Abstract

An experiment comparing balloon and profiler observations was carried out to evaluate the capability of Doppler radar wind profilers to remotely measure useful meteorological quantities other than wind. The site chosen was in Southern California during a time of year when it offers a natural laboratory for investigating extreme contrasts in temperature and humidity. To evaluate the new capabilities, it was found that new and additional treatment of the radar data was necessary. For example, the adequacy of the usual radar wind observations obtained by editing the Doppler spectral moments was found to be very questionable for short-term observations, so the authors extended the editing to the raw spectra, and substantial improvement was found. The advantages of the redundancy in five-beam systems are investigated and are also found to be very necessary to obtain the accuracy needed. A technique for minimizing the variances of the differences of the four redundant pairs of radials is described. The resulting improved vertical velocity estimates substantially improve the agreement between radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) temperature retrievals and balloon-measured temperatures. The ability of the profilers to measure turbulence intensity was tested, and the accuracy of techniques using the spectral width to measure turbulent dissipation rate when complicated spectra are present is examined. Two different techniques for optimizing the calculation of spectral width are compared and the errors assessed. One technique integrates over the uncontaminated range of the chosen spectral peak and then extrapolates a Gaussian function to infinity. The other method uses the slope of the log least squares best fit of the uncontaminated points to a Gaussian function. Profiler-measured length scales of wind and scalar quantities are measured and compared. Profiles of radar-measured gradients of refractive index are compared with gradients measured by balloon. It is shown how gradients of humidity can be calculated to about the same accuracy as refractive-index gradients by combining the temperature gradients from RASS with the refractive-index gradient observations from the radar.

Abstract

On 2 July 1987 a nonmesocyclone tornado was observed in northeastern Colorado during the Convection Initiation and Downburst Experiment (CINDE). This tornado, reaching FI–F2 intensity, developed under a rapidly growing convective cell, without a preceding supercell or midlevel mesocyclone being present.

The pretornado environment on 2 July is described, including observations from a triangle of wind profilers, a dense surface mesonet array, and a special balloon sounding network. Important features contributing to tornado generation include the passage of a 700-mb short-wave trough; the formation of an ∼70-km diameter, terrain-induced mesoscale vortex (the Denver Cyclone) and its associated baroclinic zone; the presence of a stationary low-level convergence boundary; and the presence of low-level azimuthal sheer maxima (misovortices) along the boundary.

Vorticity budget terms are calculated in the lowest 2 km AGL using a multiple-Doppler radar analysis. These terms and their spatial distributions are compared with observations of mesocyclone-associated supercell tornadoes. Results show that vorticity associated with the 2 July nonsupercell tornado was generated in a more complicated manner than that proposed by previous nonsupercell tornadogenesis theory. In particular, tilting of baroclinically generated streamwise horizontal vorticity into the vertical was important for the formation of low-level rotation, in a manner similar to that previously proposed for supercell tornadic storms.

Abstract

The design, construction, and first results are presented of a 915-MHz Doppler wind profiler that may be mounted on a moving platform such as a mobile land vehicle, ocean buoy, or a ship. The long dwell times in multiple beam directions, required for the detection of weak atmospheric radar echoes, are obtained by a passive phased array antenna, controlled by a motion control and monitoring (MCM) computer that acquires platform motion measurements and compensates in real time for the platform rotations. The platform translational velocities are accounted for in the signal processing system (SPS) before the calculation of the wind velocity profiles. The phased array antenna, MCM, and SPS are described, and radar-derived wind profiles are compared with those from rawinsonde balloons released during the first test cruise of the system, as the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown performed ship maneuvers.

