Focal Issues/Strategy/Implementation

Version 1.0

Sept 14, 2004

Focal Issues, Strategy, Implementation Plans for the VOCALS Process Study

FOCAL ISSUES:

Atmosphere

• Marked zonal and meridional gradients in cloud/drizzle/aerosols... Why? More aerosol near the coast? Pollution? Ocean productivity, DNS? Salt/wind?

Cloud/drizzle/aerosol interactions

Further offshore, usually larger cloud drop radius

Why? More aerosol near the coast? Pollution? Ocean productivity, DNS? Salt/wind?

How does this feedback on mean Sc albedo? Vertical PBL structure?

• Connections between the Sc deck and convection elsewhere (South America and ITCZ) in all timescales (from diurnal to synoptic to interannual) and in both ways.

• Role of the topography (mountainous coastline + Andes cordillera) and coastline orientation in sustaining the large and persistent Sc deck over the SE Pacific.

• Synoptically-driven coastal jet and coastal-trapped disturbances disrupting in the Sc deck.

Ocean

• Ekman .vs. eddy heat transport to the west .vs. air-sea interaction

• Vertical mixing at buoy: role of "sagging trades", comparison with ocean GCMs

• Horizontal extent of nutrients and relation to offshore transport mechanisms

• Space/time nature of eddy heat transport offshore

• Vertical ocean (and atmosphere) cross-section along a latitude line

• Regional ocean modeling of 1500 km nearest South American coast

Coastal wind jet and relation with coastal upwelling and clouds

COUPLED ISSUES

¥ Seasonal cycle of SST

• Regional feedbacks between Sc clouds, surface winds, upwelling, coastal currents and SST in different time scales.Continental influence on long timescales

• Cloud feedbacks on ENSO

STRATEGY: it was repeated in Implementation Plans:

¥Oct 2007 process study preceeded by enhanced monitoring.

¥Global and mesoscale model evaluation and improvement (e.g parameterization development) using multiscale data sets.

¥Model sensitivity studies to refine hypotheses and target observations.

¥Science by synthesis/use of existing data sets, enhancement through targeted instrument procurement, algorithm evaluation and development, and enhanced observation periods.

Co-ordination with oceanographic, aerosol, cloud process communities, including CLIVAR CPT, CLOUDSAT, etc.

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS:

• Oct 2007 process study preceeded by enhanced monitoring.

• Global and mesoscale model evaluation and improvement (e.g parameterization development) using multiscale data sets.

• Model sensitivity studies to refine hypotheses and target observations.

• Science by synthesis/use of existing data sets, enhancement through targeted instrument procurement, algorithm evaluation and development, and enhanced observation periods.

Co-ordination with oceanographic, aerosol, cloud process communities, including CLIVAR CPT, CLOUDSAT, etc.

• Utilize annual cruises to WHOI buoy, extend the track to sample the cloud deck and pass by San Felix; utilize cruise by Chile, Peru, CPPS

• Preparation for 2007:

CPPS coastal cruise every year

Research cruise data to be mined

San Felix Island mid 2006 enhanced instrumentation

DART buoy enhanced instrumentation

Remote sensing

Modelling CIIFEN, UdeC, U Chile

Bretherton CPT, Roberto Mechoso, Art Miller

Deploying ARGO floats, SST drifters to augment coverage

• Planning/writing responsibilities as of VPM7 for Oct 2007 Process Study

Aircraft - Chris Bretherton

cloud radar, aerosols, cloud microphysics, fluxes

dropsondes, SST, passive microwave (cloud liquid water)

Iquique as base?

Aerosondes - Steve Esbensen

San Felix/Iquique Collaboration with U. de Chile /SHOA

flying radiosonde temp/humidity/ radiation

aerosols

Ship1 (offshore)- Chris Fairall

cloud radar, fluxes, aerosols, C-band,lidar, biology

SeaSoar/ADCP, mooring recover/deploy

Ship 2 (coastal) Oscar Pizarro (coastal oceanography)

José Rutllant (coastal meteorology)

coastal oceanography and meteorology, biology

CPPS cruise - Rodrigo Nuñez, Pilar Cornejo, Jose Rutllant,

Antonio Rodríguez, Efraín Rodríguez

Edwin Pinto, Eduardo Lazo

costal oceanography and meteorology

WHOI buoy - Bob Weller

air-sea flux, Temp, sal, veloc

SHOA buoy - Rodrigo Nuñez

instrumentation, work soon to add

Easter Island transect - Rodrigo Nuñez

Coastal moorings - Oscar Pizarro

add temp, T/S/P sensors

Argo floats/surface drifters - enhancement for Oct 2007

Bob Weller/Mike Patterson

San Felix - José Rutllant, René Garreaud, Bruce Albrecht,

Chilean navy met, Steve Esbensen, radiosondes

power

low power ceilometer, aerosols,

wind profiler, cloud radar, aerosondes

Coastal observations - René Garreaud

enhancement

Satellite Bretherton/Wood

Data Management - Williams

DART buoy 20°S, 75°W

WHOI buoy 20°S, 85°W

San Felix Island ~27°S, 80°W

Radiator angled to get closer to San Felix