Evaluation Product : Convective Vertical Velocity

2011.04.25 - 2011.05.23

Site(s)
SGP

General Description

Convective processes play an important role in Earth's energy balance by distributing heat and moisture throughout the atmosphere. In particular, vertical air motions associated with these processes are inherently linked to the life cycle of these convective systems and are therefore directly tied to their energy budget. However, direct measurements of vertical air motions (e.g., in situ aircraft observations) are sparse, making it difficult to compare them with numerical model output, which relies on convective parameterization schemes that have yet to be extensively validated with direct or indirect measurements. A Doppler weather radar, though unable to directly measure vertical velocity, is able to observe mesoscale storm structure. Using data assimilation techniques, observations from a single or multiple Doppler weather radars can be combined with other observations (e.g., a radiosonde profile) to produce a best estimate of the mesoscale atmospheric kinematics. The Convective Vertical Velocity (CONVV) VAP is the product of an algorithm based on these ideas.