CONTANGO-FIRE - CONvection, upper Troposphere Aerosol Nucleation, Gas phase Oxidation, and influence of wildFIREs on atmospheric chemistry and climate experiment

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Joachim Curtius
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564734884

The CONTANGO-FIRE mission conducted with the HALO research aircraft studies air chemistry, as well as aerosol and cloud processes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere above South America. CONTANGO-FIRE will focus on three research topics, namely the influence of deep convection on the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) composition, new particle formation processes in the continental extra-tropical upper troposphere, as well as the influence of wildfire emissions on atmospheric chemistry, clouds and climate. The operational base for the research flights will be Mendoza, Argentina, and measurements are conducted in austral summer in January/February 2028. HALO will be equipped with a set of in situ instrumentation allowing a comprehensive characterization of the chemical processing of trace gases, aerosols and clouds. Various radicals (including OH and HO2), reactive nitrogen compounds, sulfur compounds, organic substances and numerous aerosol parameters are measured. CONTANGO-FIRE will provide a unique data set for studying the influences of deep convection on the dynamical, physical and chemical properties of the UTLS region. A special focus concerns the formation of new aerosol particles in this region. It will be investigated if isoprene from biogenic emissions, which can be transported into the upper troposphere by nocturnal deep convection, causes new particle formation in the UTLS region. The measurements will constrain process and environmental modelling to generalize the results to regional and global scales.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1294: Atmospheric and Earth System Research with the "High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft" (HALO)
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Yafang Cheng, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Peter Hoor