The University of Wyoming will continue providing the King Air aircraft (UWKA), Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) and Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL) as part of the national Lower Atmosphere Observing Facility (LAOF) suite. The UWKA is a twin turbo-prop aircraft highly instrumented for measurements throughout the atmosphere up to altitudes of 10 km (33,000 ft). WCR and WCL are sophisticated remote-sensing instruments that provide observations of the three-dimensional structure of clouds and their evolution over time. This cooperative agreement provides base support to a staff of scientists, engineers, technicians, pilots and mechanics who operate, maintain and improve the aircraft, cloud radar and cloud lidar facilities. During this performance period (2014-2018), the University of Wyoming will deploy the King Air aircraft and WCR and WCL instruments in support of research projects deemed to be of exceptional merit by the peer review process. Staff will also upgrade the aircraft and available instrumentation to facilitate cutting edge research in the areas of atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and cloud physics.
Intellectual Merit: The University of Wyoming King Air fulfills a unique role in the suite of NSF-supported lower atmosphere observing facilities, serving as the only small, light aircraft available to atmospheric researchers. UWKA carries a state-of-the-art complement of instrumentation for measuring the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere, for understanding the formation and evolution of clouds and their interaction with atmospheric aerosols, and for investigating the dynamical mechanisms that cause and maintain severe weather, especially winter storms and heavy precipitation. Planned development and acquisition of new instrumentation will facilitate research by the atmospheric sciences community as it tackles questions related to weather and climate.
Broader impacts: As an advanced-degree-granting institution, the University of Wyoming and its UWKA facility provide unique opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to learn about and obtain hands-on experience with nearly every aspect of observational atmospheric science. These opportunities are open to students from UW and other academic institutions, as well as to high school students taking a summer course on aviation weather. Most deployments of the UWKA include educational programs for or outreach to local communities, media, and schools, which exposes the general public to this unique application of science, technology and engineering expertise.
