SMILE: Shelf MIxed Layer Experiment

Summary

The SMILE program was a cooperative, integrated study designed to address the fundamental question of how the surface boundary layer over the continental shelf responds to atmospheric forcing, i.e., the input of momentum, turbulence, and heat through the sea surface. To resolve the atmospheric forcing, measurements were collected from an NCAR research aircraft, NCAR PAM stations, a CLASS sounding system and instrumented buoys. The aircraft will provide the majority of the overwater observations.