Puerto Rico Project

A small field project took place in the vicinity of Puerto Rico during the second week of December 1972. The primary observational tool was the NCAR De Haviland DHC-5 Buffalo Aircraft which had been modified specifically for air motion sensing. The principle structural modification was a 4.27m boom attached to the nose of the aircraft to which a gust probe was affixed for precise measurements of air motions. In addition, the Buffalo aircraft made measurements of air temperature, humidity, ambient pressure, sea surface temperature (radiometer), and derived fluxes of momentum, moisture, and heat. The purpose of the field project was to investigate the relationship of sub-cloud layer structure, turbulence, and fluxes to cumulus cloud distribution and the depth of cumulus convection using aircraft measurements over the ocean.