TRACER
Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER)
15 April 2021 - 14 April 2022
Lead Scientist: Michael Jensen
Observatory: AMF
During the Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER), scientists will use the first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1), the second generation C-band ARM Scanning Precipitation Radar (CSAPR2), and a small satellite site with radiosonde and aerosol measurements to learn more about cloud and aerosol interactions in the deep convection over the Houston area.
The Houston region offers a unique environment where isolated convective systems are common and experience a spectrum of polluted aerosol conditions from urban and industrial areas. In addition, surrounding areas also show significantly lower background aerosol concentrations.
A climatological analysis of radar observations from the Houston/Galveston area NXRAD (KHGX) show that convective initiation occurs in this area on 40 to 55 percent of the days each month of the year. The total number of convective events is strongly peaked during the months of June through September. An intensive operational period will be held June 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021, to capture these events.
Co-Investigators
| Sarah Brooks | Pavlos Kollias | Rebecca Sheesley |
| Don Collins | Chongai Kuang | Jeffrey Snyder |
| Scott Collis | Matthew Kumjian | Philip Stier |
| Eric Defer | Toshihisa Matsui | Sascha Usenko |
| Jiwen Fan | Greg McFarquhar | Sue van den Heever |
| James Flynn | Chris Nowotarski | Marcus van Lier-Walqui |
| Ann Fridlind | Richard Orville | Adam Varble |
| Scott Giangrande | Mariko Oue | Yuxuan Wang |
| Robert Griffin | Anita Rapp | Renyi Zhang |
| Jiaxi Hu | Daniel Rosenfeld | Guang Zhang |
| Robert Jackson | Alexander Ryzhkov |
Related Publications
2019
Jensen M, E Bruning, D Collins, A Fridlind, P Kollias, C Kuang, D Rosenfeld, A Ryzhkov, A Varble, SD Brooks, S Collis, E Defer, J Fan, J Flynn, S Giangrande, R Griffin, J Hu, R Jackson, M Kumjian, T Logan, T Matsui, G McFarquhar, C Nowotarski, J Quaas, M Oue, R Sheesley, J Snyder, P Stier, S Usenko, S van den Heever, M van Lier Walqui, Y Wang, Y Xu, and G Zhang. 2019. Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) Science Plan. Ed. by Robert Stafford, DOE/SC-ARM-19-017.
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