Subject: AERI-Bago IHOP Report 14 May 2002
From: Dave Tobin
Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 18:02:09 +0000 (GMT)
To: ihop@gi.ssec.wisc.edu
CC: Wayne Feltz , Dave Tobin

The outside network connection was just restored.  Here is yesterday's
report:


-----------------------
AERI-bago Daily Summary
-----------------------

Date: 14 May 2002 CST (Tuesday)
Location: Homestead Site, IHOP
Operator: Tobin

Weather Conditions:

 Mostly clear again.  More thin, patchy cirrus that yesterday, increasing 
 throughtout the day.  Windy - winds at ~12 m/s from the South.

Instrument Status:

 The AERI and weather station ran well through the night last night.  The scripts on simoon to
 grab the AERI data every 15 minutes worked.  The problem with grabbing the weather station files
 still exists, but manual ftp's at the end of the day can be used to pull the data over to simoon.
 Today revolved around our outside network connection - when I arrived this morning, 
 we had no outside network connection.  Diagnosing the problem, and convincing others that a problem 
 exists, went well into the afternoon.  It appears to be a faulty fiber optic line from 
 the ISS to the bago.  These are very delicate lines that lie on the ground and I suspect that 
 someone drove over our line sometime eearly this morning - Wayne says the last data he recieved was
 around 7 am local.  The network guys from NCAR are responsible for the lines.  Apparently there are 
 no other lines long enough to get to the bago - a line will  be daisy-chained to the bago - hopefully 
 early tomorrow morning.

 GPS:  I talked with Belay and I am going to set up the GPS at the Homestead site so we can get 
 a week's worth of comparisons with GSFC's GPS.

Science:

 No real science for the IHOP goals yet.  But today was another good clear day - the daily 1pm 
 sonde launch should yield another useful comparison.

 Most of the Homesteaders attended a briefing meeting at the S-Pol site today at
 4 p.m.  Many mobile systems are also based out of Liberal, and these folks were also present.
 The meeting included a telecon to the IHOP command center in Norman.  The suggested daily schedule 
 is : 9am: post tentative plan; 9-noon: get inputs, refine plan; noon: formal forecast and plan 
 posted to web and message line; 1pm: daily web-cast meeting.  Homestead people can participate in 
 the daily meeting by traveling the ~11 miles west to the S-Pol site, or they may be able to set up 
 a telecon at Homestead.  Most of the planning will be for the mobile systems and aircraft.
 Daily plans wil be available via a message at 405-366-0443.  Also, daily plans and instrument 
 status reports are available from the IHOP "catalog" page at www.joss.ucar.edu/ihop/catalog/.

Miscellaneous:

 One mile south of the Homestead site is a black-top road that runs parralel to the dirt-road 
 leading to the site - I recommend this road for bad weather and moving the Bago.

 The tie-down guy, Alvin, tied down the Bago today.  $200 cash.  Our install included hooks for 
 attaching to the frame of the bago, instead of permanent loops of galvanized steel, so that
 the tie-downs can be removed and then re-attached.  I will debrief the land surface crew on how I 
 understand this should work.

 The wind was very strong today from the South.  The Bago faces North - opening the Bago door 
 is hazardous, and provides a fresh supply of dust into the Bago.

 Today was Press day at the site.  I gave two interviews - one for the Liberal newspaper and one
 for an Amarillo tv station.  The press briefing memos were nice to have on hand.  Note to self: 
 don't say "radiation" to a reporter.

 Tomorrow there are practice runs to test logistics and communications, mainly for the mobile systems.
 A dry line is forecast to set up somewhere west of the S-Pol site, and the mobile systems will set 
 up along and on both sides of the dry line.  The Homestead ISS will launch balloons at 1, 4, and 7 pm.



-- David Tobin CIMSS/SSEC/U.Wisconsin-Madison dave.tobin@ssec.wisc.edu









----------------------- AERI-bago Daily Summary ----------------------- Date: 14 May 2002 CST (Tuesday) Location: Homestead Site, IHOP Operator: Tobin Weather Conditions: Mostly clear again. More thin, patchy cirrus that yesterday, increasing throughtout the day. Windy - winds at ~12 m/s from the South. Instrument Status: The AERI and weather station ran well through the night last night. The scripts on simoon to grab the AERI data every 15 minutes worked. The problem with grabbing the weather station files still exists, but manual ftp's at the end of the day can be used to pull the data over to simoon. Today revolved around our outside network connection - when I arrived this morning, we had no outside network connection. Diagnosing the problem, and convincing others that a problem exists, went well into the afternoon. It appears to be a faulty fiber optic line from the ISS to the bago. These are very delicate lines that lie on the ground and I suspect that someone drove over our line sometime eearly this morning - Wayne says the last data he recieved was around 7 am local. The network guys from NCAR are responsible for the lines. Apparently there are no other lines long enough to get to the bago - a line will be daisy-chained to the bago - hopefully early tomorrow morning. GPS: I talked with Belay and I am going to set up the GPS at the Homestead site so we can get a week's worth of comparisons with GSFC's GPS. Science: No real science for the IHOP goals yet. But today was another good clear day - the daily 1pm sonde launch should yield another useful comparison. Most of the Homesteaders attended a briefing meeting at the S-Pol site today at 4 p.m. Many mobile systems are also based out of Liberal, and these folks were also present. The meeting included a telecon to the IHOP command center in Norman. The suggested daily schedule is : 9am: post tentative plan; 9-noon: get inputs, refine plan; noon: formal forecast and plan posted to web and message line; 1pm: daily web-cast meeting. Homestead people can participate in the daily meeting by traveling the ~11 miles west to the S-Pol site, or they may be able to set up a telecon at Homestead. Most of the planning will be for the mobile systems and aircraft. Daily plans wil be available via a message at 405-366-0443. Also, daily plans and instrument status reports are available from the IHOP "catalog" page at www.joss.ucar.edu/ihop/catalog/. Miscellaneous: One mile south of the Homestead site is a black-top road that runs parralel to the dirt-road leading to the site - I recommend this road for bad weather and moving the Bago. The tie-down guy, Alvin, tied down the Bago today. $200 cash. Our install included hooks for attaching to the frame of the bago, instead of permanent loops of galvanized steel, so that the tie-downs can be removed and then re-attached. I will debrief the land surface crew on how I understand this should work. The wind was very strong today from the South. The Bago faces North - opening the Bago door is hazardous, and provides a fresh supply of dust into the Bago. Today was Press day at the site. I gave two interviews - one for the Liberal newspaper and one for an Amarillo tv station. The press briefing memos were nice to have on hand. Note to self: don't say "radiation" to a reporter. Tomorrow there are practice runs to test logistics and communications, mainly for the mobile systems. A dry line is forecast to set up somewhere west of the S-Pol site, and the mobile systems will set up along and on both sides of the dry line. The Homestead ISS will launch balloons at 1, 4, and 7 pm.