EOL Field Projects.kmz

EOL Field Projects

ACE-Asia :: Aerosol Characterization Experiments :: 2001
The Aerosol Characterization Experiments (ACE) are designed to increase our understanding of how atmospheric aerosol particles affect the Earth's climate system. ACE-Asia was the fourth in this series of experiments organized by the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Program (A Core Project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program).
Dates :: Spring, 2001
Where :: Off the coast of China, Japan & Korea
Facilities :: NSF/NCAR C-130
http://saga.pmel.noaa.gov/Field/aceasia/

ACME :: Airborne Carbon in the Mountains Experiment :: 2004
The Airborne Carbon in the Mountains Experiment is the first aircraft field campaign of a program supported by the NSF Biocomplexity Program and NASA Interdisciplinary Science. It is taking place in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The goal of the project is to understand carbon dynamics in montane forest regions by developing new methods for estimating carbon exchange at local to regional scales.
The project makes measurements at the stand scale using eddy covariance, small catchment or "carbonshed" scale using measurements of CO 2 concentrations within local airsheds, and regional scales using measurements of CO 2 and other species from aircraft. The multi-scaled flux measurements are coordinated with a long-term ongoing program of carbon measurements and ecosystem process studies. The approach of the field campaign is to obtain the meteorological, mixing ratio, and flux data required to compare and validate a "carbonshed" ecosystem model of CO 2 vertical and horizontal transports.
The studies will help define differences between surface exchange of carbon in mountainous and flat landscapes to better understand the significance and contribution of mountain areas to the continental carbon budget. Flights were conducted in May and July of 2004. The measurements will be integrated and interpreted using a range of models including ecosystem process models, mesoscale atmospheric models, and innovative coupled ecosystem-atmosphere assimilation models.
Dates :: May-August 2004
Where :: Colorado Front Range of the Rocky Mountains
Facilities :: NSF/NCAR C-130
https://wiki.ucar.edu/display/acme/ACME

ADELE/SPRITE :: Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emission/Sprite Spectra
:: 2009
ADELE / SPRITE is a field campaign combining two separate research project at the same location at the same time. The project will deploy out of Melbourne, FL. The ADELE part will operate during the day studying gamma rays near convective storms. The SPRITE part will operate at night time studying formation of sprites over the thunderstorms up to 200 km away from the flight track.
Dates :: August 13 - September 9, 2009
Where :: Melbourne, FL
Facility :: NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V

AESOP/TEXASAQS :: Texas Air Quality Study :: 2000
In August and September of 2000, a national team of researchers will undertake the largest air quality study ever done in the State of Texas. The study is designed to improve understanding of the factors that control the formation and transport of air pollutants along the Gulf Coast of southeastern Texas.
Plans call for six weeks of intensive sampling, beginning August 14. Measurements of gaseous, particulate, and hazardous air pollutants will be made at approximately 20 ground stations, located throughout the eastern half of the state. Additional sampling will be carried out with specially equipped aircraft that can detect air pollutants very quickly, at very low concentrations.
Experts in meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and other areas of science will study the formation, composition, and day-night cycles of ozone and particulate matter, as well as how these pollutants are affected by weather. The large area covered by this study will also make it possible to examine long-range transport of air pollutants. Up to 250 researchers will be involved during the busiest stage of the project. Results of this study will be assembled into computer models for assessing the health effects of pollution and developing effective strategies to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
For more information:
Dates :: August 15 - September 15, 2000
Where :: State of Texas
Facility :: NCAR/NOAA Electra

AHATS :: Advection Horizontal Array Turbulence Study :: 2008
AHATS was a surface-layer turbulence study in the San Joaquin Valley, California, during the summer of 2008.
AHATS was the fourth in the series of Horizontal Array of Turbulence Studies (HATS). This series of experiments aims to improve large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulence close to the Earth's surface, by collecting data that can be spatially filtered into scales that can be simulated by LES and those that must be parametrized.
For more information:
Dates :: June 9 - August 16, 2008
Where :: San Joaquin Valley, California
Facility :: Integrated Sounding System (ISS) & Integrated Surface Flux System(ISFS)

