Mar 4: Because of the efforts of the U.S. consulate in HK, the HK government working with representatives in Peking, and the International Affairs Office at NASA HQ working through the state department, necessary information was provided to the Chinese government in Peking that helped in thegranting of permission for the three aircraft to land and operate out of HK.  All three planes arrived Sunday afternoon and parked on the tarmac across a taxiway from active gates for regularly scheduled airplanes.  The airport provides bus transportation between the airplanes and the terminal.

Flight 8 Summary - Guam to HK transit

An intercomparison was planned for the beginning of the flight with both P-3B and DC-8 flying in the marine boundary layer at 500 ft with 2000 ft separation.  This leg was planned for 20 minutes to be followed by another in-progress 20 minute climb to 10,000 ft.  The remainder of the flight included crossing a weak frontal transition and a southbound leg reaching into the South China Sea before heading into Hong Kong.

Results:

The intercomparison portion of the flight went well with clean conditions on the boundary layer leg and significant variability on the sounding from 500-10,000 ft.  Observations in the weak frontal transition zone did not show any clear pre- to post-frontal changes in composition.  Entering the South China Sea, persistent pollution was encountered betweeen 8000 ft and the surface with the highest levels of CO, NOy, and particulates yet to be observed.