YEAR 2010

• New publication August 30.
   
  Sprung, D., and A. Zahn (2010), Acetone in the upper troposphere/lowermost stratosphere measured by the CARIBIC passenger aircraft:
  Distribution, seasonal cycle, and variability,


• Flights completed:

  	♦  6.   Aug. 25 - Aug. 27:   CCS/KIX
  	♦  5.   July 27 - July 29:   CCS/KIX
  	♦  4.   June 22 - June 24:   CCS/KIX
  	♦  3.   May.19 :   Special CARIBIC Volcanic Cloud Fact finding Flight #3:
                             FRA - 73°N - FRA
  	♦  2.   May.16 :   Special CARIBIC Volcanic Cloud Fact finding Flight #2:
                             FRA - Ireland - FRA
  	♦  1.   Apr.20 :   Special CARIBIC Volcanic Cloud Fact finding Flight #1:
                             FRA - Leipzig -  Baltic Sea - North Sea - FRA
  
  

• New publication July 29.
   
  Baker A. K., T. J. Schuck, F. Slemr, P. van Velthoven, A. Zahn, and C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer:
  Characterization of non-methane hydrocarbons in Asian summer monsoon outflow observed by the CARIBIC aircraft,


• New publication February 1.
   
  Schuck T. J. , Brenninkmeijer C. A. M. , Baker A. K. , Šlemr F. , van Velthoven P. F. J., and Zahn A. :
  Greenhouse gas relationships in the Indian summer monsoon plume measured by the CARIBIC passenger aircraft,
  


• New publication January 12.
   
  Heue K.-P., Brenninkmeijer C. A. M., Wagner T., Mies K., Dix B., Frieß U., Martinsson B. G., Šlemr F., and van Velthoven P. F. J.:
  A comparison of DOAS observations by the CARIBIC aircraft and the GOME-2 satellite of the 2008 Kasatochi volcanic SO₂ plume,
  


• Armin Rauthe-Schöch has started work in our group focusing data interpretation.
  Armin obtained his PhD at IAP Kühlungsborn.

YEAR 2009

• Flights completed:

  	♦  8.   Oct.27 - Oct.30:   CPT/ORD  Winter schedule / new destination! 
  	♦  7.   Sep.23 - Sep.25:   CCS/YVR
  

• September 14.
  David Walter has started work in our group focusing on DOAS trace gas measurment and data interpretation.
  David obtained his Master in environmental physics with Ulrich Platt.



• Flights completed:

  	♦  6.   Aug.26 - Aug.28:   CCS/YVR
  	♦  5.   Jul.22 - Jul.24:   CCS/YVR
  

• June
  Stefan Weber joined us to work with Dieter Scharffe and Franz Slemr on the CARIBIC container.


• Detelf Sprung started working on CARIBIC PTRMS data interpretation.


• Flights completed:

  	♦  4.   Jun.23 - Jun.25:   CCS/YVR
  	♦  3.   May 26 - May 28:   DEN/KIX
  	♦  2.   Apr.22 - Apr.24:   CCS/YVR
  	♦  1.   Mar.10 - Mar.13:   CPT/MCO
  

• January
  Klaus-Peter Heue has started work in our group focusing on DOAS trace gas measurment and data interpretation.
  Klaus-Peter obtained his PhD with Ulrich Platt.

YEAR 2008

• December
  Thomas Seidler (Organics PTRMS system) and
  Lisa Kattner (Real time measurment of CO₂ and CH₄) started work at IMK.


• December
  Greta Stratmann has started work at DLR focusing Nitrogen oxides: Impact of aviation, particle formation, contrails, cirrus clouds.


• Flights completed:

  	♦ 11.   Dec.11 - Dec.13:   MAA 2x
  	♦ 10.   Nov.14 - Nov.16:   MAA 2x
  	♦  9.   Oct.15 - Oct.16:   MAA
  

• October
  Senchao Lai will join the CARIBIC team as per 1. October. We look forward working with him.


• Flights completed:

  	♦  8.   Sep.10 - Sep.12:   MAA 2x
  	♦  7.   Aug.13 - Aug.15:   MAA 2x
  	♦  6.   Jul.15 - Jul.17:   MAA/DEN
  	♦  5.   Jun.18 - Jun.20:   MAA 2x
  	♦  4.   May 28 - May 30:   MAA 2x
  
  

• Apr.
  Debby O'Sullivan had a successful defense of her thesis
  "Temporal and spatial variability of halogenated compounds and other trace gases"
  congratulation!


