PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Arizona State University researchers and scientists from across the country are studying whether extreme heat, rapid urban growth, dust and other airborne particles are changing how monsoon storms form and where rain falls across metro Phoenix.<\/p>\n
The project, called DUSTIEAIM, Desert Urban System Integrated Atmospheric Monsoon, kicked off this month on ASU\u2019s West Valley campus. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an ambitious project in both scale and scope,\u201d Vernon Morris, associate dean for knowledge enterprise and strategic outcomes in ASU\u2019s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, said in the release.<\/p>\n
Researchers said the goal is to analyze how severe weather begins and intensifies over one of the hottest urban regions in the United States and to improve forecasting in the Valley.<\/p>\n
What researchers are trying to learn<\/p>\n
At its core, the study is focused on three questions.<\/p>\n
First, researchers want to understand how Phoenix itself influences weather, including how buildings, roads, pavement and urban growth interact with the surrounding Sonoran Desert to affect heat, wind patterns, cloud formation and storm development.<\/p>\n
Second, scientists will investigate the role of dust, pollution and wildfire smoke. They are studying how airborne particles affect cloud formation, rainfall and temperatures, and whether current climate models accurately capture those effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe single most important question is how do aerosols (mostly dust) affect the formation and development of convective storms, particularly as manifested in the North American monsoon,\u201d Jim Mather, director of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility, said in the release.<\/p>\n
Third, the team wants to better understand what controls where and when rain falls across the Valley, including how mountains, land surfaces, dust and broader weather patterns influence rainfall, flash flooding and storm intensity.<\/p>\n
Researchers said the work is expected to continue over the next year and a half.<\/p>\n
How the study is being conducted<\/p>\n
The release said ASU\u2019s West Valley campus has been outfitted with weather stations, atmospheric sensors, lasers, radar systems and weather balloons. One weather station includes a 40-foot tower that measures movement of energy and chemical compounds through the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Twice each day, teams launch weather balloons carrying instruments that measure temperature, humidity, wind speed and atmospheric particles. The release said the balloons can reach altitudes above 100,000 feet before bursting and returning by parachute, with flights lasting between two and four hours.<\/p>\n
Researchers said a precipitation radar will scan developing storms and mobile laboratories will collect data at ground level. The release said two tethered helium-filled aerostats are expected to be added in August to monitor atmospheric conditions above campus. In total, researchers are operating roughly 50 instruments around the clock.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are using some of the most in depth, high time resolution measurements that have ever been made in a large desert urban area,\u201d Allison Aiken, lead scientist for DUSTIEAIM and a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said in the release.<\/p>\n
Observation periods and community outreach<\/p>\n
The study includes two major observation periods, according to the release: one focused on winter storms and precipitation from November through March, and another focused on the North American monsoon season from July through September, including dust storms, flash flooding and extreme heat.<\/p>\n
ASU said it plans to distribute flyers to nearby residents explaining the project and its activities, and the project includes a community ambassador program employing local citizens. Morris said the goal is to explain that the research is scientific and not surveillance, according to the release.<\/p>\n
The release also said Morris was awarded more than $2.5 million for the project, which will also provide training opportunities for students in environmental measurements.<\/p>\n
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