ARL News

Hurricane Isabel — a test of new turbulence instrumentation

 

September 16, 2003

There are few data on the turbulence regimes associated with exceedingly strong winds, mainly because standard instruments fail in such conditions. ARL’s Field Research Division (FRD) in Idaho Falls and Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATDD) in Oak Ridge have been collaborating on an “Extreme Turbulence” (ET) instrument intended to measure winds and turbulence within severe storms. The technology is based on airborne instrumentation for similar measurements. The expected landfall of Hurricane Isabel is serving as an opportunity to field test the new instrumentation. Scientists from both Oak Ridge and Idaho Falls will soon be meeting in eastern North Carolina, with a team of investigators from Texas Technological University. They will deploy their instruments, including the prototype ET probes, in the path of Hurricane Isabel as it comes ashore.

Contact information: Rayford P. Hosker
Phone: (865) 576-1248
e-mail: hosker@atdd.noaa.gov