Ongoing NASA SMARTLabs PBL Studies using UAS and Ground-Based Remote Sensors in Coastal and Polluted Environments

NASA’s renewed focus on the planetary boundary layer (PBL) set forth by the 2017 Decadal Survey presents a significant challenge for scientists and engineers. Observing the PBL from space is currently difficult due to a variety of physical constraints and technological deficiencies. However challenging, PBL observations are urgently needed to respond to the needs of several disciplines spanning across multiple fields. In response to this call, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) SMARTLabs (cf.https://smartlabs.gsfc.nasa.gov/, Surface-basedMobile Atmospheric Research & Testbed Laboratories) research group has multiple ongoing projects to study the PBL. We anticipate that studies by SMARTLabs will assist in helping NASA progress towards spaceborne PBL missions.

Currently, our research is focusing on two complex PBL regimes – the coastal environment and biomass-burning source regions through the use of unmanned aerial systems and ground-based remote sensors. To study the coastal PBL, we are using the SMARTLabs instrument suite in conjunction with those already operating at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Precipitation Research Facility and Range and Mission Management Office (RMMO). This effort is part of an ongoing collaboration between WFF and GSFC which aims to enhance WFF further to support Decadal Survey PBL goals and improve range operations at WFF. To study the PBL near biomass-burning source regions, our instruments have been deployed to locations in Southeast Asia to better characterize the processes relevant to air quality and the surrounding environment. In this presentation, we intend to provide some initial results from these efforts and discuss future directions of these activities.