UTLS - Science - START-08 Campaign

START-08

21 April - 28 June 2008

To join the email group, send an e-mail to: start_all-subscribe@mailman.acd.ucar.edu

Principal Investigators

Elliot Atlas
305.421.4128
Univ. of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149

Ken Bowman
979.862.4060
Texas A&M
3150 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3150

Laura Pan
303.497.1467
NCAR-TIIMES-ACD
P.O. Box 3000, FL0-2160, Boulder, CO 80307

Co-Investigators

Linnea Avallone

Univ. of Colorado

Teresa Campos
NCAR

James Elkins
NOAA

Frank Flocke

NCAR

Andy Heymsfield

NCAR

Dale Hurst

CIRES

Fred Moore
CIRES

Bill Randel
NCAR

Brian Ridley
NCAR

Sue Schauffler
NCAR

Britton Stephens
NCAR

Simone Tilmes
NCAR

Andy Weinheimer

NCAR

Steve Wofsy

Harvard

Fuqing Zhang

Texas A&M

Field Campaign Summary & Data

UTLS: START-08 campaign

21 April 2008 - 28 June 2008

Research Flights data plots

  - 2-D plots
  - 3-D interactive plots (IDL)
  - Data from flights over: Colorado, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, Hudson Bay,
      Gulf of Mexico, Central United States
  - Time Lapse Flight video from wing-pod camera
  - Google Earth flight path

The Stratosphere-Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport (START-08) campaign to study the transport characteristics of the ExUTLS region is officially underway. This study will incorporate data taken from instrumentation aboard the NSF-NCAR Gulfstream V, satellite imaging, and from various model simulations.

START-08 will take advantage of the capabilities of the GV (ideal altitude and range for sampling the ExUTLS) and set the stage for more complex and comprehensive field studies of UTLS chemistry and microphysics currently in the planning stages. 

The science focus will be on the characterization of the structure and major transport processes of the extratropical UTLS and on chemical distributions and relationships in that region.  In situ measurements of meteorological parameters, trace species, and microphysical properties will be used in combination with model simulations of regional dynamics to trace the history of the air found in this region and to better understand the transport boundary between the UT and LS.  Since transport processes dominate the chemical distributions and microphysical conditions in the UTLS, START08 will improve understanding chemistry and microphysics in this region by developing effective observational and modeling tools for characterizing major transport influences.

START-08 Field Catalog

Missions, mission reports, satellite imagery, flight plans, model forecasts, and more

Campaign Specifics

Schedule, Instrumentation, layout diagram, flight operations, data management, and more

Additional START-08 Information:
TIIMES
ACD
EOL

Additional News Coverage:
Regional and Pole-to-Pole In-situ Airborne Sampling of Greenhouse Gases (NOAA Global Monitoring Division - ESRL-GMD - 1 May 2008)

START08 & preHIPPO Field Campaign Workshop

8 - 9 January 2008
Workshop Information

Overview:

Figure 1 . This schematic highlights the important processes coupling dynamics, chemistry, and cloud microphysics in the UTLS region. The green line denotes the time average tropopause. The gray line illustrates synoptic scale processes that contribute to stratosphere-troposphere two-way exchange, such as frontal lifting, tropopause folds, and intrusions. In addition, convection brings near-surface pollutants into the upper troposphere, strongly influencing global-scale chemistry. Major transport pathways are indicated by bold arrows. The yellow arrow indicates the dynamical coupling of the tropical UT and extratropical LS by large-scale wave activities. The blue arrow shows the stratospheric intrusions into troposphere near the jet streams. The red arrow represents the upward transport by frontal lifting along the warm conveyor belts. The white cloud represents the convective transport. In addition, large scale stratospheric circulation contributes to the downward transport.

Mission Outline

We propose a field experiment, Stratosphere- Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport (START-08), for the Spring 2008 time period, to study the transport characteristics of the ExUTLS region.  START08 will take advantage of the capabilities of HIAPER (ideal altitude and range for sampling the ExUTLS, as demonstrated in Figure 1) and set the stage for more complex and comprehensive field studies of UTLS chemistry and microphysics currently in the planning stages. 

Figure 2. Ozonesonde climatology for May based on Fortuin and Kelder [1998]. White contours are zonal wind from NCEP indicting the position of the subtropical jet. This figure, complementing Figure 4, shows that the ozone distribution in UTLS is significantly influenced by the major transport pathways.

The science focus will be on the characterization of the structure and major transport processes of the extratropical UTLS and on chemical distributions and relationships in that region.  In situ measurements of meteorological parameters, trace species, and microphysical properties will be used in combination with model simulations of regional dynamics to trace the history of the air found in this region and to better understand the transport boundary between the UT and LS.  Since transport processes dominate the chemical distributions and microphysical conditions in the UTLS, START08 will improve understanding chemistry and microphysics in this region by developing effective observational and modeling tools for characterizing major transport influences.