This summer was a rare opportunity in which ALL group members got to be out in the field to support the collection of observations, across a range of meteorological contexts.

James Ruppert, Theresa Lincheck, and Emily Luschen participated in the PRECIP 2022 field campaign (Prediction of Rainfall Extremes Campaign in the Pacific). Theresa traveled to a small island called Yonaguni, Japan, while James and Emily were supporting operations in Taiwan. PRECIP’s mission is to use radar and radiosonde observations to sample and better understand extreme rainfall, which comes to this region in the form of typhoons, afternoon downpours, and the southwesterly summer monsoon (the “Mei-yu”). Read more about our PRECIP involvement here and here.

Heavy thunderstorms over Taiwan’s high terrain viewed from the S-Pol radar in Hsinchu, Taiwan
Theresa exploring the coast in Yonaguni
Emily L showing off the S-Pol radar

Emily West traveled to Kigoma, Tanzania and Nsumbu National Park in Zambia help collect wind and temperature measurements. These measurements are critical for characterizing lake upwelling and nutrient transport, which helps sustain the local fishing industry. This fieldwork is led by the research group of Dr. Michael Soreghan of OU’s School of Geosciences.

Emily W organizing snail shells
Setting up instruments

Andrew Muehr traveled around the Great Plains as part of the TORUS field campaign (Targeted Observation by Radars and UAS of Supercells). Andrew served on the crew of one of the windsond vehicles (shown below). TORUS is trying to answer the question of what specific details about a supercell’s behavior promotes the development of a tornado.

Head in (on?) the clouds
Mobile mesonet crew assessing the storms

Finally, Hrag Najarian is headed to Cape Verde this August as part of the CPEX-CV field campaign (Convective Processes Experiment – Cabo Verde). This NASA campaign intends to study tropical convection and associated processes that affect the dynamics of the tropical North Atlantic.