AIRS :: Alliance Icing Research Study :: 1999-2004
The Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS) is a collaborative effort involving several Canadian and U.S. research agencies and Universities. The main objectives of the project, in order of priority, are:
To improve our ability to remotely sense aircraft icing regions using satellite, aircraft or ground based systems.
To obtain additional data to characterise the icing environment which might be used in a revision of “Appendix C”, the criteria used to certify aircraft for icing conditions.
To improve our ability to forecast icing conditions and to understand how these conditions develop.
To obtain measurements of aircraft performance within icing conditions and shapes of ice accretion that might be used in verification of icing model codes or in wind tunnel studies that simulate icing conditions.
The AIRS 1999-2000 field project was conducted between November 29, 1999 and February 18, 2000. The research aircraft involved were based out of Ottawa, with an extensive array of remote sensing instrumentation based at Mirabel. The data set collected makes a unique and important contribution to existing aircraft icing research.
For more information: http://airs-icing.org/AIRS_99-00/AIRS_99-00.htm
Dates AIRS 1 :: November 19, 1999 - February 18, 2000
Dates AIRS 2 :: November 3, 2003 - February 20, 2004
Where :: Quebec, Canada
Facility :: NSF/NCAR C-130

AOE :: Arctic Ocean Expedition :: 2001
The expedition's atmosphere programme is a continuation and development of successful research carried out on previous Swedish icebreaker expeditions in the Arctic during the 1990s. The overall objective is to increase knowledge of the impact of aerosols on climate. Whilst greenhouse gases are responsible for increases in the Earth's temperature, aerosols have the opposite effect due to their impact on the radiation balance. Aerosol* particles can have both a direct and indirect effect by reflecting solar radiation and by functioning as cloud condensation nuclei forming clouds which in their turn also increase solar radiation reflection.
The main objective is to quantify the impact of aerosols on climate and to increase knowledge of how natural aerosol particles are produced and transported in the Arctic atmosphere. The research programme is international and interdisciplinary and comprises five sub-programmes: marine biology, gas and aerosol chemistry, aerosol physics, meteorology and modelling these processes.
For more information: http://www.fysik.lu.se/eriksw/aoe2001/aoe2001.htm
Dates :: July 22 - August 21, 2001
Where :: Quebec, Canada
Facility :: Integrated Surface Flux System (ISFS)

BuFEx :: Bunny Fence Experiment :: 2008
Southwest Australia, an area subject to extreme land use change in the last century, is an ideal test bed to investigate the influence of land use on regional climate. Clearing of native vegetation for agricultural purposes has resulted in a 700 km long sharp boundary between the croplands and the undisturbed vegetation areas.
This study is based on the hypothesis that human induced landscape changes in southwest Australia has a significant influence on the climate in this region.
Preliminary studies suggest that the drastic nature and large spatial extent of the land surface heterogeneity is conducive to the formation of secondary circulations that significantly influence the climate of this region. Replacement of native vegetation by agricultural crops alters the surface energetics impacting the cloud formation.
Dates :: December 1, 2005 - November 30, 2006
Where :: Southwestern Australia
Facilities :: MGAUS

CAMPS :: Colorado Airborne Multi-Phase Cloud Study :: 2011
The Colorado Airborne Multi-Phase Cloud Study (CAMPS) project will focus on in situ and remote sensing measurements of wintertime clouds over the Park Range of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. These clouds are generally mixed-phase; the combination of ice, liquid and water vapor presents challenges both to measurements and modeling, and consequently, to understanding their impact on atmospheric radiation and on precipitation. CAMPS will use the Wyoming King Air instrumented with both remote (cloud radar and cloud lidar) and in situ sensors (cloud and particle probes, total water hygrometer) to elucidate the vertical and horizontal structure of cold mixed-phase clouds.
* Dates: January 3 - March 15, 2011
* Where: Park Range, Northern Colorado
* Facilities: Wyoming King Air, Wyoming Cloud Radar & Wyoming Cloud Lidar

The main goal is to provide validation data to improve the usage of polar-orbiting satellite data over Antarctica, in particular IASI radiances. On board the European satellite MetOp-A launched in October 2006, IASI is a sounder instrument measuring the infrared spectrum with an improved accuracy for temperature and humidity sounding in the troposphere and stratosphere. The other areas of interest are the fine scale meteorological and climatic studies of the Antarctic plateau, the study of the influence of better polar area predictions over lower latitudes and over the ozone simulation, together with the monitoring of the polar vortex at the end of winter, thanks to additional stratospheric measurements. Working towards these goals will contribute to establish a sustainable observing system for climate over Antarctica, taking into account the potential of advanced sounders such as IASI.
Date :: December 2001 - March 2002
Where :: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Facilities :: Driftsonde System
http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/concordiasi/

