EAGER: A Closure Experiment for Radiative Boundary Layers

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

High latitude regions, such as Alaska, have unique meteorological conditions in the winter which are driven by the lack of sunlight. The atmospheric structure in these high latitude regions often contain inversions, which are layers of the atmosphere where the temperature increases with height. Inversions can effectively “trap” air, allowing it to become stagnant with decreased air quality. In this project, the researchers will deploy a number of instruments in the Fairbanks, Alaska region to study these inversions. The societal impact of the work relates to the long-term goal of improving model representation of weather conditions that are important to understanding and forecasting air pollution events, a significant health hazard. This award is for the development of a new experimental approach to characterizing the dynamic, radiative, and turbulent aspects of the atmospheric boundary layer structure in extreme high-latitude winter conditions. The project focuses on the buildup and breakup of shallow-stratified surface-based temperature inversions (SBIs) during anticyclone synoptic conditions and the radiative coupling and feedback processes between SBI and elevated temperature inversion layers (EI). The experiment will be integrated with the Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) field campaign in early 2022. The researchers will deploy microwave radiometer and lidar profilers, unmanned aircraft systems, and scintillometers in the Fairbanks area to provide data that will be used to advance capabilities to model atmospheric boundary layer physical properties critical to assessing the chemical transformation of gases and particulate matter under stagnant, winter conditions in Alaska. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.