Observational Study of the Great Salt Lake Breeze

Sea breeze circulations are among the most thoroughly studied mesoscale systems. However, lake breeze circulations, particularly in arid environments, are much less understood. A field campaign with the goal of better understanding the Great Salt Lake breeze system was conducted between June 2008 and September 2009 by undergraduate students at the University of Utah under a grant from the National Science Foundation. The primary aim of the observational study is to determine the effects of surface heat flux, background flow, and stability on the thermally-driven circulation. Field campaign observations consisted of data from a mobile mesonet, two portable radiosonde systems, one net radiometer, MODIS satellite imagery, and a Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR). The field campaign will be discussed and initial observations will be presented.