regions, return to Christchurch
- RF09 :: Christchurch, New Zealand to Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- RF10 :: Rarotonga, Cook Islands to Kona, Hawaii
- RF11 :: Kona, Hawaii to Anchorage, Alaska
- RF12 :: Anchorage, Alaska to Northern Polar Region #2, return to Anchorage
- RF13 :: Anchorage, Alaska to Boulder, Colorado