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Title: Surface Characterization for Land-Atmosphere Studies of CLASIC

Author
item Jackson, Thomas
item Kustas, William - Bill
item TORN, M - LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONA
item MEYERS, T - NOAA
item Prueger, John
item FISCHER, M - LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONA
item AVISSAR, R - DUKE UNIVERSITY
item YUEH, S - NASA JPL
item Anderson, Martha
item MILLER, M - BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LAB

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/14/2006
Publication Date: 12/11/2006
Citation: Jackson, T.J., Kustas, W.P., Torn, M.S., Meyers, T., Prueger, J.H., Fischer, M., Avissar, R., Yueh, S., Anderson, M.C., Miller, M. 2006. Surface characterization for land-atmosphere studies of CLASIC [abstract]. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Fall Supplements. 87(52):H13H-04.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Cloud and Land Surface Interaction Campaign will focus on interactions between the land surface, convective boundary layer, and cumulus clouds. It will take place in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) area of the U.S, specifically within the US DOE ARM Climate Research Facility. The intensive observing period will be June of 2007, which typically covers the winter wheat harvest in the region. This region has been the focus of several related experiments that include SGP97, SGP99, and SMEX03. For the land surface, some of the specific science questions include 1) how do spatial variations in land cover along this trajectory modulate the cloud structure and the low-level water vapor budget, 2) what are the relationships between land surface characteristics (i.e., soil texture, vegetation type and fractional cover) and states (particularly soil moisture and surface temperature) and the resulting impact of the surface energy balance on boundary layer and cloud structure and dynamics and aerosol loading; and 3) what is the interplay between cumulus cloud development and surface energy balance partitioning between latent and sensible heat, and implications for the carbon flux? Most of these objectives will require flux and state measurements throughout the dominant land covers and distributed over the geographic domain. These observations would allow determining the level of up-scaling/aggregation required in order to understand the impact of landscape changes affecting energy balance/flux partitioning and impact on cloud/atmospheric dynamics. Specific contributions that are planned to be added to CLASIC include continuous tower-based monitoring of surface fluxes for key land cover types prior to, during, and post-IOP, replicate towers to quantify flux variance within each land cover, boundary layer properties and fluxes from a helicopter-based system, airplane- and satellite-based flux products throughout the region, aircraft- and tower-based concentration data for carbon cycle gases and isotopes; regional soil moisture from satellites and mapping aircraft, intensive soil moisture for specific regions within the domain using in-situ networks and a new passive-active aircraft sensor system, and cooperation with CLASIC in the development of geographic resources including land cover, crop residue, hyper spectral reflectance, NDVI, and LAI products for each land use. The basic elements of the experiment have been defined; however, additional participation by other groups to enhance observations or analyses is needed.