Characterizing oceanic convective cloud systems - The tropical warm pool international cloud experiment

The Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE), a large multiagency experiment was held over and around Darwin, Northern Australia. In early 2006, researchers gathered a comprehensive datasets to describe the tropical cloud systems and its environment. The main focus of the cloud component was on cirrus. This experiment was the first field program in the tropics that attempted to observe the evolution of tropical convection, from the initial stages through the decay of the generated cirrus, while at the same time to obtain detailed observations of cloud properties and the impact of the clouds on the environment. The design of the experiment includes an unprecedented network of ground-based observations, coupled with a large range of low-, mid-, and high-altitude aircraft for in situ and remote-sensing measurements.