Boundary Layer Profiling Modules: Instruments and Data Products to Support the ARM Megasite at Southern Great Plains
Authors
Jennifer M. Comstock — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Laura Dian Riihimaki — CIRES | NOAA ESRL GML
William I. Gustafson — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Justin Monroe — University of Oklahoma
David D. Turner — NOAA- Global Systems Laboratory
Maria Paola Cadeddu — Argonne National Laboratory
Rob K Newsom — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
James H. Mather — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Category
ARM next generation – Megasite and LES activities
Description
Locations of SGP Extended Facilities (EFs) and Intermediate Facilities (IFs) where the boundary layer profiling modules and radar wind profilers will be located, respectively.
The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Decadal Vision outlines plans to establish observation-modeling megasites at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) and North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites. At the SGP site, a network of instruments surrounding the Central Facility (CF) are planned to enhance spatial information that will be used to support the routine high-resolution modeling project called LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation Workflow (LASSO).
The ARM program is installing 4 boundary layer profiling modules at extended facilities (EFs) located ~40 km away from the SGP-CF. Each profiling module will have a suite of instruments for measuring land and atmospheric characteristics from the surface to the top of the boundary layer. Each module will contain an infrared spectral interferometer, Doppler wind lidar, and a 3-channel microwave radiometer. These instruments will enable the retrieval of vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and winds at each location. Atmospheric radiometric, meteorological, surface fluxes, and soil moisture and temperature measurements at the surface will complement these profiling instruments. In addition, there are currently 3 radar wind profilers located at the Intermediate Facilities (IFs) ~15 km away from the SGP-CF to help augment the wind measurements.
This poster will present the ARM programs plan and progress toward developing measurement uncertainty, data quality assessments, and advanced data products for the profiling instruments.
