CLOUDTOMOG
Ground-based Cloud Tomography Experiment at SGP
26 May 2009 - 17 July 2009
Lead Scientist: Dong Huang
Observatory: sgp, sgp
Knowledge of 3D cloud properties is pressingly needed in many research fields. One of the problems encountered when trying to represent 3D cloud fields in numerical models is that the existing techniques cannot provide necessary observations at the required spatial scale and resolution. We tested a new promising technique for measuring 3D cloud microphysical structure, called cloud microwave tomography, at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site for one month in late April 2009. Five microwave scanning radiometers were arranged along a 12-km north-south line centered at the SGP CF site and were programmed to scan continuously in the vertical plane where the radiometers sit: two radiometers from University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder, three from the ARM Boundary Facilities. Several other ARM data streams were used either as ancillary data or as validation. The SGP radiosondes (four per weekday) provided water vapor and temperature profiles necessary for processing the tomographic data. We used both remote sensing and in-situ measurements to evaluate the tomographically retrieved cloud structure. First, we took advantage of the scanning W-band ARM cloud radar (scanning WACR) that was delivered to SGP in April 2009. Second, we coordinated with the RACORO team to set some RACORO flights along the line of the five microwave radiometers at the SGP CF. The tomographic retrievals were compared statistically, rather than point-by-point, with the RACORO in-situ measurements, given that the sample volumes of microwave radiometers and in-situ cloud probes differ in many orders.
Co-Investigators
Maria Cadeddu |
Albin Gasiewski |
Warren Wiscombe |
Timeline
Related Publications
2010
Huang D, AJ Gasiewski, MP Cadeddu, and WJ Wiscombe. 2010. Three-Dimensional Cloud Retrievals from the 2009 DOE ARM Cloud Tomography Field Experiment. Presented at Fall American Geophysical Union Meeting.
View All Related Publications
Campaign Data Sets
IOP Participant | Data Source Name | Final Data |
---|---|---|
Maria Cadeddu | Microwave Radiometer | Order Data |
Albin Gasiewski | Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer | Order Data |