Grossman plans to combine data from different remote sensor platforms with more conventional data and turbulent flux measurements in the 1992 STORMFEST experiment. STORMFEST's primary scientific goals are first, to field-test new mesoscale observing and forecasting systems in preparation for later major field experiments of the U.S. Weather Research Program; and second, to study the mesoscale structures of winter frontal and precipitation synoptic scale flow in which they are embedded. His objective is to quantitatively describe the structure of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) in a 50-km square nested within the larger scale experimental array. The data will provide estimates of fluxes and profiles over the diurnal cycle, in a variety of meteorological situations, with varying cloud cover. The database can later be used by other investigators in conjunction with other experimental (numerical large-eddy simulation) data to comparatively evaluate the various PBL parameterizations currently in use in GCM and climate models, and, it is hoped, lead to improved versions of these.
