Utilization of the UAH Mobile Integrated Profiling System to Characterize Boundaries and Adjacent Boundary Layer Properties Associated with Convective Initiation during IHOP 2002

University Of Alabama In Huntsville, Huntsville AL

Investigators

Abstract

This project involves participation in the International H20 Project (IHOP) field program. The IHOP is a large multi-agency, multi-investigator project that focuses on the measurement of water vapor and water vapor variability. The goal of this project is to improve understanding of convective initiation, increase short-term precipitation forecast skills and test the capabilities of various instruments to measure the four dimensional characteristics of water vapor. The Principal Investigator will utilize an advanced instrument known as the Mobile Integrated Profiling System (MIPS) as part of an extensive ensemble of mobile ground-based instrumentation. The MIPS capabilities include vertical profile measurements of wind, vertical motion, temperature, virtual temperature, cloud properties, boundary layer characteristics, and water vapor. The principal objectives of the Principal Investigator are to advance understanding of convective initiation and its dependence on characteristics of boundaries and the adjacent atmospheric boundary layer. In addition to participating in experiments on convective initiation, the Principal Investigator also will use the MIPS to collect data important to the success of other IHOP researchers. Finally, the Principal Investigator will conduct thorough comparisons of the MIPS 12-channel passive microwave profiling radiometer with other remote sensing devices and in situ soundings.