The Mobile Atmospheric Profiling Network (MAPNet): Current Measurement Capabilities and Future Directions

The NSF-supported Mobile Atmospheric Profiling Network (MAPNet) consists of four platforms, including three multi-instrumented profiling systems (MIPS – Mobile Integrated Profiling System; RaDAPS – Rapidly Deployable Atmospheric Profiling System; and MoDLS – Mobile Doppler Lidar and Sounding system) and a scanning radar (MAX – Mobile Alabama X-band polarimetric radar). A 915 MHz radar wind profiler, microwave profiling radiometer (MPR), lidar ceilometer, and different vertically-pointing precipitation radars are common to the MIPS and RaDAPS platforms. A scanning Doppler lidar, MPR, and sensitive (forthcoming) Ka-band profiling radar (KaPR) define the profiling instruments for the MoDLS. All profiling systems will include Parsivel disdrometers; meteorological, particulate, and trace gas measurements (forthcoming); other measurements from specialized instruments (e.g., sonic anemometers, digital cameras, and SW/LW radiation); and balloon sounding systems. Measurement capabilities include profiling of wind, precipitation, clouds, aerosols, and thermodynamics, plus a future increasing emphasis on trace gas and particulate measurements.

The MAPNet can be configured as a triangular, independent network, which can be utilized to derive horizontal (network) averages of divergence, vorticity, deformation, and advection. In other field campaigns, the MAPNet can be (and has been) utilized within a larger mesoscale network of radar and profiler systems. The mobility offers flexibility in network design for field campaigns devoted to boundary layer (air quality), mesoscale, and precipitation processes.

Recent examples of network configurations and measurements that demonstrate the spatial and temporal resolution of the instruments for a variety of meteorological phenomena will be included in the presentation. Future applications to be explored include specifically (among others such as utilization in controlled burns):

• Expanding the AMF3 network to either enlarge the domain, or decrease the horizontal spacing of profiling systems to achieve greater horizontal resolution;
• Utilizing the scanning capability of the MAX (and other) radar(s) to acquire high vertical (20-30 m) and temporal (5 s) resolution of u, v, W within precipitating systems (e.g., landfalling tropical cyclones, cool-season QLCSs) in a virtual tower mode;
• Employing the rapid deployment capability of the MoDLS platform to sample shallow to deep convection within the AMF3 network, exploring the synergy of the Doppler lidar and KaPR (cloud radar) within coverage of the C-band dual Doppler network (ARMOR, CSAPR) and Scanning ARM Cloud Radar (SACR, W- and Ka-band);
• Executing an experiment to sample monarch butterfly migration over the AMF3 domain that utilizes the polarimetric measurements from C-band radars, the SACR, and the MoDLS Doppler lidar and KaPR (with depolarization capability).