Research News
Leading FRONT-PORCH 2014: Front Range Observational Network Testbed - Precipitation Observations and Research on Convection and Hydrometeorology
The FRONT-PORCH experiment is an investigation of meteorological and hydrological processes that are important to accurately predict the timing, location and intensity of orographic and convective precipitation and its hydrological response in complex terrain.The experiment will provide critical insight into a comprehensive range of processes contributing to convective and orographic precipitation over the mountains, foothills and plains in the FRONT domain.<<click here>>.
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Participating in ASCII 2012: AgI Seeding of Clouds Impact Investigation experiment
The AgI Seeding Cloud Impact Investigation (ASCII) field campaign is designed within the context of the Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project (WWMPP). ASCII will target the Sierra Madre, a NW-SE oriented continental divide mountain range in southern Wyoming. ASCII focuses on studying the cloud microphysical effect of glaciogenic seeding using 3 AgI generators in the Sierra Madre. ASCII will target the Sierra Madre under low-level flow from 225-270°, which provides a longer, rather unobstructed upwind fetch and a higher climatological probability of being able to sample enough “good” cases.<<click here>>.
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Testing remote sensing instruments for wind farm applications
When monitoring winds and atmospheric stability for wind energy applications, remote sensing instruments present some advantages to in-situ instrumentation such as larger vertical extent, in some cases easy installation and maintenance, measurements of vertical humidity profiles throughout the boundary layer, and no restrictions on prevailing wind directions. We compare remote sensing devices, Windcube lidar and microwave radiometer, to meteorological in-situ tower measurements (NWTC M2 tower) to demonstrate the accuracy of these measurements and to assess the utility of the remote sensing instruments in overcoming tower limitations. .<<click here>>.
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ATOC/CU participation in VORTEX2 has been funded
NSF-PDM is recommending support for the proposal on "Analysis and observations of particle size distribution in supercell thunderstorms". The goal is to i) deploy mobile disdrometers within supercell thunderstorms during VORTEX2 in 2010, ii) conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine microphysical characteristics in thunderstorms by combining disdrometer and high-resolution polarimetric Doppler radar observations. Visit the VORTEX2 blog and the research page <<click here>>.
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NSF grant received for precipitation climatology in the Alps
A 10-yr (1999-2009) climatology of precipitation will be developed based on high-quality radar measurements over an area within the European Alps. We propose to i) analyze the characteristics and four-dimensional structure of precipitation, ii) determine the role of synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation and upstream conditions on various time and space scales. For more information <<click here>>.
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ATOC/CU leading role in preparing the U.S. HyMeX participation
The upcoming field campaign of the international program HyMeX (Hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment; http://www.hymex.org/) in the fall of 2012 will attempt to obtain information on the most extensive-to-date range of processes contributing to heavy precipitation events (HPEs) over the orography of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea Basin. The U.S. HyMeX participation consists of over 15 scientists from various research centers and. Major NSF research facilities are requested (e.g., the NRL-P3 ELDORA, mobile polarimetric radars) in order to address the U.S. research objectives. For more information <<<click here>>>.
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Installing rain instruments in the skywatch lab almost completed
The installation of a laboratory to measure some fundamental parameters for understanding radiative processes in the Earth’s atmosphere and to measure key elements of the hydrological cycle has been completed. The instruments and the data acquired will be applied to undergraduate curricula in ATOC. Please visit the Skywatch Laboratory and learn more about the instruments (e.g., Disdrometer).