EPCAPE
Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment
15 February 2023 - 14 February 2024
Lead Scientist: Lynn Russell
Observatory: amf, epc
Coastal cities provide the opportunity to characterize marine clouds and the substantial effects of manmade particles on cloud properties and processes. La Jolla lies to the north of San Diego, California, but it is often about a day downwind of the major pollution sources located in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The large dynamic range of aerosol particle concentrations combined with the multi-hour to multi-day persistence of stratocumulus cloud layers makes the site ideal for investigating the seasonal changes in cloud and aerosol properties as well as the quantitative relationships between cloud and aerosol properties.
The focus of this project is to characterize the extent, radiative properties, aerosol interactions, and precipitation characteristics of stratocumulus clouds in the Eastern Pacific across all four seasons at a coastal location, such as the Scripps Pier and the Scripps Mt. Soledad sites in La Jolla. An important enhancement to this study will be the collection of simultaneous in-cloud aerosol and droplet measurements to investigate the differences in these cloud properties during regional polluted and clean marine conditions. The combined observations will provide an unprecedented set of constraints for the following questions:
- Cloud and aerosol climatology: What are the seasonal and diurnal cycles of marine stratocumulus cloud and aerosol properties on the northeastern Pacific coast?
- Cloud radiative fluxes: How do cloud properties, including the ratio of direct-to-diffuse radiation, change as coastal clouds are advected inland?
- Aerosol-cloud interactions: Will retrieved cloud properties reflect the regional signatures of aerosol?
Each of these questions reflects a topic of current controversy in the literature that cannot be addressed without the type of comprehensive data set proposed here.
The relevance of this campaign to the ARM mission is its strategic location in an accessible and economically important region of the world that lacks long-term observations of its frequent, persistent, and climatically important coastal stratocumulus cloud cover.
The clouds lie in one of the largest regions of upwelling-driven stratocumulus layers that are most likely impacted by aerosol indirect effects, but climate models do not accurately simulate the processes that control their radiative effects. Furthermore, the coastal orography incites significant additional uncertainties related to cloud turbulence, air motion spectrum, and drop size distributions.
Finally, the aerosol in the region ranges from a clean marine background to frequent intrusions from a large and regionally homogeneous, well-characterized, surface‑based pollution source (the Los Angeles-Long Beach urban port megacity), providing a large dynamic range of aerosol conditions for investigation.
Co-Investigators
Andrew Ackerman | Edwin Eloranta | Johannes Muelmenstaedt |
Allison Aiken | Ann Fridlind | Markus Petters |
Susannah Burrows | Dan Lubin | Israel Silber |
Rachel Chang | Mark Miller | Die Wang |
Timeline
- Child Campaign
Related Publications
2022
Giangrande S, J Comstock, S Collis, J Shilling, K Gaustad, K Kehoe, S Xie, and D Zhang. 2022. Translator Plan: A Coordinated Vision for Fiscal Years 2023-2025. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-22-003. 10.2172/1893730.
View All Related Publications
EPC 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 |
AOP |
Aerosol Optical Properties | 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 |
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 |
KASACR |
Ka-Band Scanning ARM Cloud Radar | Browse Data |
KAZR |
Ka ARM Zenith Radar | 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 |
MONITORINST |
sensors for providing instrument system monitoring | Browse Data |
MPL |
Micropulse Lidar | Browse Data |
MWR |
Microwave Radiometer | Browse Data |
MWRHF |
Microwave Radiometer - High Frequency | Browse Data |
NEPHELOMETER |
Nephelometer | Browse Data |
NFOV |
Narrow Field of View Zenith Radiometer | Browse Data |
ORG |
Optical Rain Gauge | Browse Data |
OZONE |
Ozone Monitor | Browse Data |
PSAP |
Particle Soot Absorption Photometer | Browse Data |
RAIN |
Rain Gauge | 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 |
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 |
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 |
WB |
Weighing Bucket Precipitation Gauge | Browse Data |
WSACR |
W-band Scanning ARM Cloud Radar | Browse Data |