The study addresses one of the main objectives of SGP97 "to examine the effect of soil moisture on the evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer and clouds over the southern great plains during the warm season". The investigation focuses on comparisons of detailed observations during SGP97 with mesoscale simulations using the MC2 (Mesoscale Compressible Community) model coupled with an advanced land surface scheme ISBA (Noilhan and Planton 1989), during a two-day consecutive period characterized by contrasting soil moisture regimes, after a heavy precipitation event.
The high-resolution simulations (2 km) are compared with various measurements such as the Twin Otter aircraft turbulent flux observations, surface and tower measurements, and satellite remote sensing data. This provides a unique opportunity to investigate various aspects of the structure and evolution of the convective boundary layer during SGP97, in particular the influence of soil moisture on CBL evolution and entrainment processes near the CBL top.