Infrastructure and domain changes at the SGP

Poster PDF

Description

Significant changes are underway at the SGP that will continue through the next year. The combined effects of budgetary constraints, the influx of significant American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) money, and changing scientific requirements have all shaped these changes. The most notable is a reduction in the SGP domain that will be routinely serviced. It will go from the original 56,000 square miles down to an estimated 10,000 square miles (approximately 150 km x 150 km). The size of the reduced SGP domain was chosen as representative of a modern climate model grid cell, the same criteria used to establish the original SGP domain nearly 20 years ago. This service domain change will produce a notable reduction in operational costs that were associated with servicing the very remote and widely spaced sites. At the same time ARRA money has been designated for the installation of new surface characterization sites (i.e., new EFs) within this reduced domain. This will produce a much more dense network than the original domain (nearly as many EF sites within an area one-fifth the size), providing much better sub-grid surface characterization. ARRA money has also been made available for significant infrastructure and capital improvements at the SGP. Five new radar systems will be installed, including a dual-frequency scanning cloud radar and three X-band and one C-band precipitation radars. Combined with existing SGP instrumentation, these new systems will provide unique 3- and 4-dimensional data sets for cloud and atmospheric process studies and model validation. Other improvements at the SGP include new offices, an expanded electronics repair lab, and increased shipping and receiving storage.