Dissertation Defense: Sanja Dmitrovic, "Developing Optical Algorithms to Advance Airborne Measurements of Aerosol and Meteorological Properties"

Title

Developing Optical Algorithms to Advance Airborne Measurements of Aerosol and Meteorological Properties

Abstract

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), the layer between the ocean and free troposphere, hosts a suite of important atmospheric processes such as heat and temperature flux, gas exchange of carbon dioxide and water vapor, cloud evolution, and aerosol particle transport. To measure these complex processes and provide a complete picture of the MABL, organizations such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) conduct airborne field campaigns that use a multitude of in-situ and remote sensing platforms. This dissertation introduces two studies that aim to improve airborne measurements of 1) ocean surface wind speeds and 2) atmospheric aerosol particles. Both of these studies focus on the instruments used in NASA’s Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) field campaign that took place from 2020 – 2022.