Improved Measurement System for Atmospheric Studies
Abstract
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Tethered Lifting System (TLS) is a specialty-designed state-of-the art tethersonde system that offers unique measurement capabilities for the study of the structure, dynamics, and turbulent properties of atmospheric boundary layers. The TLS offers unique high precision and high quality data that other standard atmospheric research measurement systems such as instrumented aircrafts, meteorological towers, rawinsondes, remote sensors, and standard tether sonde systems cannot provide as they are limited by either a lack of spatial and temporal resolution, vertical coverage, or sensitivity to small sc ale turbulent processes. The TLS uses tethered aerodynamic blimps and precision-powered winches to loft one or more specialty-designed meteorological payloads that collect high-quality insitu measurements of temperature, windspeed, humidity, and turbulence. The lifting platform can be parked at specific heights to gather data at constant altitude in a similar fashion to instrumented towers, or it can be used in profiling mode to collect unique high resolution profiles from the ground up to 3 kilometers above ground (or higher). The winches were designed specifically for atmospheric research. It offers precise and constant profiling speeds for accurate profile measurements and a maximum reel-in rate of 3 m/s for emergency pull-downs. Thanks to their wheel-mounted design, the battery powered winches are highly portable facilitating field operations and ensuring quick deployment times (15 minutes or less). The TLS state-of-the-art turbulence payloads use fast response fine-wire probes to meas ure temperature and windspeed at a 1 kHz sampling rate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA623961
Entities
People
- Yannick Meillier
Organizations
- University of Colorado Boulder