DOMEX :: Dominica Experiment :: 2011
The overall science objective of the Dominica Experiment (DOMEX) is to understand the physics of convective initiation and precipitation in a simple steady tropical environment. The triggering of convection and the physics of precipitating clouds remain two of the most challenging problems in atmospheric science. Even for “simple” orographic precipitation, the relationship between forced ascent and embedded convection remains unclear. In the full tropics, where convection may be slightly simpler, little work has been done on orographic precipitation. Progress will require the study of the simplest possible natural system, as a bridge to more complex systems. To pursue this reductionist strategy, the island of Dominica (15N) has recently been identified as an accessible “natural laboratory” for orographically forced moist convection.
Dates :: March 1 - April 8, 2011
Where :: Commonwealth of Dominica
Facilities :: Wyoming King Air, Wyoming Cloud Radar & Wyoming Cloud Lidar

FLOSS :: Fluxes Over Snow Surfaces :: 2001-2003
The FLOSS project, studied the surface meteorology of snow-covered rangeland in the North Park region of Colorado, near Walden, from December 2001 to March 2002, and again during phase II in 2003.
Dates of Phase I :: December 2001 - March 2002
Dates of Phase II :: December 2003
Where :: Park Range, Northern Colorado
Facilities :: Wyoming King Air, Wyoming Cloud Radar & Wyoming Cloud Lidar
http://www.eol.ucar.edu/isf/projects/FLOSS/
Looking east toward Medicine Bow mountains from FLOSS site.

HIPPO :: HIAPER Pole-toPole Observations :: 2009-2011
The “HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) of Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Study” will measure cross sections of atmospheric concentrations approximately pole-to-pole, from the surface to the tropopause, five times during different seasons over a three year period. A comprehensive suite of atmospheric trace gases pertinent to understanding the Carbon Cycle will be measured. The program will provide the first comprehensive, global survey of atmospheric trace gases, covering the full troposphere in all seasons and multiple years.
HIPPO is a landmark study for many reasons, not the least of which is it is the first time scientists have attempted to systematically map global distribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
http://hippo.ucar.edu/
Dates of Phase I :: January 2009
Dates of Phase II :: October 2009
Dates of Phase III :: April - May 2010
Dates of Phase IV :: June - July 2011
Dates of Phase V :: August - September 2011
Where :: Pole-to-Pole Over Greater Pacific Basin
Facility :: NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V
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ICE-T :: Ice in Clouds Experiment :: 2011
More than 50% of the earth’s precipitation originates in the ice phase. Ice nucleation, therefore, is one of the most basic processes that lead to precipitation. ICE-T will study the tropical convective clouds, where both primary and secondary ice formation processes may play significant roles in the ice formation process.
Dates :: May 2011
Where :: St Croix, Virgin Islands
Facilities :: NSF/NCAR C-130, Dropsondes, WCR, WCL

ISPA :: Inhibition of Snowfall By Pollution Aerosols :: 2009
Inhibition of Snowfall by Pollutant Aerosols (ISPA) studies the link between pollution aerosols and snowfall rates in the Mount Werner area near Steamboat Springs, Colorado from January 14 - February 28, 2010.
ISPA studied the link between pollution aerosols and snowfall rates in the Mount Werner area near Steamboat Springs, Colorado from January 14 - February 28, 2010. The study will help to determine the connection with pollution and snowfall amounts, as some pollutants decrease snowfall levels. The project is being carried out for the Desert Research Institute's Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) on Mount Werner.
Dates :: January 14 - February 28, 2010
Where :: Park Range, Colorado
Facilities :: ISS-MAPR

ITOP :: Interactions of Typhoons and Oceans Project :: 2010
This project will study the interaction between typhoons and the underlying ocean with specific regard to the 4-dimensional response of the ocean underneath and behind the storm. It is a follow-on to the successful T-PARC TCS-08 Project but will emphasize the ocean responses to typhoon growth and movement in the western Pacific Ocean.
Dates :: August - September 2010
Where :: Guam & Operations Center in Monterey, CA
Facility :: US Air Force aircraft, with support from EOL's Field Project Services and Computer Data Services
http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/itop/
http://catalog.eol.ucar.edu/itop_2010/

P-CAPS :: Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study :: 2010
The research objectives of PCAPS are to determine processes responsible for formation, maintenance and destruction of multi-day wintertime temperature inversions or cold-air pools, evaluate their influence on pollutant transport and mixing, and determine how models can be improved to make more accurate forecasting of persistent cold-air pool events.
Dates :: December 2010 - February 2011
Where :: Salt Lake Basin, Western US
Facilities :: ISS, ISFS

