Recent Field Successes of the SSEC Portable Atmospheric Research Center

The SSEC Portable Atmospheric Research Center (SPARC) is a ground-based mobile remote sensing laboratory for high-temporal monitoring of the lower troposphere. As an NSF-supported Community Instrument and Facility (CIF), SPARC is available for use by interested researchers. Its suite of instruments, including temperature, humidity, wind, and aerosol profiling makes SPARC well-suited for many different meteorological investigations.

In 2024, SPARC had its most prolific year yet, with four field deployments in very different environments. The Eclipse campaign enabled SPARC to observe the impact of the total solar eclipse on the structure of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) in unprecedented detail. A deployment on the shore of Lake Michigan that coincided with a research cruise in the lake provided the first-ever simultaneous observations of rapidly-updating thermodynamic profiles from both the lake and land side during lake breeze formation and propagation. The Community Research on Climate and Urban Science (CROCUS) Urban Canyons campaign placed SPARC deep in the heart of Chicago to monitor urban-atmosphere interactions. The Lake-induced Inversion Trappings of Emissions on the Superior Coast (LITESC) project deployed SPARC adjacent to Lake Superior to monitor how Lake Superior and local industry impact local air quality. Throughout the year, SPARC team members also gave tours to hundreds of individuals to foster community interest in science and the environment.

This presentation will illustrate preliminary results from each of these campaigns, as well as offer insights on how to address the unique challenges of field deployments that were present in each of these environments. Information on how interested researchers can engage with the SPARC team to develop their own field campaigns will also be presented.