Lower Troposphere Observing System (LOTOS): Revolutionizing Boundary Layer Research
Hock, T. F., Oncley, S., Weckwerth, T., Brown, W. O.J., Stephens, B., et al. (2026). Lower Troposphere Observing System (LOTOS): Revolutionizing Boundary Layer Research. , doi:https://doi.org/10.5065/2v1g-tg71
| Title | Lower Troposphere Observing System (LOTOS): Revolutionizing Boundary Layer Research |
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| Genre | Manuscript |
| Author(s) | Terrence F. Hock, Steven Oncley, Tammy Weckwerth, William O.J. Brown, Britton Stephens, Joshua Gebauer, Junkyung Kay, Wen-chau Lee, Alison B. Rockwell, Vanda Grubišić |
| Abstract | The National Center for Atmospheric Research Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) proposes to develop the LOwer Troposphere Observing System (LOTOS), a new community requestable integrated sensor network facility that offers the potential for transformative understanding of the lower atmosphere and its coupling to the Earth’s surface. The LOTOS sensor network is designed to allow simultaneous and coordinated sampling both vertically, through the atmospheric planetary boundary layer (PBL), and horizontally, across the land/sea/ice surface, focusing on the PBL coupling to the underlying surface and overlying free troposphere. The core of LOTOS will be a portable integrated network of up to five nodes, each consisting of a profiling suite of instruments for high-temporal resolution profiles of winds, temperature, moisture, clouds, and aerosols from the surface up to 6 km. Each node will be surrounded by a network of up to fifteen 10-m towers for direct measurements of turbulence, surface exchange, and soil properties plus a single 30-m tower for profiles of meteorological parameters and greenhouse gases. This integrated set of measurements will help to address outstanding scientific challenges related to processes within the atmospheric surface layer, boundary layer, and lower troposphere. LOTOS will also enable novel quantification of exchanges of biogeochemical and climate-relevant gases from microscale up to regional scale. Beyond the instrumentation, LOTOS will be closely coupled to numerical modeling to maximize the use of LOTOS data. An observation system simulation experiment (OSSE) tool is planned to be developed so LOTOS users can determine the optimal LOTOS network design to ensure that their unique science objectives can be met. During LOTOS deployments, data from the instruments will be processed in real-time to enable real-time data assimilation for analyses and forecasts. These types of analyses leverage the power of both modeling and observations and can be used to fill in gaps between the LOTOS nodes where observations are not available. LOTOS’ close connection with modeling will help to bring the modeling and observation communities closer together and will facilitate improvement in the representation of the PBL in numerical models. The uniqueness of LOTOS lies in its ability to simultaneously sample horizontally and vertically as an integrated system, but also in its flexibility to be relocated as a portable field-deployable system for addressing a wide range of research needs. The scalable and configurable nature of LOTOS will allow the inclusion of user-provided instruments and mobile platforms and future expansion when new measurement technology becomes available. It is envisioned that LOTOS will become part of the deployable NSF Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities and thus be available to a broad base of NSF users from both the observation and modeling communities. |
| Publication Title | |
| Publication Date | Feb 19, 2026 |
| Publisher's Version of Record | https://doi.org/10.5065/2v1g-tg71 |
| OpenSky Citable URL | https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d71z48x1 |
| OpenSky Listing | View on OpenSky |
| EOL Affiliations | ISF, ISFS, RSF, RAF, EOLAO, EOLAODEPT |