Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Balsley Home

People

John Cassano
Dale Lawrence
Austin Lillard
Ludovic Bariteau

Contacts

Michael Jensen, preparing for takeoff. Michael Jensen

Michael L. Jensen

Education

Doctor of Philosophy 2000 University of Colorado, Boulder. Aerospace Engeneering.

Masters of Science 1992 University of Colorado, Boulder. Aerospace Engeneering.

Bachelor of Science 1991 University of Colorado, Boulder. Aerospace Engeneering.

Employment History

2002-present: Research Associate (Research Scientist I). CIRES/Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO

2001-present: Research Engineer/Project Manager. QEI Technologies, Inc., Denver, CO

2001-2002: Post Doctorate Research Associate. CIRES/University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

Publications Related to the Research Group's Activities

Balsley, B. B., M. L. Jensen, and R. G. Frehlich, The use of state-of-the-art kites for profiling the lower atmosphere, Boundary-Layer Meteorol., 87, 1-25, 1998.

Balsley, B. B., R. G. Frehlich, M. L. Jensen, Y. Meillier, Extreme gradients in the nocturnal boundary layer: structure, evolution, and potential causes, J. Atmos. Sci., 60, 2496-2508, 2003.

Frehlich, R., Y. Meillier, M. L. Jensen, and B. Balsley, Turbulence measurements with the CIRES Tethered Lifting System during CASES-99: Calibration and spectral analysis of temperature and velocity, J. Atmos. Sci., 60, 2487-2495, 2003.

Frehlich, R., Y. Meillier, M. Jensen, and B. Balsley, A statistical description of small-scale turbulence in the low-level nocturnal jet, J. Atmos. Sci, 61, 1079-1085, 2004.

Tjernström, M., C. Leck, P. O. G. Persson, M.L. Jensen, S.P. Oncley, A. Targino , The Summertime Arctic Atmosphere: Meteorological measurements during the Arctic Ocean Experiment 2001 (AOE-2001), Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 1305-1321, June 2004.

Other Significant Publications

Balsley, B. B., J. W. Birks, M. L. Jensen, K. G. Knapp, J. B. Williams, and G. W. Tyrrell, Vertical profiling of the atmosphere using high-tech kites, Environ. Sci. Technol., 28, 422A-426A, 1994.

Jensen, M.L., C. Leck, A. Targino, B. Wehner, C. Fischer, E. Swietlicki, Boundary layer profiles of aerosol size distribution obtained by kites and a tethered balloon during the Arctic Ocean Expedition (AOE-2001), Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence, Wageningen, The Netherlands, American Meteorol. Soc., July 2002.

Jensen, M.L., M. Tjernström, A. Targino, A new system for airborne measurements of high-resolution 3D winds using a Tethered Lifting System (TLS), Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence, Wageningen, The Netherlands, American Met. Soc., July 2002.

Muschinski, A., R. Frehlich, M. Jensen, R. Hugo, A. Hoff, F. Eaton, and B. Balsley, 2001: Fine-scale measurements of turbulence in the lower troposphere: an intercomparison between a kite- and balloon-borne, and a helicopter-borne measurement system. Boundary-Layer Meteorol., 98, 291-250.

Schulz, K., M. L. Jensen, B. B. Balsley, K. Davis, and J. W. Birks, Tedlar bag sampling technique for Vertical profiling of carbon dioxide through the atmospheric boundary layer with high precision and accuracy, Environ. Sci. Technol., in press.

Synergistic Activities

Planned, organized, and participated (solely) in TLS operations performed as part of AOE-2001, where kites and balloons were used to measure profiles of basic meteorological variables, turbulence, and size distributions of aerosol particles in the high Arctic.

Participated in and helped manage several field campaigns using kites and balloons to make atmospheric profile measurements in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, the Azores, the Peruvian Amazon, Greenland, and the high Arctic from 1993-2001

Primary organizer and pilot for several field campaigns to both north-central Wisconsin and north-central Oklahoma to measure seasonal boundary layer CO 2 fluxes and advection using a Powered Parachute (PPC) ultralight aircraft from 2000-2002.

Modified existing instrumentation and developed lightweight, low-power instrumentation for use on kites, balloons and PPC platforms, including: high-speed fine-wire probes for turbulence measurements, a 4-channel particle size spectrometer, a bag-sampling technique for CO­ 2 monitoring, and motion-corrected sonic anemometer system for airborne 3D wind measurements.

Participated in the CASES-99 Nocturnal Boundary Layer study near Wichita, KS.

Collaborators and other Affiliations

Collaborators

Balsley, B.B., CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Birks, J., Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Box, J.E., Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State Univ., OH, USA
Davis , K., Meteorology, Penn. State University, State College, PA, USA
Frehlich, R.G., CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Leck, C., Chemical Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Tjernström, M., Meteorology, Stock holm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Wisthaler, A., Physics, Innsbruck University, Innsbruck, Austria

Postdoctoral Advisor

Balsley, B.B., CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

Thesis Advisors

Balas, M., Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Balsley, B.B., CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA