Mesonet Observations during the UNSTABLE 2008 Pilot David Sills 1 , Neil Taylor 2 , Craig Smith 3 , Geoff Strong 4 and John Hanesiak 5 1 Cloud Physics and Severe Weather Research Section, Environment Canada, Toronto, ON 2 Hydrometeorology and Arctic Lab, Environment Canada, Edmonton, AB 3 Climate Research Division, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, SK 4 University of Alberta (Adjunct), Edmonton, AB 5 University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB 2009 CMOS Congress 31 May – 4 June, Halifax, NS
22
Embed
Mesonet Observations during the UNSTABLE 2008 Pilot
Mesonet Observations during the UNSTABLE 2008 Pilot. David Sills 1 , Neil Taylor 2 , Craig Smith 3 , Geoff Strong 4 and John Hanesiak 5 1 Cloud Physics and Severe Weather Research Section, Environment Canada, Toronto, ON 2 Hydrometeorology and Arctic Lab, Environment Canada, Edmonton, AB - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Mesonet Observations during the UNSTABLE 2008 Pilot
David Sills1, Neil Taylor2, Craig Smith3,
Geoff Strong4 and John Hanesiak5
1Cloud Physics and Severe Weather Research Section, Environment Canada, Toronto, ON2Hydrometeorology and Arctic Lab, Environment Canada, Edmonton, AB3Climate Research Division, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, SK4University of Alberta (Adjunct), Edmonton, AB5University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
2009 CMOS Congress31 May – 4 June, Halifax, NS
Outline
• Mesonet Rationale• Instrument details• Observation Period and
Methodology• Data Status• Preliminary Analysis
– Fixed mesonet data– Mobile mesonet data
• Plans for Full Experiment• Summary
Rationale• Various severe weather studies have stressed the importance
of mesoscale convergence boundaries and boundary-layer water vapour in thunderstorm development
• Such boundaries and boundary-layer processes cannot be adequately resolved using existing synoptic-scale surface and upper-air observation networks on the Canadian Prairies
• Surface mesonet with high spatial (~10 km) and temporal (2 s to 1 min) resolution need to resolve important boundary-layer processes important for convective initiation and severe storm development
• Mobile observations needed to measure gradients and fill holes in / across mesonet on an ‘as-needed’ basis
Observation PeriodsUNSTABLE Study Period• Fixed mesonet stations
and other selected fixed instrumentation from 1 June to 31 August
Intensive Observation Period (IOP)
• 9-23 July 2008• Mobile platforms in full
operation
Mesonet - Fixed Platforms3 x EC/CRD FOPEX Stations
1 min T, Td, P, wind, pcpn
1 min FastT, FastTd, P, 10m wind, pcpn, deltaT, insolation
FOPEX = Foothills Orographic
Precipitation Experiment
5 x EC/MRD ATMOS StationsATMOS = Automated Transportable