scholarly journals Vertical velocities and turbulence in midlatitude anvil cirrus: A comparison between in situ aircraft measurements and ground-based Doppler cloud radar retrievals

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (22) ◽  
pp. 7814-7821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Muhlbauer ◽  
Heike Kalesse ◽  
Pavlos Kollias
Keyword(s):  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Anvil Cirrus

scholarly journals Aircraft measurements of gravity waves in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during the START08 field experiment

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7667-7684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Junhong Wei ◽  
Meng Zhang ◽  
K. P. Bowman ◽  
L. L. Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Airborne Measurements ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. This study analyzes in situ airborne measurements from the 2008 Stratosphere–Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport (START08) experiment to characterize gravity waves in the extratropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (ExUTLS). The focus is on the second research flight (RF02), which took place on 21–22 April 2008. This was the first airborne mission dedicated to probing gravity waves associated with strong upper-tropospheric jet–front systems. Based on spectral and wavelet analyses of the in situ observations, along with a diagnosis of the polarization relationships, clear signals of mesoscale variations with wavelengths ~ 50–500 km are found in almost every segment of the 8 h flight, which took place mostly in the lower stratosphere. The aircraft sampled a wide range of background conditions including the region near the jet core, the jet exit and over the Rocky Mountains with clear evidence of vertically propagating gravity waves of along-track wavelength between 100 and 120 km. The power spectra of the horizontal velocity components and potential temperature for the scale approximately between ~ 8 and ~ 256 km display an approximate −5/3 power law in agreement with past studies on aircraft measurements, while the fluctuations roll over to a −3 power law for the scale approximately between ~ 0.5 and ~ 8 km (except when this part of the spectrum is activated, as recorded clearly by one of the flight segments). However, at least part of the high-frequency signals with sampled periods of ~ 20–~ 60 s and wavelengths of ~ 5–~ 15 km might be due to intrinsic observational errors in the aircraft measurements, even though the possibilities that these fluctuations may be due to other physical phenomena (e.g., nonlinear dynamics, shear instability and/or turbulence) cannot be completely ruled out.

Real-time estimation of atmospheric turbulence severity from in-situ aircraft measurements

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry B. Cornman ◽  
Corinne S. Morse ◽  
Gary Cunning
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Atmospheric Turbulence ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Real Time Estimation

Subvisual Cirrus

Cirrus ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Lynch ◽  
Kenneth Sassen
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Solar Limb ◽  
Stratospheric Aerosol ◽  
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ◽  
Passive Sensors ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Anvil Cirrus ◽  
High Clouds ◽  
Meteorological Satellite

Starting during World War II, pilots flying high over the tropics reported “a thin layer of cirrus 500ft above us”. Yet as they ascended, they still observed more thin cirrus above them, leading to the colloquialism “cirrus evadus.” With the coming of lidar in the early 1960s, rumors and unqualified reports of subvisual cirrus were replaced with validated detections, in situ sampling, and the first systematic studies (Uthe 1977; Barnes 1980, 1982). Heymsfield (1986) described observations over Kwajalein Atoll in the western tropical Pacific Ocean, where pilots and lidars could clearly see the cloud but DMSP (U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) radiance measurements and ground observers could not. The term “subvisual” is a relatively recent appellation. Prior terminology included cirrus haze, semitransparent cirrus, subvisible cirrus veils, low density clouds, fields of ice aerosols, cirrus, anvil cirrus, and high altitude tropical (HAT) cirrus. Subvisual cirrus clouds (SVC) are widespread (Winker and Trepte 1998; see chapter 12, this volume) and virtually undetectable with existing passive sensors. Orbiting solar limb occupation systems such as the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) can detect these clouds, but only by looking at them horizontally where the optical depths are significant. SVC appear to affect climate primarily by heating the planet, though to what extent this may happen is unknown. Much of what we know is based on work by Heymsfield (1986), Platt et al. (1987), Sassen et al. (1989, 1992), Flatau et al. (1990), Liou et al. (1990), Hutchinson et al. (1991, 1993), Dalcher (1992), Sassen and Cho (1992), Takano et al. (1992), Lynch (1993), Schmidt et al. (1993), Schmidt and Lynch (1995), and Winker and Trepte (1998). SVC are defined as any high clouds composed primarily of ice (WMO 1975) and whose vertical visible optical depth is 0.03 or less (Sassen and Cho 1992). Such clouds are usually found near the tropopause and are less than about 1 km thick vertically. SVC do not appear to be fundamentally different from ordinary, optically thicker cirrus. They do, however, differ from average cirrus by being colder (-50-90°C), thinner (<0.03 optical depths at 0.694 μm), and having smaller particles (typically about <50μm diameter).

scholarly journals Characterization of Aura TES carbonyl sulfide retrievals over ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Kuai ◽  
J. Worden ◽  
S. S. Kulawik ◽  
S. A. Montzka ◽  
J. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Carbonyl Sulfide ◽  
Systematic Errors ◽  
Retrieval Algorithm ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Random Errors ◽  
Mauna Loa ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Peak Sensitivity

Abstract. We present a description of the NASA Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) carbonyl sulfide (OCS) retrieval algorithm for oceanic observations, along with evaluation of the biases and uncertainties using aircraft profiles from the HIPPO (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations) campaign and data from the NOAA Mauna Loa site. In general, the OCS retrievals (1) have less than 1.0 degree of freedom for signals (DOFs), (2) are sensitive in the mid-troposphere with a peak sensitivity typically between 300 and 500 hPa, (3) but have much smaller systematic errors from temperature, CO2 and H2O calibrations relative to random errors from measurement noise. We estimate the monthly means from TES measurements averaged over multiple years so that random errors are reduced and useful information about OCS seasonal and latitudinal variability can be derived. With this averaging, TES OCS data are found to be consistent (within the calculated uncertainties) with NOAA ground observations and HIPPO aircraft measurements. TES OCS data also captures the seasonal and latitudinal variations observed by these in situ data.

