Mesoscale & Microscale Meteorology Division, NCAR

Field Projects 2002

FLOSS: (Fluxes Over Snow Surfaces) The first phase of this project began recording observations on 28 November 2001. The major goals of FLOSS are 1) to better understand the stable boundary layer over snow resulting from nocturnal cooling, and from warm air advection over cooler snow-covered surfaces, and; 2) to understand sublimation and melting snow processes. Questions raised are, how much melted snow filtrates into the soil and how much is evaporated and advected away? Situated near Walden, Colorado, in the Arapahoe Wildlife refuge near the old Case Ranch, FLOSS brought together Sean Burns (MMM), and researchers from ATD, Colorado State University, NOAA, the U.S. Forest Service, and Oregon State University, to address these issues.

Dressed for the elements, scientists set up observational towers for FLOSS in November 2001.

IHOP: (International H2O Project 2002) The IHOP field campaign took place over the Southern Great Plains of the United States -- namely Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas -- from 13 May to 30 June 2002. The chief aim of IHOP 2002 was to improve the characterization of the four-dimensional (4-D) distribution of water vapor and to apply those improvements to an increased understanding and prediction of convection. Margaret LeMone was the Principal Investigator for the International Water Vapor Experiment component of IHOP, which was sponsored by the USWRP. Researchers from Oregon State University, University of Colorado, North Carolina State University and NCAR participated in IHOP 2002.

Unknown scientist attempting to install instrumentation in the ground, surrounded by the glorious Plains skies.

NAME: (North American Monsoon Experiment) Christopher Davis is participating in the modeling working group for this experiment, which began in September 2002 and continues on.

CRYSTAL-FACE: (Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers -Florida Area Cirrus Experiment) Andrew Heymsfield and Aaron Bansemer participated in CRYSTAL-FACE in July of 2002. This was a measurement campaign designed to investigate tropical cirrus cloud physical properties and formation processes. Understanding the production of upper tropospheric cirrus clouds is essential for the successful modeling of the Earth's climate.

STORM PEAK: (Storm Peak Laboratory) Aaron Bansemer participated in the Storm Peak Laboratory experiment in November/December 2001, working with instrument operations. MMM visitor, Raphael Schefold from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, was also involved, using a new instrument that was developed in Switzerland. The Storm Peak Laboratory is operated by the Desert Research Institute (DRI).

Vehicles ready to transport equipment to the site of the Storm Peach Laboratory.

NIWOT RIDGE Pilot Experiment: Dates for this experiment were July into August 2002. The scientific goals of the Niwot Ridge experiment were 1) To understand the significance of the horizontal transport of CO2 in the nocturnal boundary layer; 2) To study correlations between CO_2 transport and surface heteorogeneity; and 3) To better understand the global carbon balance. Participants from MMM were Margaret LeMone, Donald Lenschow, Sean Burns, and Jielun Sun.

Sean Burns hard at work during the Niwot Ridge.experiment

Jielun Sun uses a GPS to obtain position readings for the Niwot Ridge Experiment.

ABFM: (AIRBORNE FIELD MILL PROJECT) The goal of this project is to determine when weakly convective or layered cloud systems are electrified and to produce remote sensing tools to predict the electrification. James Dye is a prinicipal investigator and has played a leading role in obtaining and analyzing the microphysical-electrical data. The multi-year project is held at the NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center.

Looking Ahead……..

BAMEX: (Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment) Planned for May through June 2003, coordinators, such as Christopher Davis, are progressing to the actual beginning of the project. The goal is to study life cycles of mesoscale convective, i.e., bow echoes and mesoscale convective vortices, in and around the St. Louis, MO area.

CBLAST: (Coupled Boundary Layers, Air-Sea Transfer Experiment in Low Winds (CBLAST-LOW) This is an on-going Office of Naval Research initiative focusing on processes that occur in the oceanic and atmospheric wave boundary layers, i.e., the regions influenced by ocean surface waves. The program combines observational and modeling components in all of its investigations. Jielun Sun and Sean Burns are major contributors, and Peter Sullivan participates in the modeling component.

Related website: http://www.mmm.ucar.edu/science/abl/

THORPEX: (THe Observing system Research and Predictability EXperiment). The primary objective of THORPEX is to accelerate improvements in the prediction of high-impact weather on time scales out to two weeks. Under the umbrella of THORPEX, two regional tests will be conducted during January through March 2003 (TOST/2003:NorPac and TOST/2003: North Atlantic) Rebecca Morss, Chris Snyder, MMM visitor Mel Shapiro, Rit Carbone, and Robert Gall are involved with this program.