AIRBORNE FIELD MILL PROJECT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
SYNTHESIS FOR JUNE 20, 2000 - ABFM

Flight Summary (Non-Anvil Day)
Case 1 (Times: 2150 - 2227)

Type of case	debris
Complexity	complex
Convection	first a single cell then more cells in a NW-SE line
Electric field   kV/m	Min Em_m = 0.009 Max Em_m = 35.587 Mean Em_m = 1.696
Microphysics   #/Liter	Max CON_FSSP = 7784.688 Mean CON_FSSP = 1027.053 Max Tot_con_1DC = 117.433 Mean Tot_con_1DC = 18.142 Max Tot_con_2DC = 138.444 Mean Tot_con_2DC = 22.832 Max 2DC_100_400 = 89.833 Mean 2DC_100_400 = 10.456 Max 2DC_400_1000 = 15.272 Mean 2DC_400_1000 = 1.762 Max 2DC_GT_1000 = 1.553 Mean 2DC_GT_1000 = 0.193
Location	(x,y) ~ (-110,-40)
Storm Motion	3.4 m/s to the west, 4.0 m/s to the south, gives 5.2 m/s SW
Brief Description	Initially debris left from convection that earlier had produced lightning. But then developed new convection within debris.

This cell is moving to the south, southwest. The last lightning from this cell was at 2107. At 2118 it looks like it is putting out a small anvil towards the southwest, but motion at 4,7 and 10 km is similar. As the debris drifts and decays, a new cell appears at ~2200 under what was the small anvil. Other cells then develop nearby and become electrified to produce lightning by 2228.


Case 2 (Times: 2228 - 2332)

Type of case	convective
Complexity	complex
Convection	NW - SE convective band
Electric field   kV/m	Min Em_m = 0.150 Max Em_m = 42.431 Mean Em_m = 4.337
Microphysics   #/Liter	Max CON_FSSP = 52706.551 Mean CON_FSSP = 3372.292 Max Tot_con_1DC = 1000.471 Mean Tot_con_1DC = 62.454 Max Tot_con_2DC = 2247.847 Mean Tot_con_2DC = 90.393 Max 2DC_100_400 = 988.260 Mean 2DC_100_400 = 40.586 Max 2DC_400_1000 = 93.949 Mean 2DC_400_1000 = 6.275 Max 2DC_GT_1000 = 2.503 Mean 2DC_GT_1000 = 0.207
Location	(x,y) ~ (-90,-80)
Storm Motion	3.6 m/s to the west, 6.0 m/s to the south gives 7.0 m/s SW
Brief Description	This is mostly active convection that is producing lightning.

The aircraft is flying near and in convection for most of this time. There might be a few minutes (230120 - 230340, 230800 - 230940 and 231130 - 231230) where the aircraft is actually flying through some small anvil, but always near convection. These times are NOT in the accepted anvil times.







SYNTHESIS FOR JUNE 20, 2000 - ABFM

Investigator: None
[Not presented at a teleconference.]

The following summary is from the notes that Jim Dye and Eric Defer put together. Probably early in 2001 (before the May/June 2001 Field Campaign).

 

There were two cells studied by the aircraft. The aircraft took off at about 21:30. It went after a cell that appears on the radar at about x= -75, y=-25 (Cell 1). This cell is moving in the WSW dirction. Look at the 10 km level. It reaches the anvil/debris at 22:00 at x= -110, y=-50. If we step backwards we see why I am not sure if it is anvil or debris. Step back to 2100. It is the primary cell in the frame. It looks to be a cell at about x=-75, y=-25 with an anvil to the west, or SW. The next radar frame is at 21:15; here it looks to be completely reversed. The cell is at the western edge and the anvil looks to be to the east or NE. At 21:45 the higher reflectivity region is in the middle and appears to be associated with a band that extends to the SE. When the aircraft arrived at about 22:00 it proceeded to do a spiral. There are three cells in a band, and the aircraft went SE to the next cell (Cell 2) after doing the spiral. The aircraft followed this cell for about half an hour before returning. On the way back it went by another cell that had formed behind the bank that was studied. This cell pattern is confirmed at the 7 km level.

Cell 1 does not look to be a simple cell the formed, blew off an anvil and decayed. If you watch it threw time there appear to be several cells that formed within that same air. This is also true for Cell 2 which the aircraft spent more time in.

Initially flew in anvil of small storm roughly 255 to 260 deg and 60 to 100 km from WSR74C (a litle south of BOW ??) Anvils were blowing off to SW. The storm produced first LDAR sources ~1950 and first CG at 1958 and continued to produce lightning until ~2110 for LDAR and last CG probably 2047. Spiral at 2158 to 2204 from 7 to 8.5 km (-15 -30 C). Ez first +30 as setting up for spiral then +40 at lower part of spiral, then Ez of only few kV/m for 2+ min. followed by -40 kV/m. 2D-C shows strong variability and periodicity suggesting changes in Ez might be horizontally variability as much as vertical.

After the spiral from 2205 to 2230, apparently moved south [another anvil or same anvil, I can?t tell] and made 4 passes at 8.5 km . Ez in all passes <2-3 kV/m. N>30 was 100/L or less and N>1mm was <0.1 to 0.5 /L. From 2230 to 2320 made a series of passes at 8.5 km with Ez as large as -75 kV/m. When Ez was larger, N>30 was ~500-1000/L and N>1 was ~or>1 /L.

Without radar plots cannot tell what happened very well.