ARISE was NASA's first Arctic airborne campaign designed to take simultaneous measurements of ice, clouds and the levels of incoming and outgoing radiation, the balance of which determined the degree of climate warming.
Over the past few decades, an increase in global temperatures led to decreased Arctic summer sea ice. Typically, Arctic sea ice reflects sunlight from the Earth. However, a loss of sea ice means there is more open water to absorb heat from the sun, enhancing warming in the region. More open water can also cause the release of more moisture into the atmosphere. This additional moisture could affect cloud formation and the exchange of heat from Earth’s surface to space.
Conducted during the peak of summer ice melt (August 28, 2014-October 1, 2014), ARISE was designed to study and collect data on thinning sea ice, measure cloud and atmospheric properties in the Arctic, and to address questions about the relationship between retreating sea ice and the Arctic climate. During the campaign, instruments on NASA's C-130 aircraft conducted measurements of spectral and broadband radiative flux profiles, quantified surface characteristics, cloud properties, and atmospheric state parameters under a variety of Arctic atmospheric and surface conditions (e.g. open water, sea ice, and land ice).
When possible, C-130 flights were coordinated to fly under satellite overpasses. The primary aerial focus of ARISE was over Arctic sea ice and open water, with minor coverage over Greenland land ice. Through these efforts, the ARISE field campaign helped improve cloud and sea ice computer modeling in the Arctic.