Overview of the Land Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE)

The Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE) was a field effort performed at the ARM SGP site during August 2017. The objectives of LAFE are to:

I. Determine turbulence profiles and investigate new relationships among gradients, variances, and fluxes

II. Map surface momentum, sensible heat, and latent heat fluxes using a synergy of scanning wind, humidity, and temperature lidar systems

III. Characterize land-atmosphere (L-A) feedback and the moisture budget at the SGP site via the new LAFE sensor synergy

IV. Verify large-eddy simulation model runs and improve turbulence representations in mesoscale models.

For this purpose, a novel synergy of scanning lidar and remote sensing systems was designed and applied for simultaneous measurements of land-surface fluxes and horizontal
and vertical transport processes in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Also, the impact of spatial inhomogeneities of the soil and the land cover on L-A feedback was studied using the scanning capability of the instruments as well as soil, vegetation, and surface flux measurements.

In this presentation, an overview of the instrumentation and their capabilities is presented and it is demonstrated how the objectives of LAFE can be reached using their synergy and combined scan strategies. Particularly, it is discussed what combined measurements are necessary and were performed for studying and improving turbulence parameterizations and metrics for characterizing L-A feedback.