Platforms & Instruments

DYNAMO Facilities
Deployment Schedule

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During DYNAMO, scientists plan to operate six radars; several balloon-borne sounding systems; a suite of surface radiation measurements; two research aircraft; three international research vesels; and buoy and mooring systems. Instruments will be based on various islands throughout the greater Indian Ocean region including: Addu Atoll, Maldives; Malé, Maldives; Diego Gracia, BIOT; Sri Lanka; Manus Island, Papua New Guinea; as well as aboard ocean-bound ships and research aircraft.

One of the most important types of instruments to be operated during DYNAMO are meteorological radars, which provide information about what is happening inside of the clouds and rainstorms that lead to the development of the MJO. Radars using different wavelengths are needed to observe clouds that are raining, clouds that are not raining, and moisture in the surrounding clear air. Weather balloons also need to be launched to observe the vertical structure of the atmosphere in a constant fashion over long periods of time. The surface radiation budget is another critical factor in the Earth-s climate that needs to be observed. Detailed physics within clouds are to be measured by instrumented research aircraft.

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Radars:
7 different radar frequencies will be used during DYNAMO, which allows researchers to collect data on cloud population and evolution during the initiation phase of the MJO. Properties such as cloud configuration, microphysics, height, depth, internal wind circulation, and latent heat will be monitored.

S-PolKa Radar :: S-band & Ka-band

  • Agency :: NSF/NCAR
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Wharf Site
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 15 January 2012
  • More information on the S-PolKa Radar

     

 

Image courtesy of NCAR

 

Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research & Teaching Radar (SMART-R) :: C-band

  • Agencies :: The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, & The University of Oklahoma
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Spit Site
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 31 March 2012
  • More information on the SMART-R

 

Image courtesy of SMART-R

 

Ka-band & X-band Radars

  • Agency :: DOE/ARM Climate Research Facility
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Wharf Site & Manus Island, Papua New Guinea
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 30 March 2012
  • More information on the SACR-AMF2

 

Image courtesy of DOE/ARM

 

C-band Radar

  • Agency :: NASA/CSU
  • Location :: R/V Revelle
  • Operational Period :: 23 August 2011 - 16 February 2012
  • More information on the C-band Radar

 

Image courtesy of NOAA

 

W-band Radar

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: R/V Revelle
  • Operational Period :: 23 August 2011 - 16 February 2012

Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR)

  • Agency :: US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM)
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Gan Airport & Manus Island, Papua New Guinea
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 30 March 2012
  • More information on the KAZR

 

Image courtesy of DOE/ARM

 

Research Ships:
Research ships play a key role in data collection for DYNAMO as they allow for measurements to be taken in remote locations. The ships are fitted with instruments that monitor both the ocean and atmosphere providing researcers with key data sets of how the air and sea interact with one another.

R/V Revelle

  • Agency :: U.S. University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS)
  • Location :: Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: 23 August 2011 - 16 February 2012
  • More information on the R/V Revelle

 

Image courtesy of Scripps Institution of Oceanography

 

R/V Sagar Kanya

  • Agency :: Indian National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR)
  • Location :: Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: 20 September - 10 October
    2011
  • More information on the R/V Sagar Kanya

 

Image courtesy of NCAOR

 

JAMSTEC R/V Mirai

  • Agency :: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
  • Location :: Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: 23 September - 2 December 2011
  • More information on the R/V Mirai

 

Image courtesy of JAMSTEC

 

R/V Baruna Jaya 1

  • Agency :: Fugro Survey Private Limited, Singapore
  • Location :: Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: 23 September - 2 December 2011
  • More information on the R/V Baruna Jaya 1

 

Image courtesy of Fugro

 

Aircraft:
The aircraft contain a suite of instruments that collect data as it flies near targeted areas during each research flight, with some instrumentation able to collect data as far away as several kilometers from the aircraft. Research aircraft have the ability to quickly fly to remote, targeted locations that would otherwise be difficult to research by research ships.

