Description (optional)
ABSTRACT:The Convective Gravity Waves in the Stratosphere (CGWaveS) field campaign recently took place 20
May to 14 June 2025, utilizing the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft to observe GWs, in situ
and remotely, generated by intense midwestern convection at night. The NSF/NCAR GV was
instrumented with vertical and vertical-forward-looking lidars sensing temperatures from z ~ 25 - 65 km
and sodium densities and winds in the sodium layer from z ~ 70 - 95 km. Additionally, three OH
layer imagers were deployed to observe GWs present in the OH layer at z ~ 87 km, providing 2-D
GW observations from an ~900 km cross-track swath. Ninety hours over 13 flights were flown,
traveling ~44,500 miles while sampling primarily radially from organized convection over much of the
contiguous US. Here, preliminary results from research flights with observations to the west of the
convective systems are highlighted. Linear theory and parameterizations predict convection-generated,
westward-propagating GWs in these regions should encounter critical levels and dissipate in the
summertime stratospheric easterlies. The zenith-pointing Rayleigh lidar observed these waves in the
relevant altitudes, with shorter vertical wavelengths west of the convection compared to east, consistent
with theory and parameterizations. Four-dimensional context is provided via deep (top at z ~ 80 km)
WRF simulations of the observed events, forced by diabatic heatings predicted from a neural network
using weather radar observations at input.
Estimated # of Sessions/Classes (if applicable)
1Estimated # of Participants (if applicable)
52| Period | Nov 6 2025 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Mesoscale & Microscale Meteorology Lab |