scholarly journals Characterization of aura tropospheric emissions spectrometer carbonyl sulfide retrievals

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 6975-7003
Author(s):  
L. Kuai ◽  
J. Worden ◽  
S. S. Kulawik ◽  
S. A. Montzka ◽  
J. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Carbonyl Sulfide ◽  
Systematic Errors ◽  
Retrieval Algorithm ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Random Errors ◽  
Mauna Loa ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Peak Sensitivity

Abstract. We present a description of the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) carbonyl sulfide (OCS) retrieval algorithm, along with evaluation of the biases and uncertainties against aircraft profiles from the HIPPO campaign and data from the NOAA Mauna Loa site. In general, the OCS retrievals (1) have less than 1.0 degree of freedom for signals (DOFs), (2) are sensitive in the mid-troposphere with a peak sensitivity typically between 300 to 500 hPa, (3) but have much smaller systematic errors from temperature, CO2 and H2O calibrations relative to random errors from measurement noise. Here we estimate the monthly means from TES measurements averaged over multiple years so that random errors are reduced and useful information about OCS seasonal and latitudinal variability can be derived. With this averaging, TES OCS data are found to be consistent (within the calculated uncertainties) with NOAA ground observations and HIPPO aircraft measurements. TES OCS data also captures the seasonal and latitudinal variations observed by these in situ data.

scholarly journals Multi-wavelength Raman lidar, sunphotometric and aircraft measurements in combination with inversion models for the estimation of the aerosol optical and physico-chemical properties over Athens, Greece

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 589-625
Author(s):  
R. E. Mamouri ◽  
A. Papayannis ◽  
V. Amiridis ◽  
D. Müller ◽  
P. Kokkalis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Urban Site ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Raman Lidar ◽  
Lidar System ◽  
Aerosol Composition ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Multi Wavelength

Abstract. A novel procedure has been developed to retrieve, simultaneously, the optical, microphysical and chemical properties of tropospheric aerosols with a multi-wavelength Raman lidar system in the troposphere over an urban site (Athens, Greece: 37.9° N, 23.6° E, 200 m a.s.l.) using data obtained during the European Space Agency (ESA) THERMOPOLIS project which took place between 15–31 July 2009 over the Greater Athens Area (GAA). We selected to apply our procedure for a case study of intense aerosol layers occurred on 20–21 July 2009. The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) EOLE 6-wavelength Raman lidar system has been used to provide the vertical profiles of the optical properties of aerosols (extinction and backscatter coefficients, lidar ratio) and the water vapor mixing ratio. An inversion algorithm was used to derive the mean aerosol microphysical properties (mean effective radius – reff), single-scattering albedo (ω) and mean complex refractive index (m) at selected heights in the 2–3 km height region. We found that reff was 0.3–0.4 μm, ω at 532 nm ranged from 0.63 to 0.88 and m ranged from 1.45 + 0.015i to 1.56 + 0.05i, in good accordance with in situ aircraft measurements. The final data set of the aerosol microphysical properties along with the water vapor and temperature profiles were incorporated into the ISORROPIA model to infer an in situ aerosol composition consistent with the retrieved m and ω values. The retrieved aerosol chemical composition in the 2–3 km height region gave a variable range of sulfate (0–60%) and organic carbon (OC) content (0–50%), although the OC content increased (up to 50%) and the sulfate content dropped (up to 30%) around 3 km height; in connection with the retrieved low ω value (0.63), indicates the presence of absorbing biomass burning smoke mixed with urban haze. Finally, the retrieved aerosol microphysical properties were compared with column-integrated sunphotometer data.

In situ aircraft measurements of enhanced levels of N2O associated with thunderstorm lightning

Nature ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 303 (5915) ◽  
pp. 312-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel S. Levine ◽  
Edwin F. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Aircraft Measurements

Vertical distributions of aerosols under different weather conditions: Analysis of in-situ aircraft measurements in Beijing, China

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (34) ◽  
pp. 5526-5535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
XinCheng Ma ◽  
Xuexi Tie ◽  
Mengyu Huang ◽  
Chunsheng Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Vertical Distributions ◽  
Beijing China

scholarly journals Retrieval of effective aerosol diameter from satellite observations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Humaid Al Badi ◽  
John Boland ◽  
David Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Infrared Band ◽  
Brightness Temperatures ◽  
Aerosol Particle Size ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Modelling And Forecasting

Abstract. Dust aerosol particle size plays a crucial role in determining dust cycle in the atmosphere and the extent of its impact on the other atmospheric parameters. The in-situ measurements of dust particle size are very costly, spatially sparse and time-consuming. This paper presents an algorithm to retrieve effective dust diameter using infrared band brightness temperature from SEVIRI (the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfaRed Imager) on the Meteosat satellite. An empirical model was constructed that directly relates differences in brightness temperatures of 8.7, 10.8 and 12.0 μm bands to effective dust diameter using the Mie extinction efficiency factor. Three case studies are used to test the model. The results showed consistency between the model and in-situ aircraft measurements. A severe dust storm over the Middle-East is presented to demonstrate the use of the model. This algorithm is expected to contribute to filling the gap created by the discrepancies between the current size distributions retrieval techniques and aircraft measurements. Potential applications include enhancing the accuracy of atmospheric modelling and forecasting horizontal visibility and solar energy system performance over regions affected by dust storms.

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