PLOWS :: Profiling of Winter Storms :: 2010
Nationwide, nearly 7000 deaths, 600,000 injuries, and 1.4 million accidents per year are due to adverse road weather, mostly during winter, and costs associated with a single blizzard can range from $0.1M to $3.0B. Improvement of 0-48 hr cool season quantitative precipitation depends on obtaining a greater understanding of the mesoscale structure and dynamics of cyclonic weather systems.
The PLOWS research program is targeted directly at this problem. The field campaign will also provide new insight concerning remote sensing of winter weather systems that can translate directly into better operational interpretation and observation strategies of winter weather mesoscale features. Furthermore, the study will provide a unique dataset which can be used to interpret data from the next generation of operational polarization diversity Doppler radars to be deployed in the next decade. Our modeling studies with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model will determine if modeled precipitation substructures are consistent with observed features in winter storm systems and provide a better understanding of processes responsible for the occurrence of those substructures.
Dates :: November 1, 2009 - February 28, 2010
Where :: Mid-Western United Sates
Facilities :: NSF/NCAR C-130
http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/plows/

POST :: Physics of Stratocumulus Top :: 2008
The objective of POST is to improve the understanding of the physical processes that occur near the tops of stratocumulus clouds, and that influence the entrainment process and boundary-layer evolution. The processes include:
Wind shear
Entrainment rate
Cloud-top entrainment instability
Solar and infrared radiation
Hydrometeor
Cloud condensation nuclei effects
Formation and role played by the entrainment interface layer
Dates :: July 14 - August 15, 2008
Where :: Eastern Coast of California
Facilities :: Computer Data Services (CDS) support
http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/post/

PREAMBLE :: Precision Atmospheric Marine Boundary Layer Experiment :: 2012
The purpose of this study is to examine in detail the atmospheric dynamics associated with the summertime marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) near Point Conception using an airborne measurement platform.
Dates :: May - June 2012
Where :: Point Conception, California
Facilities :: University of Wyoming King Air, WCR, WCL

PREDICT :: Pre-Depression of Cloud Systems in the Tropics :: 2010
Prediction and understanding of tropical cyclogenesis remains one of the most challenging aspects of atmospheric science. A multitude of tropical disturbances emerge from the West African coast every year near the Cape Verde islands, but only a few of these develop into tropical depressions, storms, or hurricanes.
The PRE-Depression Investigation of Cloud-systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) field experiment will deploy the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V aircraft in the Atlantic basin in the heart of hurricane season, August 15-September 30, 2010 to explore multi-scale interactions in tropical wave-like disturbances that promote or hinder the development of a tropical depression vortex.
Dates :: August 15 - September 30, 2010
Where :: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Facilities :: NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V
https://www.eol.ucar.edu/predict

T-PARC :: THORPEX Pacific Asian Regional Campaign :: 2008
While T-PARC encompasses varying time and space scales, the primary objectives of each region are the same (i.e., to increase understanding of the mechanisms that will lead to improved predictive skill of high impact weather events) . This multi-scale approach is desirable as these two regions have strong dynamical links.
Date :: August 1 - Spetember 30, 2008
Where :: Guam, Hawaii, and Japan
http://met.nps.edu/~tparc/

VOCALS :: VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study :: 2008
The VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study (VOCALS) took place in October - November 2008 off of the western coast of Chile, in South America. VOCALS was an international Climate, Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) program, the major goal of which is to develop and promote scientific activities leading to improved understanding of the Southeast Pacific coupled ocean-atmosphere-land system on diurnal to inter-annual timescales. The principal program objectives were:
To improve understanding and regional/global model representation of aerosol indirect effects over the Southeast Pacific
To eliminate systematic errors in the region of coupled atmospheric-ocean general circulation models, and improved model simulations and predictions of the coupled climate in the Southeast Pacific and global impacts of the system variability
Dates :: October - November 2008
Where :: Wester Coast of Chile, South America
Facilities ::NSF/NCAR C-130

VORTEX2 :: Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment :: 2009 & 2010
The Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment 2 (VORTEX2) is the largest tornado research project in history to explore how, when and why tornadoes form. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are supporting more than 100 scientists and students and staff from around the world to collect weather measurements around and under a supercell thunderstorm. VORTEX2 teams are using a fleet of 10 mobile radars, and 70 other instruments all equipped with cutting-edge communication and computer technologies. Much about tornadoes remains a mystery, and researchers hope this data will help them better understand tornadoes and lead to further improvements in tornado warning skill.
Where :: Mid-Western United Sates
Facilities :: DOW
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/vortex2/
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WAMO :: Western Airborne Mercury Observations :: 2010
This project will develop, evaluate, and utilize an airborne instrument to measure two of the most important chemical forms of mercury: gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM).
Dates :: September 25 - October 16, 2010
Where :: Mather, CA
Facility :: NSF/NCAR C-130