15 July 2022, Munchak
TRACER
Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER)
1 October 2021 - 30 September 2022
Lead Scientist: Michael Jensen
Observatory: amf, hou
During the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER), scientists will use the first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1), the second-generation C-Band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (CSAPR2), and a small satellite (ancillary) site with radiosonde and aerosol measurements to learn more about cloud and aerosol interactions in the deep convection over the Houston, Texas, 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.
The TRACER campaign has been postponed from its originally planned dates due to COVID-19 risks associated with the earlier dates. The revised dates for TRACER are October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.
TRACER also will include a four-month intensive operational period (IOP). A climatological analysis of radar observations from the Houston/Galveston-area NEXRAD (KHGX) shows 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. To capture these events, the TRACER IOP will run from June 1 to September 30, 2022.
With this single IOP during the convective season of 2022, this effectively postpones the original TRACER IOP by one year.
The TRACER campaign consists of three primary sites operated by ARM:
- the AMF1 main site (M1) in La Porte, Texas, an area that experiences significant polluted conditions
- the ancillary site (S3) to the southwest of downtown Houston in a rural region with less pollution
- the CSAPR2 site (S2) located approximately midway between the AMF1 and ancillary sites.
The main and CSAPR2 sites will operate during the entire TRACER campaign, while the ancillary site will only operate during the IOP. Operation dates for the three primary sites are as follows:
- Main (M1): October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022
- CSAPR2 (S2): October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022
- Ancillary (S3): June 1 to September 30, 2022.
During the IOP, ARM will host many guest experiments and interagency collaborations at the TRACER sites. All three primary sites will host guest experiments, but most will be at the main site.
In addition, during the 2022 IOP, ARM is planning tethered balloon system (TBS) flights at the ancillary site and a secondary site at Smith Point, Texas, on the eastern shore of Galveston Bay that will be strongly influenced by the bay breeze circulation.
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 |
Timeline
- Child Campaign
Related Publications
2022
Wang D, M Jensen, D Taylor, G Kowalski, M Hogan, B Wittemann, A Rakotoarivony, S Giangrande, and J Park. 2022. "Linking synoptic patterns to cloud properties and local circulations over southeastern Texas." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127(5), e2021JD035920, 10.1029/2021JD035920.
Research Highlight
Jensen MP, JH Flynn, LM Judd, P Kollias, C Kuang, G McFarquhar, R Nadkarni, H Powers, and J Sullivan. 2022. "A Succession of Cloud, Precipitation, Aerosol and Air Quality Field Experiments in the Coastal Urban Environment." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 103(2), 10.1175/BAMS-D-21-0104.1.
Dorsey K, C Ireland, R Jundt, B Mundy, and R Stafford. 2022. 2021 Annual Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM User Facility. doe-sc-arm-21-023. 10.2172/1843842.
2021
Verde R. 2021. Regimento e Estatuto da Revista Verde. Ed. by Programa Escola Verde, Programa Escola Verde. 10.2172/1833860.
Theisen A, A Lindenmaier, J Mather, J Comstock, S Collis, and S Giangrande. 2021. ARM FY2021 Radar Plan. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-269. 10.2172/1777148.
Fridlind A, C Chiu, S Collis, J Comstock, S Giangrande, N Hickmon, M Jensen, M Kumjian, P Muradyan, R Newsom, A Sockol, M Sturm, and A Theisen. 2021. ARM Cloud and Precipitation Measurements and Science Group (CPMSG) Workshop Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-21-005.
2020
Mei F, D Dexheimer, J Fast, M Diao, B Geerts, A Bucholtz, L Riihimaki, C Flynn, T Thornberry, T Campos, S Springston, C Kuang, J Tomlinson, and B Schmid. 2020. ARM Aerial Instrument Workshop Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-20-010.
2019
Dorsey K. 2019. Tracking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment. Ed. by Rolanda Jundt, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-19-024. 10.2172/1570965.
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.
Fridlind A, M van Lier-Walqui, S Collis, S Giangrande, R Jackson, X Li, T Matsui, R Orville, M Picel, D Rosenfeld, A Ryzhkov, R Weitz, and P Zhang. 2019. "Use of polarimetric radar measurements to constrain simulated convective cell evolution: A pilot study with Lagrangian tracking." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12(6), doi:10.5194/amt-12-2979-2019.
