The Oklahoma City Urban Micronet project: transitioning from vision to reality

During late 2005 through 2006, a network of sensors will be deployed in and around Oklahoma City to monitor and study urban atmospheric conditions; the Oklahoma City Urban Micronet (OCUM) project. The first phase of the deployment will include 3-6 urban towers to measure conditions in the transition zone from rural areas to the central business district (CBD) of Oklahoma City. These sites will include the standard suite of sensors installed at Oklahoma Mesonet stations (www.mesonet.org) as well as a 3-D sonic anemometer, a net radiometer, ground heat flux plates, and an infrared thermometer. A second set of 20-30 sites will be deployed in the urban core of Oklahoma City on traffic lights and building surfaces. These stations will include sensors to measure air temperature, humidity, surface skin temperature, net radiation, solar radiation, the 3-D mean and turbulent wind components, and rainfall. All data will be collected in near real-time at one-minute intervals.

The Oklahoma City Urban Micronet project represents a significant sensor network innovation and the development of an integrated system for detection and response to severe environmental events in urban areas. This project will push the envelope of urban environmental monitoring and research via the collection of consolidated high-frequency, research-quality measurements of atmospheric variables across the urban landscape of Oklahoma City (OKC). Such long-term, high-resolution data sets are essential for quantifying the dynamics of the urban atmosphere and enhancing urban forecast capabilities. Furthermore, the installation and monitoring capabilities of the Oklahoma City Urban Micronet will provide a unique opportunity to conduct numerous urban experiments (e.g., complex dispersion studies which focus on urban air quality or the transport and diffusion of chemical or biological agents released in cities, diagnosing the impact of severe weather events on urban areas, road weather, etc.).