TY - JOUR
T1 - Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER)
AU - Lappin, Francesca
AU - De Boer, Gijs
AU - Klein, Petra
AU - Hamilton, Jonathan
AU - Spencer, Michelle
AU - Calmer, Radiance
AU - Segales, Antonio R.
AU - Rhodes, Michael
AU - Bell, Tyler M.
AU - Buchli, Justin
AU - Britt, Kelsey
AU - Asher, Elizabeth
AU - Medina, Isaac
AU - Butterworth, Brian
AU - Otterstatter, Leia
AU - Ritsch, Madison
AU - Puxley, Bryony
AU - Miller, Angelina
AU - Jordan, Arianna
AU - Gomez-Faulk, Ceu
AU - Smith, Elizabeth
AU - Borenstein, Steven
AU - Thornberry, Troy
AU - Argrow, Brian
AU - Pillar-Little, Elizabeth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright:
PY - 2024/5/30
Y1 - 2024/5/30
N2 - The main goal of the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) project was to further understand the role that regional circulations and aerosol loading play in the convective cloud life cycle across the greater Houston, Texas, area. To accomplish this goal, the United States Department of Energy and research partners collaborated to deploy atmospheric observing systems across the region. Cloud and precipitation radars, radiosondes, and air quality sensors captured atmospheric and cloud characteristics. A dense lower-atmospheric dataset was developed using ground-based remote sensors, a tethersonde, and uncrewed aerial systems (UASs). TRACER-UAS is a subproject that deployed two UAS platforms to gather high-resolution observations in the lower atmosphere between 1 June and 30 September 2022. The University of Oklahoma CopterSonde and the University of Colorado Boulder RAAVEN (Robust Autonomous Aerial Vehicle - Endurant Nimble) were flown at two coastal locations between the Gulf of Mexico and Houston. The University of Colorado Boulder RAAVEN gathered measurements of atmospheric thermodynamic state, winds and turbulence, and aerosol size distribution. Meanwhile, the University of Oklahoma CopterSonde system operated on a regular basis to resolve the vertical structure of the thermodynamic and kinematic state. Together, a complementary dataset of over 200 flight hours across 61ĝ€¯d was generated, and data from each platform proved to be in strong agreement. In this paper, the platforms and respective data collection and processing are described. The dataset described herein provides information on boundary layer evolution, the sea breeze circulation, conditions prior to and nearby deep convection, and the vertical structure and evolution of aerosols. The quality-controlled TRACER-UAS observations from the CopterSonde and RAAVEN can be found at 10.5439/1969004 (Lappin, 2023) and 10.5439/1985470 (de Boer, 2023), respectively.
AB - The main goal of the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) project was to further understand the role that regional circulations and aerosol loading play in the convective cloud life cycle across the greater Houston, Texas, area. To accomplish this goal, the United States Department of Energy and research partners collaborated to deploy atmospheric observing systems across the region. Cloud and precipitation radars, radiosondes, and air quality sensors captured atmospheric and cloud characteristics. A dense lower-atmospheric dataset was developed using ground-based remote sensors, a tethersonde, and uncrewed aerial systems (UASs). TRACER-UAS is a subproject that deployed two UAS platforms to gather high-resolution observations in the lower atmosphere between 1 June and 30 September 2022. The University of Oklahoma CopterSonde and the University of Colorado Boulder RAAVEN (Robust Autonomous Aerial Vehicle - Endurant Nimble) were flown at two coastal locations between the Gulf of Mexico and Houston. The University of Colorado Boulder RAAVEN gathered measurements of atmospheric thermodynamic state, winds and turbulence, and aerosol size distribution. Meanwhile, the University of Oklahoma CopterSonde system operated on a regular basis to resolve the vertical structure of the thermodynamic and kinematic state. Together, a complementary dataset of over 200 flight hours across 61ĝ€¯d was generated, and data from each platform proved to be in strong agreement. In this paper, the platforms and respective data collection and processing are described. The dataset described herein provides information on boundary layer evolution, the sea breeze circulation, conditions prior to and nearby deep convection, and the vertical structure and evolution of aerosols. The quality-controlled TRACER-UAS observations from the CopterSonde and RAAVEN can be found at 10.5439/1969004 (Lappin, 2023) and 10.5439/1985470 (de Boer, 2023), respectively.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85195086463
U2 - 10.5194/essd-16-2525-2024
DO - 10.5194/essd-16-2525-2024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85195086463
SN - 1866-3508
VL - 16
SP - 2525
EP - 2541
JO - Earth System Science Data
JF - Earth System Science Data
IS - 5
ER -