Lockheed P-3 Orion

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: based at Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory
  • Operational Period :: 8 November - 10 December
    2011
  • More information on theNOAA P-3

 

Image courtesy of NOAA

 

Falcon-20

  • Agency :: French Service des Avions Français Instrumentés pour la Recherche en Environnement (SAFIRE)
  • Location :: based at Addu Atoll, Gan Airport
  • Operational Period :: 15 November - 17 December 2011
  • More information on the SAFIRE Falcon-20

 

Image courtesy of SAFIRE

 

Atmospheric Sensors:
Soundings collect the physical properties of a "column" of the atmosphere as the instrument ascends or descends, collecting data such as temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, & wind direction.

P-3 Dropsondes

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: dropped from NOAA P-3 aircraft
  • Operational Period :: 8 November - 10 December 2011
  • Learn more about dropsondes

 

Image courtesy of NOAA

 

CSU Soundings

  • Agency :: Colorado State University (CSU)
  • Location :: Hulhulé Island, Malé International Airport
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 15 January 2012
  • More information on CSU Soundings

CSU sounding launch near Malé International Airport

 

International Atmospheric Observations

  • Agencies :: International collaboration
  • Location :: Global
  • Operational Period :: Ongoing

 

Click to enlarge

 

 

 

Integrated Sounding System (ISS) :: Shipboard

  • Agency :: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
  • Location :: based on R/V Revelle
  • Operational Period :: 23 August 2011 - 16 February 2012
  • More information on ISS Shipboard Operations

 

Image courtesy of NCAR

 

ARM Balloon Borne Sounding Systems

  • Agency :: DOE/ARM Climate Research Facility
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Gan Airport & Manus Island, Papua New Guinea
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 31 March 2012
  • More information on the ARM Sounding Systems

 

 
ARM Sounding Preparation

 

Integrated Sounding System (ISS)

  • Agency :: NCAR
  • Location :: Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 15 January 2012
  • Learn more about NCAR's Integrated Sounding System

 

 
ISS Site on Diego Garcia

 

Surface Sensors:
An array of surface sensors, both on land and ship, make measurements of the environment in the lower 30 feet of the atmosphere.

ARM Mobile Facility 2 :: Ceilometer, lidars, microwave, visible, and infrared radiometers; surface meteorology

  • Agency :: US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM)
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Gan Airport
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 31 March 2012
  • More information on the ARM Mobile Facility 2

 

 
AMF-2 Site :: Addu Atoll

 

Lidar, radiometers, surface meterology, ocean surface, chemistry

  • Agency :: Several
  • Location :: R/V Revelle
  • Operational Period :: 23 August 2011 - 16 February 2012

Radiometer

  • Agency :: University of Miami
  • Location :: Addu Atoll, Wharf Site
  • Operational Period :: 1 October 2011 - 15 January 2012
  • Learn more about the Scanning Microwave Radiometer

 

Image courtesy of Paquita Zuidema

 

  

Ocean Sensors:
Due to a shallow thermocline in the Indian Ocean, sea surface temperatures fluctuate more easily, which in turn have a greater impact on ocean-atmosphere interactions. The physical properties of the ocean, such as temperature and salinity (conductivity) are equally important as the physical properties of the atmosphere.

 

P-3 Airborne eXpendable Conductivity, Temperature, Depths Sensor (AXCTD)

  • Agency :: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • Location :: dropped from NOAA P-3 aircraft
  • Operational Period :: 8 November - 10 December
    2011
  • More Information on the Airborne eXpendable CTD (AXCTD)

 

Image courtesy of T.S.K.

 

Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) Moorings

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: Moored buoys in Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: ~5 September 2011 - 20 January 2012
  • More information on RAMA Moorings

 

Image courtesy of NOAA

 

Conductivity, Temperature, & Depth (CTD)

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: dropped from R/V Revelle
  • Operational Period :: 8 November - 10 December
    2011
  • More information on CTDs

 

 
 

 

Upper Ocean/Surface Flux Moorings

  • Agency :: NOAA
  • Location :: Array locations in the Indian Ocean
  • Operational Period :: ~5 September 2011 - 20 January 2012
  • More Information on Surface Flux Moorings

 

Image courtesy of NOAA

 

 

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