M. Joan Alexander Research Scientist

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DAWEX: Darwin Area Wave Experiment

A three phase campaign October-November-December 2001 designed to observe gravity waves in the vicinity of the storms that occur in the Darwin Area, Northern Territory Australia. The region is known as the "Top End" of Australia. In terms of the weather in this area, November-December is a transition period between the dry and wet seasons. During the transition, isolated deep convective storms occur daily over the Tiwi Islands (Melville and Bathurst Islands) approximately 50 miles north of Darwin. The cloud tops can exceed 20 km (65,000 ft) in height. The regularity and extreme intensity of the convection in this region has made it the sight for previous field campaigns to better understand the dynamics, thermodynamics, and microphysics of tropical convection (MCTEX).

DAWEX included 3-hourly radiosonde balloon launches at three sites in the region, mesospheric wave imagers at four sites, and radar wind measurements. The balloons achieved altitudes up to 39 km and commonly got up to at least 25 km. Radar at Darwin and Gunn Point also observed precipitation in the area.These measurements will be used to better understand the mechanisms at work within tropical storms that generate atmospheric waves, as well as the wave propagation and wave effects in the middle and upper atmosphere.

About the DAWEX objectives AIG description based on EOS article by K. Hamilton and R. Vincent

My own experiences on the Tiwi Islands in November are chronicled in photos on Rober Goler's homepage.

Further information about DAWEX can be viewed at the Kyoto University website.