MISS

MISS (Mobile Integrated Sounding System)

MISS is the mobile version of our Integrated Sounding System (ISS). It is a suite of instruments on a large trailer towed behind a pick-up truck to profile the atmospheric boundary layer and beyond.  The instrument suite includes:

» Wind profiler: a vertically pointing 915 MHz clear-air wind profiler radar for measuring winds, precipitation, and temperature in a profile through the boundary layer

» Radiosondes: Vaisala MW41 / RS41 radiosondes or iMet-3050A / iMet-1 radiosondes are weather balloon systems designed to measure wind, pressure, temperature and humidity up to the stratosphere

» Surface meteorology sensors: winds, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rain gauge

» Lab cabin: the trailer includes a small lab space housing a range of electronic equipment, including computers for data processing and dissemination via a satellite or cell-phone internet connection

MISS is designed to be rapidly deployable and is typically used for storm chasing, mountain weather research, and education purposes. Examples of recent deployments include:

  • PECAN - a large storm study on the Great Plains. MISS was part of a large fleet of mobile instrument systems, along with aircraft and fixed sites studying night-time elevated convective storms.
  • BASECAMP - two educational deployments at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
  • DC3 - the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry study of thunder storms on the Great Plains. MISS was one of the ground based facilities making dynamical observations and was positioned on the Colorado plains, while aircraft flew in and out of storms making chemistry measurements.
  • PLOWS - a winter cyclone experiment in the mid-west where MISS is driven to a site in advance of a storm and sits for one to three days as the weather rolls over
  • EDUCT (Education in Complex Terrain) - an educational deployment in Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia
  • T-REX (Terrian Induced Rotors Experiment) and SRP2004 (Sierra Rotors Project) where MISS was deployed around the Owens Valley of California to monitor mountain waves, rotors and turbulence in the lee of the Sierra Nevada mountains

Our mobile facilities are currently being updated with the development of a Mobile 449 MHz wind profiler system.

 

Lead Contact
William Brown