• Flights completed:

  	♦  3.   Apr.23 - Apr.25:   MAA 2x
  	♦  2.   Mar.26 - Mar.28:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  1.   Feb.25 - Feb.27:   CAN/MNL
  
  

• January
  Angela Baker has started work in our group focusing on CARIBIC nmhc measurements and their use in atmospheric chemistry.
  Angela obtained her PhD with Donald Blake.

YEAR 2007

• Dec.19
  Barbara Dix had a successful defense of her thesis:
  "Spectroscopic Measurements of Atmospheric Trace Gases on Long-Distance Flights"
  congratulation!


• Nov.30
  Hung Nguyen had a successful defense of his thesis - congratulation!


• Flights completed:

  	♦ 11.   Dec.17 - Dec.18:   DEN
  	♦ 10.   Nov.13 - Nov.15:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  9.   Oct.24 - Oct.26:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  8.   Sep.17 - Sep.19:   YYZ/IAH
  	♦  7.   Aug.14 - Aug.16:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  6.   Jul.17 - Jul.19:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  5.   Jun.21 - Jun.23:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  4.   May.22 - May.24:   CAN/MNL
  

• May
  New CARIBIC Partner: Joint Research Centre (JRC) European Commission (EC) Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) Geel, Belgium


• May
  Manuela Reichelt had a successful defense of her thesis - congratulation!


• April
  We welcome Dr. Tanja Schuck from Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik as a new colleague in our group!


• Flights completed:

  	♦  3.   Apr.18 - Apr.20:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  2.   Mar.06 - Mar.08:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  1.   Feb.05 - Feb.07:   CAN/MNL
  
  

YEAR 2006

• Flights completed:

  	♦ 10.   Dec.13 - Dec.15:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  9.   Nov.14 - Nov.16:   CAN/MNL
  
  

• November
  We welcome Dr. Oksana Tarasova (lecturer at Moscow University) who has been awarded a Marie Curie FW6 fellowship which enables her to pursue her research in atmospheric chemistry in our division for a period of 2 years.


• Flights completed:

  	♦  8.   Oct.19 - Oct.21:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  7.   Sep.07 - Sep.08:   CAN/MNL
  
  

• August
  A view on CARIBIC: See "scope / view 2006"


• Flights completed:

  	♦  6.   Jul.31 - Aug.02:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  5.   Jul.05 - Jul.07:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  4.   Mai.29 - Mai.31:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  3.   Apr.27 - Apr.29:   CAN/MNL
  	♦  2.   Mar.20 - Mar.22:   GRU/SCL
  	♦  1.   Feb.20 - Feb.22:   GRU/SCL
  
     Check here for airport codes
  
  

YEAR 2005

• Jan - Sep
  During 2005 CARIBIC-LUFTHANSA commenced its schedule of monthly measurement flights (4 flight sections each), and the whole operation runs smoothly. Of interest are the flights to Santiago de Chile via Sao Paulo, where we get a chance to analyse southern hemispheric air. Flights over the Andes show extreme contrasts in particle counts. We are presently looking at the meaning of this. It is planned to complete one year of such flights with occasional flights to Manilla via Guangzhou. Such flights over the vast continent, and densely populated regions will show a sharp contrast. This year several papers have been published using data from the previous CARIBIC system, and we refer you to the list of publications.
  A recently submitted paper by Dr. Tae Siek Rhee deals with the atmospheric hydrogen budget (submitted to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, ACP, a modern interactive journal in our field). There is a lot of discussion about a "hydrogen economy", unfortunately, the present budget of atmospheric molecular hydrogen is not that well known.
  Air samples form CARIBIC have been used by Tae Siek for the analysis of the D/H isotopic ratio of hydrogen. His study provides an independent estimate for the rate of removal of hydrogen from the atmosphere. He finds that the lifetime of hydrogen is pretty short !!
  Good news for the hydrogen economy ?
   

YEAR 2004

• December 13-14
  The first CARIBIC-LUFTHANSA measurement flight took place. The honorable Mr. Jrgen Trittin, Minister for the Environment, was guest at the press conference organized for this occasion. He personally attended the ceremony for loading the CARIBIC measurement container into the aircraft for the first measurement flight, and accompanied this valuable scientific cargo on his way to the Climate Conference in Buenos Aires.
  This long distance CARIBIC measurement flight took a little under 14 hours, and after landing in Buenos Aires, the flight, crossing the Andes, was continued to Santiago de Chile, and back to Frankfurt via Buenos Aires. This is an excellent example of how remote regions of the atmosphere can be gauged in great detail by CARIBIC.
   
