AMS 2022 Meeting Features ARL’s Boundary Layer Research

January 18, 2022

The upcoming American Meteorological Society (AMS) meeting will include research by many of the scientists at NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory (ARL).  This  year’s AMS is virtual for 2022 and will take place from January 23- 27, under the theme Environmental Security: weather, water and climate for a more secure world.  ARL researchers will present on topics from soil moisture to HYSPLIT applications and boundary layer measurements by small uncrewed systems.

Atmospheric boundary layer research includes:

• ARL uses a fleet of small uncrewed systems to obtain the vertical profiles of meteorological conditions within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Using that data in WRF simulations to improve the forecasting capability of HYSPLIT, as Fantine Ngan presents in: The Use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Data in WRF and HYSPLIT Modeling. The session is chaired by ARL’s John Kochendorfer and Temple Lee.
• The complex land water interface of Cape Canaveral is challenging for HYSPLIT prediction, and lessons learned are included in the study by Will Pendergrass – Forensics Evaluation of the Weather Research Forecast Model Output Used in the Feasibility Demonstration of Using the 1996 Cape Canaveral MVP Tracer Study for Transport and Diffusion Model Validation.
• Complex ammonia interactions in a deciduous forest ecosystem are presented by Nebila Lichiheb: Modeling Bidirectional Exchanges of NH₃ over a Deciduous Forest Canopy: A Study with the SURFATM-NH₃ Model.  The Surface–Atmosphere Exchange session is chaired by ARL’s Rick Saylor and LaToya Myles.
• Rick Saylor also presents on the concentrations and sources of ammonia: Dynamic Ammonia Exchange within a Deciduous Forest Canopy in the Southern Appalachians
• Two field campaigns contributed to an assessment by Temple Lee of the application of bulk Richardson parameterizations for calculating surface fluxes: An Overview of New Bulk Richardson Parameterizations for Surface–Atmosphere Exchange and Their Applicability over Different Surface Roughness Lengths.
• Xinrong Ren coauthors an invited talk on the contribution of volatile chemical products to the organic carbon in the urban atmosphere in Coggon: Evaluating Contributions of Volatile Chemical Products to Ozone and Urban Atmospheric Chemistry.
• LaToya Myles proposes a mentoring model framework to further diversity and representation in the geosciences: Full STEAM Ahead: An Innovative Mentor Model for Underrepresented Atmospheric Science Leaders to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Geosciences and Social Sciences

Precipitation and Soil Moisture:

• The challenges of accurately measuring snow and the assessment of a Low Porosity Double Fence in comparison to a predecessor is evaluated by John Kochendorfer: Evaluation of a New Precipitation Gauge Wind Shield for Snow Measurements.
• A Town Hall meeting addressing The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network: Current Activities and Future Priorities will include ARL’s Bruce Baker.
• Research by Michael Buban, Development of a Daily Updating Gridded Soil Water Analysis Model Product (SWAMP) over the Conterminous United States, leverages soil moisture observations from the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN).  Buban predicts soil moisture content based on statistical relationships among precipitation, evaporation, soil/vegetation properties and measured in-situ soil moisture values, to offer predictive capability for soil moisture at gridpoints that do not have direct in-situ observations.

Up And Away: Measuring the Boundary Layer In Situ:

• Anaiya Reliford, an ARL NERTO intern and PhD candidate, explores improving the particulate matter measurements by sensor placement in: Improving Chemical Sensing Methods and Air Quality Monitoring in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer via a Rotary-Winged Platform
• Alanna Goodell presents on the impact of COVID-19 on the New York City area atmospheric measurements: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Short-Lived Air Pollutants Based on Aircraft and Surface Observations in New York City in 2020
• Todd Mckinney presents a poster on the multiple micro super pressure balloon satellites with the goal of using them as a tracer to test and analyze NOAA HYSPLIT calculated trajectories: Comparison of HYSPLIT-Calculated Trajectories with Micro-Super-Pressure Balloon Satellites
• TJ Schuyler has a poster presenting measurement comparisons between a stationary tower and small drone: Fast-Response Measurements of Temperature, Moisture, and Wind Collected via Uncrewed Aircraft Systems.