Cumulus Photogrammetric, In-situ and Doppler Observations: The CuPIDO 2006 Experiment

The fine-scale structure and dynamics of cumulus, evolving from shallow to deep convection, and the accompanying changes in the environment and boundary layer over mountainous terrain were the subjects of a field campaign in July-August 2006. Few measurements exist of the transport of boundary-layer air into the deep troposphere by the orographic toroidal circulation and orographic convection. The campaign was conducted over the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona, a natural laboratory to study convection, given the spatially and temporally regular development of cumulus driven by elevated heating and convergent boundary-layer flow. Cumuli and their environment were sampled via coordinated observations from the surface, radiosonde balloons, and aircraft, along with airborne radar data and stereo-photogrammetry from two angles. The collected dataset is expected to yield new insights in the boundary-layer processes leading to orographic convection, in the cumulus-induced transport of boundary-layer air into the troposphere, and in fundamental cumulus dynamics. This article summarizes the motivations, objectives, experimental strategies, preliminary findings, and the potential research paths stirred by the project.