• December
  The CARIBIC system has been installed in its Airbus A340-600 (Tailsign HE), and the test flight on the 29th of November 2004 has been successfully completed.
   
• September
  A brand new Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 will be equipped with the CARIBIC system, comprising the new inlet system and container.
   
• January-November
  The new Airbus A340-600 fleet is being equipped with FLYNET. This means that Lufthansa passengers can use their laptops with wireless LAN for business and for leisure using the broadband internet system. In the future such systems can be used to communicate meteorological and scientific data rapidly.
   

YEAR 2003

• September
  As per 22 September 2003, Lufthansa has once again achieved the first position on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the pan European equivalent, DJSI-STOXX. Lufthansa has been able to maintain this leading position with respect to environmental impact since 1999.
   
• August
  The implementation of the CARIBIC system in a new AIRBUS A340-600 of Lufthansa makes excellent progress
   
• What is the A340-600 ? This aircraft is a large capacity passenger jet for long range destinations (the 340-600 is ultra-long range). Lufthansa is acquiring several of these most modern aircraft, the design of which is based on the well proven A340 family. AIRBUS advertises with the A340-600 as follows: longer, larger, farther, faster, higher etc, and indeed this aircraft is a major step towards allowing more people to fly, with less environmental impact.
   
• Lufthansa needs even less of an introduction then AIRBUS, being one of the major European Airlines, and probably being the most environmentally aware airline worldwide. As part of implementing their comprehensive and effective environmental policy, Lufthansa supports science, and as part thereof the project CARIBIC.
   
• The CARIBIC team has been designing the aerodynamic aspects of the air inlet system. It is a major challenge to collect air, water vapor and in particular particles from a fast moving passenger jet, but Markus Hermann of the Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig has completed all his complex calculations with success.
   
• Lufthansa Technik (an independent company having the widest possible range in aircraft maintenance/upgrading/modifying) is in charge (Ralph Thaler) of actually making the modifications to the aircraft. All changes have to comply with strict regulations.
   
• The present status is that the design of the inlet system has been completed by GCT.
  AIRBUS in Hamburg and Bremen have helped Lufthansa Technik to obtain all necessary information about aerodynamics. In parallel to this, the tubes that transport the outside air from the air inlet system to the measurement container have been designed. The new measurement container is under construction by Enviscope.
   

YEAR 2002

• Oct. 17
  Detailed discussions between representatives of the CARIBIC science team and engineers from Lufthansa Technik took place in Hamburg on October 14 and 15th. The realization of CARIBIC-LUFTHANSA is now in its engineering phase. The calculations of the aerodynamics of the air inlet system as to its properties for sampling aerosol particles have been almost completed now. The inlet system will have a special shroud, which is a cylindrical "nose piece" that guides the airflow around the very small opening that collects the air for the aerosol particle size analysis and for aerosol particle collection. Most other calculations relate to the aerodynamics, stability and safety of the inlet system. At the same time work is in progress for building an entire new container.

 
• Aug. 14
  After several years of successful research flights with LTU International Airways, CARIBIC is having a pause. LTU has decommissioned the Boeing 747 used for CARIBIC, in May this year, and has upgraded its fleet with Airbus aircraft. The CARIBIC consortium has been reconsidering its position, leading to discussions with Lufthansa. We are pleased to announce that Lufthansa is prepared to support the CARIBIC atmospheric chemistry project, and will make an Airbus A340 aircraft available. The proximity to the Frankfurt airport, the determination of Lufthansa to be a most environmentally friendly airline, and its high professional standards all are major advantages for CARIBIC. We sincerely thank LTU for hosting CARIBIC during the first years of its development. The flow of scientific publications resulting from the project witnesses that much has been achieved for the good of mankind, by allowing more detailed studies of our changing global atmosphere.
  
  
• Mar. 18
  

  The equipment in the CARIBIC container has been extended considerably for a second time in the life of the project. A highly sensitive NO and NOy analyser (right arrow) from DLR, the German Air and Space Research Organization, has been incorporated. To make space available, the WAS, a 12 sample capacity Whole Air Sampler for large air samples (for isotopic analysis, specifically 14CO large amounts of air are needed) was removed. The WAS has been replaced with a 30 sample capacity Triggered Retrospective Air Collector, named "TRAC" (left arrow). This air sampler collects standard air samples of up to about 6 liter, for conventional trace gas analyses.

