Photos: Weather balloon launched in Tucson to study extreme heat
During the fourth hottest June on record in Tucson, mobile observatories  were used to assess climate and heat impacts for areas as small as neighborhoods.
The mobile labs for the University of Arizona and Brookhaven National Laboratory are on trucks loaded with scientific gadgetry. They are the only two of their kind in the world, and are uniquely outfitted to monitor localized climate data, said Ladd Keith, an associate professor of urban planning at the University of Arizona's institutional lead for the Southwest IFL.
The mobile data collection effort is part of the Department of Energy funded Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, a partnership between the state's three universities and several national labs.
Weather balloon
Edwin Davis, a research associate with Brookhaven National Laboratory, ties a string to the bottom of a weather balloon on the University of Arizona campus on July 2, 2024.
Weather balloon
A windsond is a weather balloon system that will send data regarding temperature, humidity and wind speed and direction. A group of researchers from the Brookhaven National Laboratory have been in Tucson for a month recording data to better understand extreme heat in the southwest.
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Edwin Davis, a research associate with Brookhaven National Laboratory, blows up a weather balloon on the University of Arizona campus, on July 2, 2024.
Weather balloon
A friendly message is written on the styrofoam cup that is part of the windsond, a weather balloon system. If not retrieved by the researchers, the message conveys that it is a weather instrument.
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Parag Joshi, a research associate with Brookhaven National Laboratory, checks the settings on a computer attached to a weather chasing truck on the University of Arizona campus on July 2, 2024.
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Katia Lamer, with Brookhaven National Laboratory, left, releases a weather balloon as her associate, Edwin Davis, watches on the University of Arizona campus on July 2, 2024.
Weather balloon
A windsond weather balloon system floats into the air from the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Ariz. on July 2, 2024.
Weather balloon
Parag Joshi, left, and Edwin Davis, a research associates with Brookhaven National Laboratory, work on the computer at their weather truck on the University of Arizona campus on July 2, 2024.
Mamta Popat
Photojournalist