MRI: Acquisition of Upper-Air and Surface Observing Systems for Weather Research and Instruction at SUNY Oswego

这项主要研究仪器(MRI)奖将用于获得地面和高空气象设备，重点是湖泊影响天气研究。纽约州立大学奥斯威戈校区毗邻安大略湖，是开展湖泊-陆地-空气相互作用影响研究的理想地点。移动高空设施将使研究中尺度气象系统的结构和演变成为可能。由于五大湖附近没有地面气象站，纽约州立大学奥斯威戈分校的站点将提供一个强大的数据库，用于采样湖泊改造的空气。这些设施将允许纽约州立大学奥斯威戈分校的教职员工和学生在安大略湖周围从事几乎连续的低成本实地项目，并使奥斯威戈和其他机构的研究人员能够将模型输出与奥斯威戈附近的观测结果进行比较。参加研究项目的学生以及参加所需实验实验室的气象学专业的学生将从学习如何操作现代气象观测系统和执行数据质量控制中受益。智力优势：湖泊效应雪带的形成是从云尺度到天气尺度的各种过程之间复杂相互作用的结果。数值模式为这些雪带的结构和演化提供了一些洞察，但直接观测有限。有了所获得的观测系统，首席调查员将能够确定中尺度模式在哪里成功或未能代表这些带及其周围的热力学结构和环流模式的重要细节。这将帮助建模人员评估许多可用的边界层和微物理方案，并确定哪些方案最能再现观测到的湖泊效应雪带的结构和演变。模式物理的改进将导致对雪带位置、内陆范围和降雨率的更准确的模拟。据推测，在湖泊效应条件下，奥斯威戈的高空探测将导致更准确的雪带模拟。为了验证这一假设，将利用中尺度模式进行敏感性实验，以确定同化奥斯威戈数据的影响。随着纽约州立大学奥斯威戈分校的新设施的建立，首席调查员预计将在未来十年内对至少50个雪带的核心进行采样。在春末或夏季，无线电探空仪将用于获取大平原雷暴附近的近距离探测。在一年中的其他时间，湖边位置将允许对其他有趣现象周围的大气环境进行采样，如水龙卷、雷暴、锋面通道、湖风和陆风以及夜间低空急流。对安大略湖的发现可能会延伸到其他大片水域。更广泛的影响：购买这些设备将加强对安大略湖周围天气现象进行研究的能力，并改善以这些现象为中心的教育活动。加强对重要中尺度天气的了解，可以改进对危险天气条件的预报。数据和结果将与感兴趣的科学家分享。PI将与希望使用奥斯威戈设施在安大略湖附近进行短期、低成本实地研究的其他机构的研究人员合作。纽约州立大学奥斯威戈气象学项目从一开始就让本科生参与研究。有趣的现象，特别是湖泊效应的暴风雪和大平原的雷暴，激发和吸引了包括来自不同背景的学生。许多学生参与独立学习项目，并渴望参与内部和外部资助的助学金。通过这次核磁共振获得的设备将为这些学生提供更多的研究机会。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will be used to acquire surface and upper air meteorological equipment with a focus on lake-effect weather research. The State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego campus, with its proximity to Lake Ontario, is an ideal location to carry out research on the effects of lake-land-air interactions. The mobile upper-air facilities will allow the study of the structure and evolution of mesoscale meteorological systems. Since there is a lack of surface weather stations in the immediate vicinity of the Great Lakes, the SUNY Oswego site will provide a robust database for sampling lake-modified air. These facilities will allow SUNY Oswego faculty and students to engage in a nearly continuous, low-cost field project around Lake Ontario and enable researchers at Oswego and other institutions to compare model output with observations near Oswego. Students participating in research projects as well as meteorology majors enrolled in the required experimentation laboratory will benefit by learning how to operate modern meteorological observing systems and perform quality control of the data. Intellectual merit: Lake-effect snow bands form as the result of complex interactions between processes ranging from the cloud scale to the synoptic scale. Numerical models have provided some insight into the structure and evolution of these snow bands, but direct observations have been limited. With the acquired observing systems, the Principal Investigator will be able to identify where mesoscale models succeed or fail to represent important details of the thermodynamic structure and circulation patterns in and around these bands. This will help modelers evaluate the many boundary layer and microphysics schemes available, and identify those which best reproduce the observed structure and evolution of lake-effect snow bands. Improvement in model physics should result in more accurate simulations of snow band location, inland extent and precipitation rate. It is hypothesized that the upper-air soundings at Oswego during lake-effect conditions will result in more accurate snow band simulations. To test this hypothesis, sensitivity experiments using mesoscale models will be conducted to determine the impact of assimilating the Oswego data. With the new facilities at SUNY Oswego, the Principal Investigator expects to sample close to the core of at least 50 snow bands over the next decade. In late spring or summer, the radiosonde equipment will be used to obtain proximity soundings near Great Plains thunderstorms. At other times during the year, the lakeside location will allow sampling of the atmospheric environment around other interesting phenomena such as waterspouts, thunderstorms, frontal passages, lake and land breezes, and nocturnal low-level jets. Findings for Lake Ontario will likely extend to other large bodies of water. Broader impacts: Acquisition of the equipment will strengthen the ability to conduct research on weather phenomena around Lake Ontario and improve educational activities centered on these phenomena. The increased understanding of important mesoscale weather could result in improved forecasting of hazardous weather conditions. Data and results will be shared with interested scientists. The PI will collaborate with researchers from other institutions who wish to use the Oswego facilities for short-term, low-cost field studies near Lake Ontario. The SUNY Oswego meteorology program has involved undergraduates in research since its inception. Interesting phenomena, especially lake-effect snowstorms and Great Plains thunderstorms, excite and attract students including those from diverse backgrounds. Many students engage in independent study projects and are eager to participate in internally and externally-funded grants. The equipment acquired under this MRI will provide more research opportunities for these students.