Data > Data Sources

ICEPART-MOD

Cite Data Browse Data
 

icepart-mod > Polarimetric Scattering Database for Non-spherical Ice Particles at Microwave WavelengthsData Source Type(s) > PI

The atmospheric science community has entered a period in which radiative scattering properties in the microwave of realistically constructed ice particles are necessary for making progress on a number of fronts. Ice scattering properties are needed to construct forward operators to simulate microwave remote sensing observation signals from ice- and mixed-phase cloudy regions. These operators are needed for retrieval of ice-particle properties from ground-, airborne- and satellite-based radar and radiometer observations, evaluation of model microphysics, and data assimilation applications.

Over the past decade investigators have developed databases of ice-particle scattering properties in the microwave and made them openly available. Motivated by, and complementing these earlier efforts, a database containing polarimetric single-scattering properties of various types of ice particles at millimeter to centimeter wavelengths is presented. This database is complementary to earlier ones in that it contains complete (polarimetric) scattering property information for each ice particle - 44 plates, 30 columns, 405 branched planar crystals, 660 aggregates, and 640 conical graupel - and direction of incident radiation but is limited to four frequencies (W-, Ka-, Ku- and X-bands), does not include temperature dependencies of the single-scattering properties and does not include scattering properties averaged over randomly oriented ice particles. Rules for constructing the morphologies of ice particles from one database to the next often differ; consequently, analyses that incorporate all of the different databases will contain the most variability, while illuminating important differences between them.

Purpose

The data were not collected but rather generated from extensive theoretical ice particle scattering calculations. The value of these calculations are explained in the first paragraph above. Concisely put, the database has value in interpreting microwave active and passive remote sensing measurements necessary in retrieval work, model evaluation and data assimilation.

Primary Measurements

Data Details

Developed By Kultegin Aydin | Johannes Verlinde | Eugene Clothiaux | Yinghui Lu | Zhiyuan Jiang | Giovanni Botta
Contact Eugene Clothiaux
Resource(s) Data Directory
ReadMe
Data format NetCDF Version 4
Attribute accuracy No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted because the attributes associated with each calculation were exact and provided as such.
Positional accuracy Not applicable
Data Consistency and Completeness There are no bad values in the database because they are the results of theoretical calculations that have been analyzed for correctness.
Access Restriction No access constraints are associated with this data.
Use Restriction No use constraints are associated with this data.
File naming convention Three types of files names for each of 1) aggregates, 2) branched planar crystals, 3) plates, 4) columns and 5) conical graupel. Example names for aggregates are: 1) psuaydinetal_aggregate_particle-index_type_size_realization_frequency_scattering-geometry_GMM; 2) psuaydinetal_geometry_aggregate_index_GMM; 3) psuaydinetal_aggregates_scattering-geometry_GMM . All have the .nc file extension and all are extensively documented in the technical report.
Directory Organization Need a top level directory for the database with a name along the lines psuaydinetal_scattering database. We will need subdirectories titled as 1) aggregates, 2) branched planar crystals, 3) plates, 4) columns and 5) conicall graupel. In each of these directories we will need three subdirectories corresponding to 1) full scattering matrices, 2) reduced size files, 3) particle geometry files . We are completely flexible here and will go with what you recommend to us.
Citations In Progress: "A Polarimetric Scattering Database for Non-spherical Ice Particles at Microwave Wavelengths" to be submitted to a peer-review journal. Currently have a working draft and hope to get this submitted soon after the database goes public.

In Progress: "Technical Report: A Polarimetric Scattering Database for Non-spherical Ice Particles at Microwave Wavelengths" to accompany the peer-review journal article. The Technical Report will contain the myriads of details necessary to understand the database that are not suitable for peer-review publication. The Technical Report is finished and undergoing final corrections and will be ready for distribution soon after the database goes public. We hope to distribute the Technical Report from the DOE ARM PI Product web pages that host the database itself.