Airborne Experiments
Scientists in the division utilize aircraft such as NOAA WP-3Ds and
NCAR WC-130J to synoptically sample the upper ocean using current,
temperature, and salinity profiles in real time using airborne
expendable profilers. Aircraft has the capability to adapatively sample
mesoscale processes as a result of changing atmospheric and oceanic
conditions. In addition to sampling the upper ocean, wind, temperature
and humidity profiles from atmospheric sondes simultaneously sample the
atmospheric structure. Thus, aircraft measurements provide spatial
context for mooring and ship-based measurement systems during light
winds (i.e. Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate), and provide
important upper-ocean data during strong winds such as hurricanes (i.e.
NOAA Hurricane Field Program - Lili) in assessing the role of the upper
ocean's role on hurricane intensity and structure change. Given
uncertainities in the scales and location of atmospheric disturbances
(i.e. easterly waves, hurricanes), the aircraft plays an integral role
in the acquisition of three-dimensional synoptic snapshots of oceanic
and atmospheric variability. As aircraft measurements are acquired in a
grid, these data are valuable for ground truthing satellite-based
remote sensing, and for process-oriented model studies aimed at
improving parameterizations for both oceanic (mixing) and coupled
(air-sea fluxes) responses. This research effort at the University of
Miami is supported by NSF and NOAA.
For further information and for specific experiments see Dr. Lynn "Nick" Shay's personal web page.