AGS-firp track 2: hurricane boundary layer observation study

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded $991,293 to the University of Alabama in Huntsville on September 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to analyze mobile radar data from hurricane landfalls and conduct a new field campaign studying the hurricane boundary layer.

The recipient will analyze decades of mobile radar data collected from 20 U.S. hurricane landfalls to examine hurricane boundary layer rolls and their relationship to turbulent kinetic energy, coherent structures including tornado-scale vortices, the effect of tall structures on wind fields, and boundary layer structure changes at landfall. The team plans at least one new hurricane landfall deployment to collect dense observational data addressing on-shore transition and turbulence questions. The work supports national resilience to hurricane impacts and provides hands-on research training for early-career scientists.

Performance occurs in Huntsville, Alabama, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. The Geosciences program supports basic research expanding understanding of the integrated Earth system through atmospheric, earth, and ocean sciences. No sub-awards are planned for this award.

Abstract

Understanding the near-surface layer of the atmosphere in a hurricane, known as the hurricane boundary layer, is critical to forecasting and mitigating impacts to safety and property. The hurricane boundary layer helps to control how quickly a hurricane will weaken over land and IT contains small-scale features that locally enhance damaging wind gusts. This project will analyze decades worth of mobile radar data from hurricane landfalls, and conduct a new small field campaign, to better answer questions about small-scale processes in hurricane boundary layers. The work will help to build national resilience to hurricane impacts and train early-career scientists with hands-on research activities. The research team has previously collected mobile radar data from 20 U.S. Hurricane landfalls. Through this project, the data from these deployments will be analyzed in-depth to answer questions about the hurricane boundary layer (HBL) and small-scale structures in the wind field. Specifically, the analysis will focus on: 1) hurricane boundary layer rolls and their relation to turbulent kinetic energy and other fluxes, 2) coherent structures in the HBL, including tornado-scale vortices, 3) the effect of tall structures on the wind field, and 4) how the HBL structure changes at landfall. In addition to analyzing previously collected data, the team plans at least one new hurricane landfall deployment to collect a dense amount of data to help address questions about the HBL on-shore transition and turbulence. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.