Abstract

Winds measured with 915- and 404-MHz wind profilers are frequently found to have nonrandom errors as large as 15 m s⁻¹ when compared to simultaneously measured rawinsonde winds. Detailed studies of these errors which occur only at night below about 4 km in altitude and have a pronounced seasonal pattern, indicate that they are due to the wind profilers' detection of migrating songbirds (passerines). Characteristics of contaminated data at various stages of data processing are described, including raw time series, individual spectra, averaged spectra, 30- or 60-s moments, 3- or 6-min winds, and hourly averaged winds. An automated technique for the rejection of contaminated data in historical datasets, based on thresholding high values of rnoment-level reflectivity and spectral width, is shown to be effective. Techniques designed for future wind profiter data acquisition systems are described that show promise for rejecting bird echoes, with the additional capability of being able to retrieve the true wind velocity in many instances. Finally, characteristics of bird migration revealed by wind profilers are described, including statistics of the spring (March–May) 1993 migration season determined from the 404-MHz Wind Profiler Demonstration Network (WPDN). During that time, contamination of moment data occurred on 43% of the nights monitored.

Abstract

The Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) was conducted during summer and early autumn 2014, providing a detailed view of the seasonal transition from ice melt into freeze-up. Measurements were taken over both ice-free and ice-covered surfaces near the ice edge, offering insight into the role of the surface state in shaping the atmospheric conditions. The initiation of the autumn freeze-up was related to a change in air mass, rather than to changes in solar radiation alone; the lower atmosphere cooled abruptly, leading to a surface heat loss. During melt season, strong surface inversions persisted over the ice, while elevated inversions were more frequent over open water. These differences disappeared during autumn freeze-up, when elevated inversions persisted over both ice-free and ice-covered conditions. These results are in contrast to previous studies that found a well-mixed boundary layer persisting in summer and an increased frequency of surface-based inversions in autumn, suggesting that knowledge derived from measurements taken within the pan-Arctic area and on the central ice pack does not necessarily apply closer to the ice edge. This study offers an insight into the atmospheric processes that occur during a crucial period of the year; understanding and accurately modeling these processes is essential for the improvement of ice-extent predictions and future Arctic climate projections.

Abstract

Providing advance warning for impending severe convective weather events (i.e., tornadoes, hail, wind) fundamentally requires an ability to predict and/or detect these hazards and subsequently communicate their potential threat in real time. The National Weather Service (NWS) provides advance warning for severe convective weather through the issuance of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings, a system that has remained relatively unchanged for approximately the past 65 years. Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats (FACETs) proposes a reinvention of this system, transitioning from a deterministic product-centric paradigm to one based on probabilistic hazard information (PHI) for hazardous weather events. Four years of iterative development and rapid prototyping in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) with NWS forecasters and partners has yielded insights into this new paradigm by discovering efficient ways to generate, inform, and utilize a continuous flow of information through the development of a human–machine mix. Forecasters conditionally used automated object-based guidance within four levels of automation to issue deterministic products containing PHI. Forecasters accomplished this task in a timely manner while focusing on communication and conveying forecast confidence, elements considered necessary by emergency managers. Observed annual increases in the usage of first-guess probabilistic guidance by forecasters were related to improvements made to the prototyped software, guidance, and techniques. However, increasing usage of automation requires improvements in guidance, data integration, and data visualization to garner trust more effectively. Additional opportunities exist to address limitations in procedures for motion derivation and geospatial mapping of subjective probability.

Abstract

The Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) experiment was conducted from Guam (13.5°N, 144.8°E) during January–February 2014. Using the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft, the experiment investigated the photochemical environment over the tropical western Pacific (TWP) warm pool, a region of massive deep convection and the major pathway for air to enter the stratosphere during Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter. The new observations provide a wealth of information for quantifying the influence of convection on the vertical distributions of active species. The airborne in situ measurements up to 15-km altitude fill a significant gap by characterizing the abundance and altitude variation of a wide suite of trace gases. These measurements, together with observations of dynamical and microphysical parameters, provide significant new data for constraining and evaluating global chemistry–climate models. Measurements include precursor and product gas species of reactive halogen compounds that impact ozone in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere. High-accuracy, in situ measurements of ozone obtained during CONTRAST quantify ozone concentration profiles in the upper troposphere, where previous observations from balloonborne ozonesondes were often near or below the limit of detection. CONTRAST was one of the three coordinated experiments to observe the TWP during January–February 2014. Together, CONTRAST, Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX), and Coordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST), using complementary capabilities of the three aircraft platforms as well as ground-based instrumentation, provide a comprehensive quantification of the regional distribution and vertical structure of natural and pollutant trace gases in the TWP during NH winter, from the oceanic boundary to the lower stratosphere.

