Clouds have a major impact on rapidly decreasing sea ice in the Arctic, yet much is still unknown how cloud microphysics influences cloud development. In situ and remote data were collected by the NASA P-3 and SPEC Inc. Learjet research aircraft in Arctic stratiform boundary-layer clouds over the oceans and sea ice bordering northern Greenland between 25 May and 15 August 2024 during the ARCSIX project. Both aircraft carried a suite of nearly identical state-of-the-art microphysical sensors. Additionally, the P-3 was equipped with aerosol and remote-sensing instrumentation and the Learjet was equipped with a zenith/nadir Ka-band radar. The length of clouds examined remotely and in-situ by the two aircraft totaled 12 417 km, with 6966 km of in-situ measurements. Mixed-phase clouds were sampled during 60.5 % of time in cloud, and all-liquid clouds were measured 39.5 % of the time. Cloud-top temperatures were ≥-9 °C during 90 % of the stratiform boundary-layer cloud investigations. Single-layer mixed-phase clouds sampled with cloud-top temperatures ≥-4 °C often contained concentrations of ice particles more than five orders of magnitude higher than measured concentrations of ice-nucleating particles. Despite the high ice concentrations, microphysical conditions supporting secondary ice production were seldom present. In contrast, in some clouds where environmental conditions met commonly accepted criteria for secondary ice production, ice particle concentrations were closer to what is expected from primary nucleation. The quality of measurements was unprecedented, but results from our preliminary analysis raise more questions about primary and secondary nucleation mechanisms than they answer.
I am frequently asked how I got on the SPE Board of Directors or how somebody else can do so. Many people have mentioned to me that they feel that the Board is a “black box” or “insiders’ club.” I can understand how that can be the perception, but let me see if I can open that box a bit and provide some additional information about the workings of the Board and what came out of our most recent meeting at ATCE in Houston in late October. Transparency is a good thing! First, let’s start with the basics. The SPE Board of Directors is the policymaking and governing body for SPE International. These are volunteer positions. No one on the Board is paid for their time except the SPE CEO/EVP, who is the link between the Board and SPE staff. The volunteer status distinguishes Board members from the SPE staff, who are full-time employees of the Society and, of course, are compensated for their time. The Board is made up of 21 members divided into three groups: the Officers, the Regional Directors (RDs), and the Technical Directors (TDs). The Officers consist of four positions: the current, incoming and outgoing SPE Presidents, and the SPE CEO/EVP. The Regional Directors include 11 members representing our geographical regions around the world. There are also six Technical Directors who represent SPE’s eight technical disciplines. Each Board member serves a 3-year term (except for the SPE CEO/EVP). The members of the 2026 Board are listed here. Given the 3-year terms, approximately one-third of the Board rotates off each year. The Board’s composition has evolved over time to reflect changes in SPE membership, both by region and by technical disciplines. For instance, Technical Director positions were added in 2000 to address the increasing need for a focus on worldwide technological exchanges, not just regional ones. At that time, there were just two TDs representing Drilling and Reservoir. Prior to that, all director positions on the Board were strictly Regional Directors. Additionally, as technological priorities shifted, so did the assignments and number of TDs. For example, I started on the Board as the Production & Operations (P&O) TD when there were also Drilling & Completions and Projects, Facilities, and Construction (PFC) TDs. I ended as the first Completions TD, with Drilling becoming standalone, PFC combined with P&O under one TD, and the addition of what would ultimately become the Data Science and Engineering Analytics (DSEA) TD. In no way was this meant to slight P&O; it was strictly due to membership numbers and the need to rebalance the expansion and contraction of current technical topics at that time.
With expanding liberalization of cannabis laws across the US, emergency department (ED) visits related to acute cannabinoid intoxication (ACI) continue to increase. The clinical effects of ACI can include neuropsychiatric symptoms (eg, panic attacks, psychosis), tachycardia, and hypotension, which are mediated primarily through the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor. ANEB-001 is a CB1 receptor antagonist under development as an antidote to ACI. Conducting studies in the ED setting, where intoxicated patients cannot give consent, or giving extremely high cannabinoid doses to healthy volunteers presents ethical limitations. We conducted a clinical study in healthy subjects to assess the potential of ANEB-001 to reverse the effects of low to moderate doses of delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The aim of the current analysis was to develop a population model based on the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) data from that study, in order to predict efficacious doses of ANEB-001 for reversing ACI in the ED setting.
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS’s), which include Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) and tethered balloon systems (TBS) offer significant advantages over conventional research aircraft. They are capable of long-duration measurements of cloud properties in regions where piloted aircraft are unsafe, e.g., at very low altitudes over remote regions, such as tundra and open ocean. TBS and UAV’s are now widely recognized as a technology that can provide unprecedented insights into cloud and radiation processes, but development of miniature sensors capable of providing sophisticated measurements of cloud, aerosol and radiative properties lag behind. In Phase II of this SBIR research, Stratton Park Engineering Company, Inc. (SPEC) designed and fabricated a miniature combination optical particle probe (micro-COPP) that is capable of being flown on small UAV’s and TBS. The micro-COPP measures the size distribution of cloud particles from 2 microns to several millimeters and records high-definition images that distinguish ice particle from water drops, which is essential in mixed-phase clouds. The micro-COPP was installed along with miniature instruments to measure aerosols, cloud condensation nuclei, position and atmospheric state parameters on a small UAV and TBS that were deployed in the Arctic at the Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (78° N. latitude).
