MARIA S. MERIAN MSM89

The research cruise MSM89 of RV MARIA S. MERIAN is a contribution to the international research initiative EU-REC4A (eurec4a.eu). The aim of EUREC4A is to better understand the "life cycle" of clouds. The observations of the dynamic and thermodynamic processes in atmosphere and ocean will enable a new level of understanding of the role of clouds in the climate system. It is expected that this will lead to more reliable climate predictions.
MSM89 is closely linked and required close coordination with expedition M161 of RV METEOR and with expeditions of the French research vessel NO l'Atalante and the US research vessel RV Ron Brown. Four aircrafts (DE, FR, US, UK) and a large number of autonomous ocean and atmosphere observation platforms will be deployed during EUREC4A. The Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO) and the oceanic time series station NTAS mark the western and eastern borders of the EURE-C4A area, respectively. The southern border is the coast of South America. EUREC4A will run from 17 January to 20 February 2020.