Each summer the North American Monsoon Anticyclone (NAMA) dominates the circulation of the North-Western Hemisphere and acts to partially confine and isolate air from the surrounding atmosphere. Strong convective storms in the NAMA regularly reach altitudes deep into the lower stratosphere, with some ascending above 20 km. These storms carry water and pollutants from the troposphere into the otherwise very dry stratosphere, where they can have a significant impact on radiative and chemical processes, potentially including destruction of stratospheric ozone.
The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) field campaign was a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital research project aimed at investigating these thunderstorms. DCOTSS utilized NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and conducted two ~8-week science deployments based out of Salina, KS spanning early to late summer.
The ER-2 aircraft was equipped with a payload providing in-situ measurements for trace gases, aerosols, reactive species, and meteorological parameters in the study area. The DCOTSS instrument payload brought together twelve proven instruments for in-situ measurements necessary to complete the objectives of the campaign (instruments listed below). The Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) network paired with operational modeling, and NASA and NOAA earth observing satellites were used to collect in-situ and remote sensing measurements to study the interaction between the storms and the stratosphere.
This campaign advances the understanding of changes in the Earth’s radiative balance, air quality, and the ozone layer that result from changes in atmospheric composition. DCOTSS also improves the ability to predict weather and extreme weather events. Results from DCOTSS will be used to determine what dynamical mechanisms lead to irreversible stratospheric injections of air in the NAMA due to convection, and how the air is exported to the global stratosphere.
Access the 2021 DCOTSS Photos and Videos and 2022 DCOTSS Photos and Videos at NASA's Airborne Science Program (ASP).
