Field Campaigns¶

Steve Nesbitt has participated in 27 major field campaigns spanning 1998–2025, spanning roles from radiosonde scientist and aircraft scientist to principal investigator of large multi-agency international deployments.

Recent Campaigns (2018–2025)¶

RELAMPAGO-CACTI (2018–2019)¶

Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, And Mesoscale/microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations — Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions
Córdoba, Argentina

Lightning over the Sierras de Córdoba during RELAMPAGO, November 2018

Credit: U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program

Lead Principal Investigator of a $25M+ joint NSF/DOE/NASA/NOAA initiative deploying over 100 scientists across 7 agencies in Argentina. RELAMPAGO-CACTI studied extreme convective storms, orographic convection, and cloud microphysics in the lee of the Andes — one of the world's most prolific regions for deep convection.

CROCUS — Urban Climate Initiatives (2024–2025)¶

Community Research on Climate and Urban Science
Chicago, IL

CROCUS urban climate instrumentation in Chicago

Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

Principal Investigator. DOE-funded study of urban effects on precipitation, flooding, and the local water cycle in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Lake Effect Snow Microphysics (2022–2024)¶

Buffalo, NY

Laurel Street in Buffalo during the December 2022 blizzard

Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Study of microphysical processes in lake-effect snowstorms using polarimetric radar and in situ aircraft observations.

PERiLS (2022–2023)¶

Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms
Southeastern United States

PERiLS field campaign deployment in the southeastern United States

Credit: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory

Collaborative NSF/NOAA field campaign examining the mechanisms of tornado production and severe weather in quasi-linear convective systems. Deployed radars, mesonets, and uncrewed aerial systems across seven states; documented 16 tornadoes within multi-Doppler coverage.

CAMP²Ex (2019)¶

Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment
Philippines

CAMP2Ex science team at Clark Airport, Philippines, August 2019

Credit: ESPO, NASA

NASA field campaign studying aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in the maritime tropical environment. The P-3B and SPEC Learjet conducted 30 combined science flights in the vicinity of the Philippines, sampling convective cloud systems over the warm ocean west of Luzon.

Earlier Campaigns (up to 2015)¶

Campaign	Years	Location	Role
OLYMPEX — Olympic Mountain Experiment	2015	Olympic Peninsula, WA	Co-I, NASA GPM Ground Validation
NSF OPEL-WG — Orographic Precipitation & Extremes, Western Ghats	2008–2011	Karnataka, India	Principal Investigator
GCPEX — GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment	2011–2012	Ontario, Canada	Co-I, NASA GPM Ground Validation
Various NASA/NSF field missions	2004–2007	Global	Scientist / Co-I
TRMM-related campaigns	2000–2004	Various tropical sites	Scientist
KWAJEX — Kwajalein Experiment	1999	Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands	Scientist
CAMEX-3 — Convection And Moisture Experiment	1998	Florida / Caribbean	Aircraft Scientist
TEFLUN-A — Texas-Florida Underflight	1998	Texas	Radiosonde Scientist