MRI: Development--An Aerosol and Cloud Analysis System for the Caribbean

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The project seeks to assemble a permanent inlet and instrumented facility for studying the microphysical properties of warm clouds, i.e. clouds whose tops are at temperatures greater than zero degrees Celsius, and how they evolve in a complex process involving the aerosol particles on which droplets form. Clouds that form regularly at mountaintops such as the Pico Este (PE) in Puerto Rico provide the opportunity to study the interaction between clouds and aerosols, especially at those locations where the properties of the aerosols are well known. The PE site has been used by a number of international research groups in past measurement programs because of its unique, sub-tropical island location. The Aerosol and Cloud Analysis System (ACAS) will have an open and flexible architecture that will accommodate additional sensors that are either acquired or developed by the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (UPRRP), or that are provided by guest research organizations. This instrument will remain permanently operational at the PE site year-round for ongoing research and educational outreach. The ACAS and the cloud and aerosol research associated with its measurements, provides a comprehensive training ground for a broad range of educational opportunities related to understanding the measurement techniques, their limitations and uncertainties, fundamental aerosol and cloud chemistry and physics, and basic meteorology. Underrepresented student groups will interact with scientists and state-of-the-art instrumentation and be exposed to unique research opportunities. Project results will be used in educational materials for students and communities over a range of educational levels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.