FESSTVaL: Field Experiment on sub-mesoscale spatio-temporal variability in Lindenberg

The field campaign FESSTVaL (Field Experiment on sub-mesoscale spatio-temporal variability in Lindenberg) took place from May-August 2021 in the surroundings of the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg – Richard-Aßmann-Observatory of the German Meteorological Service (DWD). FESSTVaL is funded by the Deutscher Wetterdienst within the Hans-Ertel Centre for Weather Research. 

The project aims at an improved understanding of the initiation and interaction of cold pools and wind gusts in the summertime convective boundary layer. Unique to this campaign is the high-density near-surface measurement network made of approx. 100 ground-level stations including 19 automatic weather stations as well as a dense soil moisture measurement network. An X-band radar and several energy balance stations were also used. In cooperation with external partners at KIT and DLR, nine Doppler LiDAR systems for measurements of the wind profile and turbulence variables up to an altitude of several kilometers were tested in a coordinated manner. Moreover, thermodynamic properties and precipitation were measured using two mobile profilers and measurement flights with unmanned and remote-controlled aircraft were carried out by the University of Tübingen and DLR. In this way, further vertical information was obtained to verify the ground-based remote sensing systems. As a supplement to these measurements, the project investigates the gain of a citizen science measurement network.

Datasets:

• FESSTVaL: Please find the complete FESSTVaL data set from 2021 here.
• FESST@home 2020: In 2020, local field experiments took place under the abbreviation FESST@home. Selected data from these campaigns can be found here.
• Test campaign 2019: selected data sets from the test campaign in summer 2019 near Lindenberg can be found here.