HUMEX-I

Horizontal inhomogeneities in the vertical profile of water vapor field are very difficult to measure, yet are hypothesized to be extremely important for a wide variety of boundary layer processes such as convective initiation. This experiment deployed two Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometers at the SGP site at two of the three X-band radar sites for an extended period of time to help characterize the horizontal inhomogeneities in the water vapor field over the SGP domain. This experiment complements the Humidty Experiment – Microwave (HUMEX-M, proposed by Dr. Steven Reising), which deployed some low-cost compact microwave radiometers between the X-band radar sites. Together, the combined AERI and MWR dataset (together with GSP data and the advanced profilers at the SGP Central Facility) was used to test various observational strategies (e.g., scanning patterns) and retrieval methodologies (e.g., tomography) to develop 3-dimensional maps of water vapor data. These data were used to characterize the vertical and horizontal distribution of water vapor in the boundary layer, especially for pre-convective environments so that we can better understand the connection between inhomogeneities in the water vapor field and convective initiation.

Timeline