Project Summary

A new long-term global observing system to improve weather and climate prediction is proposed. The network would consist of 240 fixed locations over oceans and polar regions where oceanic and atmospheric profiles would be routinely measured. Unmanned aerial vehicles would cruise the lower stratosphere and descend to near the surface during flight, using dropsondes and on-board in situ instruments to obtain detailed profiles of state variables, clouds, aerosols, and chemistry. Each location would be sounded every 72 hours. In the ocean, at the same locations where the atmospheric profiles are measured, a new generation of ocean observatories and buoys would be deployed to report surface and subsurface data.

Primary goals of the proposed GUPS:

• To improve climate modeling and prediction capabilities
  
  • To determine the vertical distribution and chemical composition of aerosols
    
  • To supplement existing satellite and ground-based systems, as well as a currently sparse ocean monitoring network
    
  • To determine the interaction between the oceans and atmosphere at a large number of points, allowing precise vertical fluxes of heat and momentum to be calculated
    
• To improve weather prediction
  
  • To provide fixed and adaptive soundings over oceans and polar regions

This project is in an early, conceptual development phase. It has not been approved or funded. We are actively seeking input for this proposal and welcome your comments and suggestions. To receive a draft article describing the project in detail, please contact Julie Singewald at 303-497-6818 or Julie.Singewald@noaa.gov.