Abstract

Coastal regions have historically represented a significant challenge for air quality investigations because of water–land boundary transition characteristics and a paucity of measurements available over water. Prior studies have identified the formation of high levels of ozone over water bodies, such as the Chesapeake Bay, that can potentially recirculate back over land to significantly impact populated areas. Earth-observing satellites and forecast models face challenges in capturing the coastal transition zone where small-scale meteorological dynamics are complex and large changes in pollutants can occur on very short spatial and temporal scales. An observation strategy is presented to synchronously measure pollutants “over land” and “over water” to provide a more complete picture of chemical gradients across coastal boundaries for both the needs of state and local environmental management and new remote sensing platforms. Intensive vertical profile information from ozone lidar systems and ozonesondes, obtained at two main sites, one over land and the other over water, are complemented by remote sensing and in situ observations of air quality from ground-based, airborne (both personned and unpersonned), and shipborne platforms. These observations, coupled with reliable chemical transport simulations, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC), are expected to lead to a more fully characterized and complete land–water interaction observing system that can be used to assess future geostationary air quality instruments, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO), and current low-Earth-orbiting satellites, such as the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5-P) with its Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).

Abstract

Forecasts by mid-2015 for a strong El Niño during winter 2015/16 presented an exceptional scientific opportunity to accelerate advances in understanding and predictions of an extreme climate event and its impacts while the event was ongoing. Seizing this opportunity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated an El Niño Rapid Response (ENRR), conducting the first field campaign to obtain intensive atmospheric observations over the tropical Pacific during El Niño.

The overarching ENRR goal was to determine the atmospheric response to El Niño and the implications for predicting extratropical storms and U.S. West Coast rainfall. The field campaign observations extended from the central tropical Pacific to the West Coast, with a primary focus on the initial tropical atmospheric response that links El Niño to its global impacts. NOAA deployed its Gulfstream-IV (G-IV) aircraft to obtain observations around organized tropical convection and poleward convective outflow near the heart of El Niño. Additional tropical Pacific observations were obtained by radiosondes launched from Kiritimati , Kiribati, and the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown, and in the eastern North Pacific by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global Hawk unmanned aerial system. These observations were all transmitted in real time for use in operational prediction models. An X-band radar installed in Santa Clara, California, helped characterize precipitation distributions. This suite supported an end-to-end capability extending from tropical Pacific processes to West Coast impacts. The ENRR observations were used during the event in operational predictions. They now provide an unprecedented dataset for further research to improve understanding and predictions of El Niño and its impacts.

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission and a summary of selected scientific findings to date. ATom was an airborne measurements and modeling campaign aimed at characterizing the composition and chemistry of the troposphere over the most remote regions of the Pacific, Southern, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans, and examining the impact of anthropogenic and natural emissions on a global scale. These remote regions dominate global chemical reactivity and are exceptionally important for global air quality and climate. ATom data provide the in situ measurements needed to understand the range of chemical species and their reactions, and to test satellite remote sensing observations and global models over large regions of the remote atmosphere. Lack of data in these regions, particularly over the oceans, has limited our understanding of how atmospheric composition is changing in response to shifting anthropogenic emissions and physical climate change. ATom was designed as a global-scale tomographic sampling mission with extensive geographic and seasonal coverage, tropospheric vertical profiling, and detailed speciation of reactive compounds and pollution tracers. ATom flew the NASA DC-8 research aircraft over four seasons to collect a comprehensive suite of measurements of gases, aerosols, and radical species from the remote troposphere and lower stratosphere on four global circuits from 2016 to 2018. Flights maintained near-continuous vertical profiling of 0.15–13-km altitudes on long meridional transects of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. Analysis and modeling of ATom data have led to the significant early findings highlighted here.