Lower Atmosphere Process Studies at Elevation - a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE)

Lower Atmosphere Process Studies at Elevation - a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) will take place 13-20 July 2018 across the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. LAPSE-RATE will involve the coordinated observation of the planetary boundary layer by up to 20 fixed- and rotary-wing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operated by more than a dozen federal research labs and universities. Additional observations will be collected by radiosondes, mobile mesonets, and fixed-site near-surface stations. In situ observations will be complemented by Doppler LIDARs, an atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer, and a microwave radiometer. Data collection will support the following research foci: 1) cold air drainage through canyons on the Valley perimeter, 2) morning-to-daytime transition of the lower atmospheric state at points distributed along the Valley floor, 3) evolution of the atmospheric state as air passes across irrigated portions of the Valley into the non-irrigated portions, and 4) thunderstorm initiation within the Valley. This presentation will provide an overview of the project along with preliminary results from the thunderstorm initiation component of the project.