The TLS (Tethered Lifting System) used to measure in situ turbulence during the CASES-99 campaign

The University of Colorado's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) employed a TLS (Tethered Lifting System) for in situ data collection during CASES99. Dependent on local wind conditions, the TLS employed either a kite or an aerodynamic balloon as a lifting device. Measurements of high-time-resolution temperature and velocity fluctuations were obtained from the ground up to roughly 1 km by up to five sensing packages separated vertically by 8-24 meters, and stored using onboard dataloggers. At the same time a Basic Meteorological Payload (BMP) was used to telemeter pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and wind speed variance data to the surface in real time. Profiles of the data transmitted from the BMP were used to position the turbulence sensors at the altitudes of interest. We report here on the TLS technique and show examples of the raw data.