  Two measurement flights into the Caribbean with the new configuration have been executed. The importance of the NO + NOy equipment is to gain much needed information about the nitrogen oxides budget. Nitrogen oxides intercepted at cruising altitude has originated from lightning, but also may originate from polluted surface air masses that have been lifted aloft. To study the partitioning between these sources is an important task. A first check showed that the equipment has been functioning well, and we congratulate Hans Schlager, Helmut Ziereis and Paul Stock with that achievement.


 
• Feb. 27
  Jens Mühle successfully passed his PhD examination on
  "GC/MS-Meßsystem für Nicht-Methan-Kohlenwasserstoffe -
  Spurengasuntersuchungen im Tropopausenbereich und in der maritimen Grenzschicht." at the
  Fachbereich Chemie und Pharmazie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz.
   
• Caribic has made an excellent start into the new year, and we are presently conducting the second flight. The destination is in the Caribbean, like the previous set of flights. By this we will have almost one year of flights across the Atlantic. Interesting features are seen.
   
• Stuart Penkett will present some CARIBIC halocarbon results (transatlantic flights) at the Eurotrac meeting in Garmisch Partenkirchen. Jens Mühle will present a poster, as will Peter Zimmermann, and the Caribic team. At the EGS an overview of CARIBIC data of relevance to the UTLS will be presented.
   
• An important paper has been accepted by the Journal of Geophysical research.
  "The budgets of O3 and CO in the upper troposphere: The CARIBIC aircraft results 1997-2001"
  by Zahn, A., C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, W.A.H. Asman, P.J. Crutzen, G. Heinrich, H. Fischer, J.W.M. Cuijpers, and P.F.J. van Velthoven, accepted in J. Geophys. Res., 16, 1373-1383, 1999.
   
• Giorgios Papaspiropoulos has obtained a PhD degree at the University of Lund under the supervision of Bengt Martinsson, based on his analyses of aerosol particles from CARIBIC. These analyses are based on PIXE, proton induced x-ray excitation. It is an extremely sensitive method. For more info see literature list please.
   
• The phase CARIBIC 3 has officially started, and as per 1.1.2002 CARIBIC is supported under grant EVK2-CT-2001-00101 from the European Commission.
   
• Good progress has been made on the database at the German Climate Center in Hamburg (DKRZ). Peter Zimmerman will continue to work on this database.
   

YEAR 2001

• December:
  Andreas Zahn has acceptet a position in the division of Prof. Herbert Fischer at the Institute for Meteorology and Climate of the Research Center Karlsruhe. Andreas will therefore remain in CARIBIC.
  He will be joined by Detlev Sprung.
   
• Peter Zimmermann works on a CARIBIC database at DKRZ, on the homepage in cooperation with Jörg Dunker, and on a data visualization tool for CARIBIC.
   
• Flight 36 Düsseldorf-Holguin is planned for June 24^th . The average flight frequency so far is 1 flight per month.
   
• Contract negotiations with the European Commission have started.
   
• The German BMBF has funded CARIBIC within the framework of their AFO 2000 research program, for a period of 3 years.
   
• LTU has opened new destinations for CARIBIC. From May 2001 onwards, the container will fly into the CARIBIC !!!
   
• Bengt Martinsson and his team are analysing the elemental composition of aerosol collected by their filter based system. They now publish the results for the sulfur content in Geophysical Research Letters. Martinsson B.G., Papaspiropoulos G., Heintzenberg J. and Hermann M. (2001) Fine mode particulate sulphur in the tropopause region measured from intercontinental flights (CARIBIC) Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 1175-1178
   
• We are looking for doctoral and post doctoral researchers to join the CARIBIC team. Equipment development, analyses, and interpretation of results.
   
• On July 12^th 19.30-20.15 and Friday July 13th, 10.30 the Bayrische Fernsehen will broadcast a program about ozone. Note that CARIBIC will feature in another program to be announced later.
   

YEAR 2000

• The first flight to South Africa took place on May 18, 2000. High values for CO were measured between the equator and 40 °N over Africa. The number of fine aerosol particles counted were as high as in a city environment. This is the result of large scale rapid vertical transport of pollution caused by the burning of forest and savana.
   
• The most recent flight to Africa from Munich to Windhoek and back took place on 27^th and 28^th July. The evaluation will either confirm the first flight or not. That is interesting and exciting to know, but in any case we will consolidate our database.
   
• The last flight was to Male on 16^th and 17^th August and again a great success. We thank the "electric colleague" for repairing the generator and for making this flight posisble. But also for the good collaborate in general.
   
• All systems worked well, and the duty cycle of CARIBIC approaches 92 % for this year. The last 12 flights are without any problems. Only the very first flight went wrong. We raise our flight frequency between two or three weeks.