Scientific Insights from Four Generations of Lagrangian Smart Balloons in Atmospheric Research*

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the trials and successes in the development of an autonomous balloon instrument platform (smart balloon) and reviews scientific insights gained through its employment as a marker in a Lagrangian strategy during recent field experiments. The smart balloons are designed and constructed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Resources Laboratory Field Research Division in collaboration with the University of Hawaii. In a 2004 field deployment a smart balloon carrying a miniature ozone sensor successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Long Island, New York, to the African coast of Morocco. Significant progress has been made through field experiments such as this in our understanding of the relationships between the evolution of marine boundary layers and the chemistry of aerosol and gaseous constituents in clean and polluted air masses. Innovation in design and advances in instrument and communication technology have opened a dramatic new range of applications for the smart balloon in atmospheric research, including, for example, the interesting prospect of making observations very near the ocean surface in hurricanes and typhoons, which are not possible with research aircraft.

Adapted ECC ozonesonde for long-duration flights aboard boundary-layer pressurised balloons

“…A first use of Lagrangian balloons for comparison of turbulence with Eulerian tower-based observations was reported by Gifford (1955). Businger et al (1996Businger et al ( , 2006 have reviewed the use of CVB in atmospheric research since that time and have also discussed their limitations as Lagrangian markers. We only briefly recall different types of use here.…”

The Aeroclipper: A New Device to Explore Convective Systems and Cyclones

“…The main problem, however, remains with the condensation and rain that may quickly and drastically modify the mass, and thus the flight level, of the balloon. On many occasions, the resulting (Businger et al 2006). This is a very promising technique that will most probably become standard for superpressure balloons used to study large-scale dynamics and transport in the tropical boundary layer.…”

“…Correct SST measurements during these skating episodes will, however, be hard to obtain with in situ sensors. The possibility of adding an infrared sensor (as for the new NOAA smart balloons; Businger et al 2006) to remotely retrieve the SST from the atmospheric gondola is under study. The usefulness of other sensors, such as a compass to verify the direction of the relative wind and a telemeter to verify the height of the measurements, will also be tested.…”

“…These tetroons were found to be suitable Lagrangian tracers at a constant level. They were progressively improved (by adding, e.g., a radar transponder) and contributed to new results on turbulence, diffusion, and transport properties, in particular over urban areas (see Businger et al 1996 for a review). Superpressure balloons of various shapes are still used in local field experiments.…”

Observational Strategies from the Micro- to Mesoscale

“…In addition, the logistics associated with conducting a Lagrangian study in the lowest level are simpler (not least of which is the presence of a solid and uniform boundary at the base of the air mass). Although earlier Lagrangian studies involved balloons and tracers, the fi rst multi-fl ight Lagrangian experiments devoted to understanding cloud processes were conducted during the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment/Marine Aerosol and Gas Experiment ( ASTEX/MAGE) in June 1992 (Albrecht et al 1995;Businger et al 2006). Two such studies were carried out, each for a period of 36-48 hours (~800 km of spatial advection).…”