Dropsonde observations during the Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment

Vömel, Holger; Sorooshian, Armin; Robinson, Claire; Shingler, Taylor J.; Thornhill, Kenneth Lee; Ziemba, Luke D.

doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02647-5

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…(2023). This research exclusively utilized the data collected by the HSRL‐2 (Hair et al., 2008) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) nRD41 mini‐sondes (dropsondes) (Vömel et al., 2023) through the Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) by the King Air aircraft. The multi‐wavelength airborne HSRL‐2 provides vertically resolved aerosol properties.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ACTIVATE featured joint flights whereby the highflying NASA LaRC King Air (at an altitude of ∼9 km) was spatially coordinated with the low-flying NASA LaRC HU-25 Falcon (at an altitude <3 km), as outlined in Sorooshian et al (2023). This research exclusively utilized the data collected by the HSRL-2 (Hair et al, 2008) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) nRD41 mini-sondes (dropsondes) (Vömel et al, 2023) through the Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) by the King Air aircraft. The multi-wavelength airborne HSRL-2 provides vertically resolved aerosol properties.…”

Section: Dropsonde and Hsrl-2 Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Boundary Layer Structures Over the Northwest Atlantic Derived From Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and Dropsonde Measurements During the ACTIVATE Campaign

Xu,

Mitchell,

Delgado

et al. 2024

JGR Atmospheres

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The Planetary Boundary Layer height (PBLH) is essential for studying PBL and ocean‐atmosphere interactions. Marine PBL is usually defined to include a mixed layer (ML) and a capping inversion layer. The ML height (MLH) estimated from the measurements of aerosol backscatter by a lidar was usually compared with PBLH determined from radiosondes/dropsondes in the past, as the PBLH is usually similar to MLH in nature. However, PBLH can be much greater than MLH for decoupled PBL. Here we evaluate the retrieved MLH from an airborne lidar (HSRL‐2) by utilizing 506 co‐located dropsondes during the ACTIVATE field campaign over the Northwest Atlantic from 2020 to 2022. First, we define and determine the MLH and PBLH from the temperature and humidity profiles of each dropsonde, and find that the MLH values from HSRL‐2 and dropsondes agree well with each other, with a coefficient of determination of 0.66 and median difference of 18 m. In contrast, the HSRL‐2 MLH data do not correspond to dropsonde‐derived PBLH, with a median difference of −47 m. Therefore, we modify the current operational and automated HSRL‐2 wavelet‐based algorithm for PBLH retrieval, decreasing the median difference significantly to −8 m. Further data analysis indicates that these conclusions remain the same for cases with higher or lower cloud fractions, and for decoupled PBLs. These results demonstrate the potential of using HSRL‐2 aerosol backscatter data to estimate both marine MLH and PBLH and suggest that lidar‐derived MLH should be compared with radiosonde/dropsonde‐determined MLH (not PBLH) in general.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dropsonde and Hsrl-2 Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary Layer Structures Over the Northwest Atlantic Derived From Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and Dropsonde Measurements During the ACTIVATE Campaign

Xu,

Mitchell,

Delgado

et al. 2024

JGR Atmospheres

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“…The NCAR Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System was included on the King Air to acquire dropsonde observations, providing vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, pressure, and horizontal wind components. The dropsondes used here were the NCAR NRD41 "mini-sondes" (Vömel et al, 2021, Vömel et al, 2023.…”

Section: King Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement Report: Cloud and environmental properties associated with aggregated shallow marine cumulus and cumulus congestus

Crosbie,

Ziemba,

Shook

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. Mesoscale organization of marine convective clouds into linear or clustered states is prevalent across the tropical and subtropical oceans and its investigation served as a guiding focus for a series of process study flights, conducted as part of the Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) during summer 2020, 2021 and 2022. These select ACTIVATE flights involved a novel strategy for coordinating two aircraft, with respective remote sensing and in situ sampling payloads, to probe regions of organized shallow convection for several hours. The main purpose of this measurement report is to summarize the aircraft sampling approach, describe the characteristics and evolution of the cases, and provide an overview of the datasets that can serve as a starting point for more detailed modeling and analysis studies. Six flights are described, involving a total of 80 dropsonde profiles that capture the environment surrounding clustered shallow convection together with detailed observations of the vertical structure of cloud systems, comprising up to 20 altitude levels that were sampled in situ. Four cases involved deepening convection rooted in the marine boundary layer that developed vertically to 2–5 km with varying precipitation amounts, while two cases captured more complex and developed cumulus congestus systems extending above 5 km. In addition to the thermodynamic and dynamic characterization afforded by dropsonde and in situ measurements, the datasets include cloud and aerosol microphysics, trace gas concentrations, aerosol and droplet composition, and cloud and aerosol remote sensing from high spectral resolution lidar and polarimetry.

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“…Also from the King Air, we use dropsonde data collected with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS). As summarized by Vömel et al (2023), the dropsondes collected vertically-resolved data below the King Air for relative humidity, static air and dew point temperature, pressure, and wind (u, v, and w components).…”

Section: Instrument Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging Gas and Aerosol Properties between Northeast U.S. and Bermuda: Analysis of Eight Transit Flights

Soloff,

Ajayi,

Choi

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. The western North Atlantic Ocean is strongly influenced by continental outflow, making it an ideal region to study the atmospheric transition from a polluted coastline to the marine environment. Utilizing eight transit flights between NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia and the remote island of Bermuda from NASA’s Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE), we examine the evolution of trace gas and aerosol properties off the U.S. East Coast. The first pair of flights flew along the wind trajectory of continental outflow, while the other flights captured a mix of marine and continental air mass sources. For measurements within the boundary layer (BL), there was an offshore decline in particle N<100 nm, N>100 nm, CH4, CO, and CO2 concentrations, all leveling off around ~900 km offshore from LaRC. These trends are strongest for the first pair of flights. In the BL, offshore declines in organic mass fraction and increases in sulfate mass fraction coincide with increasing hygroscopicity based on f(RH) measurements. Free troposphere measurements show a decline in N<100 nm but other measured parameters are more variable when compared to the prominent offshore gradients seen in the BL. Pollution layers exist in the free troposphere, such as smoke plumes, that can potentially entrain into the BL. This work provides detailed case studies with a broad set of high-resolution measurements to further our understanding of the transition between continental and marine environments.

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Dropsonde observations during the Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Boundary Layer Structures Over the Northwest Atlantic Derived From Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and Dropsonde Measurements During the ACTIVATE Campaign

Boundary Layer Structures Over the Northwest Atlantic Derived From Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and Dropsonde Measurements During the ACTIVATE Campaign

Measurement Report: Cloud and environmental properties associated with aggregated shallow marine cumulus and cumulus congestus

Bridging Gas and Aerosol Properties between Northeast U.S. and Bermuda: Analysis of Eight Transit Flights

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