HIPPO Quick Facts

Mission

The most extensive airborne global sampling of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to date, from the Arctic to the Antarctic

Why

The data collected will help scientists quantify the natural and human-generated sources of greenhouse gases and track where the gases are absorbed. Findings will lead to improved predictions about climate change and help policy makers determine how to minimize future levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

When

Starting on January 8, 2009, scientists are undertaking five missions over three years (November 2009, April and August 2010, and May 2011). Each mission lasts about 20 days.

Aircraft
Related visuals

The HIPPO missions use a specially equipped Gulfstream V jet aircraft, known as HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research). 

The research jet is owned by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The aircraft, also called the NSF/NCAR G-V, joined the NCAR research fleet in March 2005.

• HIAPER’s range is 7,000 miles.
• Altitudes flown during the HIPPO missions range from 1,000 to 47,000 feet.
• Specialized instruments for measuring atmospheric gases are mounted in pods under the wings, on the mainframe of the aircraft, and inside the cabin.
  

Where

HIAPER flies out of Boulder, Colorado, to the Arctic and across the Pacific Ocean to Antarctica via:

• Anchorage, Alaska
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Pago Pago, American Samoa
• Christchurch, New Zealand
• Tahiti, French Polynesia
• Easter Island, Chile
• San Jose, Costa Rica

January 2009 mission:

• 27,760 miles (44,700 kilometers) over 21 days
  

What's unique

Who

Principal investigator:

• Steven Wofsy (Harvard University)

Co-Principal investigators:

• Britton Stephens (NCAR)
• Ralph Keeling (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

Additional scientists are participating from these and other organizations, including:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• University of Miami
• Princeton University

Also aboard HIAPER

• NCAR pilot and co-pilot
• Scientists and technicians operating research instruments and conducting measurements
  

Funding

The National Science Foundation and NOAA are funding HIPPO.

NSF has spent approximately $4.5 million to support the HIPPO project to date. Additional support for several of the important experiments on the HIAPER aircraft comes from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory.