Atmospheric boundary layer measurements in south-central Kansas, 1997-2004

The ABLE facility operated from 1997 through most of 2004 within the Walnut River Watershed in south-central Kansas, east of the city of Wichita, to support studies in boundary-layer meteorology, hydrology, ecology, and atmospheric chemistry. Instrumentation included three radar wind profilers (with radio acoustic sounding systems), three Doppler acoustic sounders, five automated surface weather stations, two eddy-correlation flux measurement systems, one energy-balance Bowen ratio system, and 28 recording rain gauges. Atmospheric radiation and soil temperature, moisture, and heat flow were measured at two locations. Continuously collected data are available on the ABLE Web site in archived forms. The areas of primary emphasis were 1) the air-surface exchange of carbon dioxide, in support of AmeriFlux studies of terrestrial carbon balance; 2) the water budget and its seasonal and event variability at multiple spatial scales within the watershed; and 3) support for CASES in investigations of mesoscale meteorology, hydrology, climate, and chemistry processes and their linkages. The result has been a large and comprehensive meteorological dataset of the surface and planetary boundary layer, readily available for current and future research and testing applications.