Research Highlight
View All Related Publications
Campaign Data Sets
| IOP Participant | Data Source Name | Final Data |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Young | Soil Moisture Sensor and Meteorological Station | Order Data |
HOU Data Sources
| Name | Full Name | Browse Data |
|---|---|---|
ACSM |
Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor | Browse Data |
ACSMCDCE |
ACSM, corrected for composition-dependent collection efficiency | Browse Data |
AERI |
Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer | Browse Data |
AETH |
Aethalometer | Browse Data |
AOS |
Aerosol Observing System | Browse Data |
AOSMET |
Meteorological Measurements associated with the Aerosol Observing System | Browse Data |
APS |
Aerodynamic Particle Sizer | Browse Data |
CAMSITE |
camera that monitors a site area | Browse Data |
CCN |
Cloud Condensation Nuclei Particle Counter | Browse Data |
CEIL |
Ceilometer | Browse Data |
CO-ANALYZER |
Carbon Monoxide Analyzer | Browse Data |
CPC |
Condensation Particle Counter | Browse Data |
CSPHOT |
Sunphotometer | Browse Data |
DL |
Doppler Lidar | Browse Data |
ECOR |
Eddy Correlation Flux Measurement System | Browse Data |
GNDRAD |
Ground Radiometers on Stand for Upwelling Radiation | Browse Data |
HTDMA |
Humidified Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer | Browse Data |
INTERPSONDE |
Interpolated Sonde | Browse Data |
IRT |
Infrared Thermometer | Browse Data |
KAZR |
Ka ARM Zenith Radar | Browse Data |
KAZRARSCL |
Active Remote Sensing of CLouds (ARSCL) product using Ka-band ARM Zenith Radars | Browse Data |
KAZRCFRCOR |
Ka-Band ARM Zenith RADAR (KAZR) CF-Radial, Corrected VAP | Browse Data |
LDIS |
Laser Disdrometer | Browse Data |
LDQUANTS |
Laser Disdrometer Quantities | Browse Data |
MAWS |
Automatic Weather Station | Browse Data |
MET |
Surface Meteorological Instrumentation | Browse Data |
MFR |
Multifilter Radiometer | Browse Data |
MFRSR |
Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer | Browse Data |
MFRSRLANG |
MFRSR Langley analyses and plots | Browse Data |
MPL |
Micropulse Lidar | Browse Data |
MPLCMASK |
Cloud mask from Micropulse Lidar | Browse Data |
MWR |
Microwave Radiometer | Browse Data |
MWR3C |
Microwave Radiometer, 3 Channel | Browse Data |
MWRHF |
Microwave Radiometer - High Frequency | Browse Data |
NEPHELOMETER |
Nephelometer | Browse Data |
NFOV |
Narrow Field of View Zenith Radiometer | Browse Data |
OPC |
Optical Particle Counter | Browse Data |
OZONE |
Ozone Monitor | Browse Data |
PBLHT |
Planetary Boundary Layer Height | Browse Data |
PSAP |
Particle Soot Absorption Photometer | Browse Data |
RWP |
Radar Wind Profiler | Browse Data |
SASHE |
Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Hemispheric | Browse Data |
SASZE |
Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Zenith | Browse Data |
SEBS |
Surface Energy Balance System | Browse Data |
SFCMETRADAQ-TCEQ |
Meteorology, radiation, and air quality data from TCEQ air quality stations | Browse Data |
SKYRAD |
Sky Radiometers on Stand for Downwelling Radiation | Browse Data |
SMPS |
Scanning mobility particle sizer | Browse Data |
SO2 |
Sulfur Dioxide Monitor | Browse Data |
SONDE |
Balloon-Borne Sounding System | Browse Data |
SONDEGRID |
Gridded Sonde VAP Product | Browse Data |
SONDEPARAM |
convective parameters derived from radiosonde data | Browse Data |
STEREOCAM |
Stereo Cameras for Clouds | Browse Data |
TSI |
Total Sky Imager | Browse Data |
UHSAS |
Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer | Browse Data |
VDIS |
Video Disdrometer | Browse Data |
VDISQUANTS |
Video Disdrometer VAP | Browse Data |
VISST |
Minnis Cloud Products Using Visst Algorithm | Browse Data |
WB |
Weighing Bucket Precipitation Gauge | Browse Data |