TRACER-CUBIC

In tandem with the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER), the Coastal Urban Boundary-layer Interactions with Convection (CUBIC) team will deploy three state-of-the-art mobile boundary-layer profilers in the greater Houston area. These platforms include Doppler wind lidars, thermodynamic profilers, and surface meteorological stations, and are capable of collecting continuous observations of boundary-layer wind, temperature, and humidity profiles. These observations can provide information about boundary-layer mixing, turbulence, and aerosols. These data, supplemented by mesoscale numerical weather prediction simulations, will allow us to address specific research questions about cloud formation and convection initiation in coastal, urban environments. We are particularly interested in developing new understanding of the interaction of urban circulations and sea-breezes and the processes that lead to the development of storms in densely populated coastal regions. 

Timeline