Air-Sea Interaction and Turbulence Measurements from Twin Otter and Controlled Towed Vehicle Aircraft for Understanding EM Propagation in Ducting Conditions
Abstract
The ongoing Coupled Air Sea Processes and EM ducting Research (CASPER) led by Prof. Qing Wang at NPS is a focused project designed to improve our understanding of air-sea interaction processes that affect electromagnetic (EM) propagation in coastal Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layers (MABL) with the goal of improving EM propagation models predictions. Dr. Djamal Khelif from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering of the University ofCalifornia, Irvine is proposing to continue to be a collaborator in CASPER. We prepared for and participated in the CASPER East field experiment off Duck, NC in the fall of 2015. We equipped the CIRPAS Twin Otter (TO) research aircraft and its low (~ 10 m) flying Controlled Towed Vehicle (CTV) with state of the art instrumentation and successfully obtained direct detailed characterization of turbulent air-sea fluxes as well as variations of means and fluctuations of humidity, temperature, 3D wind, and sea surface and sky IR temperatures. The TO and CTV were operated in coordination with the two CASPER research vessels as well as the FRF Pier based measurements. The aircraft give more context to the surface-based measurement as they cover large areas enabling the characterization of horizontal heterogeneities and the vertical structure of the measured quantities. High resolution profiles of the modified refractivity were obtained from humidity, temperature and pressure profiles. These measurements and their analysis are central to the CASPER project will be used for initiation and validation of numerical models as well as for parameterization of the physical processes. We propose to perform more in-depth processing and analysis of the large data sets obtained from the 11 CASPER East flights by both the CIRPAS TO and the CTV. We also propose to participate in the CASPER West (Coast) field experiment that will focus on studying elevated EM ducting using the two same platforms with some alteration and additions to the instrumentation. In addition to Navy applications, this project will benefit sea transport. More broadly, it will advance the state of knowledge of air-sea interaction, a key player in weather and climate change.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 23, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141613193
Entities
People
- Djamal Khelif
Organizations
- Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy